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How deep are water wells in Amarillo, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Amarillo, Texas are typically 282 to 445 feet deep (median 302 ft, 1,223 wells drilled in the last 10 years). No single layer dominates: 49% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, and 46% draw from the Ogallala Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $10,000 to $24,500.

Updated every day from Texas Water Development Board driller reports. Last update: November 11, 2026, using the state file of November 10, 2026.

See the wells and layers at an exact pointPotter County
What is under Amarillo, TexasUnderground column at the center of Amarillo: median well 302 ft, middle half 282 to 445 ft, water at 215 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Ogallala: 0 to 288 ftOgallalaDockum: 288 to 439 ftDockumBelow the base of the model0200400600ftGround level · 3,677 ft above sea levelMedian well: 302 ftWater standing in the well from 215 ftWater level215 ftMedian well302 ftMiddle half282–445 ft

Under Amarillo, Potter County

Layers at the center of Amarillo from TWDB's High Plains Aquifer System model (half mile cells, read here on a grid of about 1.2 by 1.4 miles), at true depth scale. The well and the water are the median of 1,223 real wells.

Home wells in and around Amarillo

Each dot is a home well from a state driller report, colored by depth. Tap one for its details and official report. Tap an empty spot to see what is under that point.

See underground

Well depth (ft)

  • <100
  • 100
  • 200
  • 300
  • 400
  • 600
  • 800+

Dashed line: Amarillo and about 2 miles around it

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
282 to 445 feet
Median depth
302 feet
Deepest 10% are past
480 feet
Water level (median)
215 feet
1,088 wells
Yield (median)
15 gpm
682 wells, gallons per minute
Wells used
1,223
In the last 10 years
Inside the city limits
129
the rest within 2 miles
All years on file
2,224
median 305 ft, since 2002
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 215 feet below the surface (1,088 wells).

What is under Amarillo, TexasUnderground column at the center of Amarillo: median well 302 ft, middle half 282 to 445 ft, water at 215 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Ogallala: 0 to 288 ftOgallalaDockum: 288 to 439 ftDockumBelow the base of the model0200400600ftGround level · 3,677 ft above sea levelMedian well: 302 ftWater standing in the well from 215 ftWater level215 ftMedian well302 ftMiddle half282–445 ft
Layers at the center of Amarillo from TWDB's High Plains Aquifer System model (half mile cells, read here on a grid of about 1.2 by 1.4 miles), at true depth scale. The well and the water are the median of 1,223 real wells.

Which formation do wells in Amarillo draw from?

No single layer dominates: 49% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, and 46% draw from the Ogallala Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Read that as the base of the Ogallala or the top of the Dockum, not a certainty: where our method names the Dockum, the state's own record agrees only about 33% of the time (61% for wells with a screened interval), and most of the others are recorded as Ogallala wells.

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Dockumat or just below the base of the Ogallala49%597380–470
Ogallala46%556280–285
Near or below the base of the Dockumor of the Ogallala6%70286–335

For 99% of these wells the report says where the water enters (the screen or the open hole), and we use the middle of that interval.

The layers under the center of Amarillo

From the state's model, at 3,677 feet above sea level. These are the model's depths at that one point, not those of any particular lot.

Depths in feet below ground.
Layer (state's model)Top (ft)Bottom (ft)Thickness (ft)
Ogallalasand, gravel, silt and caliche0288288
Dockumred mudstone, sandstone and conglomerate288439151

Depth over time

Home well depth in and around Amarillo has not changed meaningfully in 20 years: the median was 300 feet in 2003 to 2007 and 304 feet in 2021 to 2025 (a difference under 10% or within the margin of error).

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–2005300300
2006–2010300327
2011–2015340303
2016–2020290503
2021–2025304694
202638597

What a well costs in Amarillo

At the median depth for Amarillo (302 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $10,000 to $24,500: $25 to $60 per foot for drilling, casing and seal, plus $2,500 to $6,500 for the pump, pressure tank, controls and hookup at the well. Across the whole middle half of depths (282 to 445 feet) the range runs from $9,500 to $33,000. This is TerraFunded's estimate from published Texas prices, not a quote, and it leaves out trenching and the line to the house. Get prices from at least two licensed drillers.

Where it sits

Nearby places

Median depth of home wells in each place.

All Texas cities and towns

Common questions

How deep do you have to drill a well in Amarillo, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Amarillo, Texas are typically 282 to 445 feet deep (median 302 ft, 1,223 wells drilled in the last 10 years). One in ten goes past 480 feet. The depth a given tract needs depends on where it sits and what layers the driller hits.

What aquifer or formation do wells in Amarillo draw from?

No single layer dominates: 49% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, and 46% draw from the Ogallala Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Read that as the base of the Ogallala or the top of the Dockum, not a certainty: where our method names the Dockum, the state's own record agrees only about 33% of the time (61% for wells with a screened interval), and most of the others are recorded as Ogallala wells. This is an estimate from the state's regional model, not a survey of the lot.

How much does a water well cost in Amarillo?

At the median depth (302 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $10,000 to $24,500, by TerraFunded's estimate from published Texas driller prices. The real price comes from a licensed driller's quote.

How deep is the water in Amarillo?

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 215 feet below the surface (1,088 wells). The level moves with drought and from one well to the next.

Do I need a permit to drill a well in Amarillo?

Amarillo is inside the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District. Groundwater conservation districts in Texas can require registering or permitting a new well, keeping set distances from property lines and other wells, and paying fees. Rules differ from district to district: ask the district before drilling.

How these numbers are made

We count new and replacement domestic (home) wells whose coordinates fall inside the place boundary or within 2 miles of it. We use the last 10 years when there are at least 30 wells; otherwise all since 2001. The median is the middle well and the middle half runs from the 25th to the 75th percentile.

To tell which layer a well draws from, we take the ground elevation at its location, subtract the depth of the interval where water enters (or the bottom of the hole when the report does not give one) and see which layer of the state's model that point falls in.

For 99% of these wells the report says where the water enters (the screen or the open hole), and we use the middle of that interval.

How well it works: In 22,814 wells in the Texas part of the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (the Panhandle, the South Plains and the Permian Basin) where the State of Texas recorded the aquifer, the formation our method says the well draws from (as grouped on these pages) is the one the state recorded in about 75% of them; when it names the Dockum (4,542 wells), the state's record agrees only about 33% of the time, and most of the others are recorded as Ogallala wells.

  • The layers come from the Texas Water Development Board's High Plains Aquifer System model, with half mile cells, read here on a grid of about 1.2 by 1.4 miles. It is a regional model, not a survey of any lot.
  • The state's model has half mile cells; we read it on a grid of about 1.2 by 1.4 miles, Texas part only. Layers from version 1.01 (2015); the 2025 extension (1.02) did not change them. It is not a survey of any lot, so we give ranges.
  • Figures go by four groups: Ogallala; Pecos Valley; Edwards-Trinity and Rita Blanca (Cretaceous rock under the Ogallala; the Rita Blanca alone matched the state 19%); Dockum (upper and lower together: the state's codes almost never say which). The Edwards-Trinity group joins three aquifers in different places (High Plains around Lubbock, Plateau around Midland and Odessa, Rita Blanca in Dallam and Hartley): county and place pages name the local one where they can.
  • Dockum: when our method names the Dockum, the state's record agrees only 33% of the time over all years (61% for wells with a screened interval, which is 93% of home wells of the last 10 years); most of the rest are recorded as Ogallala wells. The median well we put in the Dockum ends about 18 ft under the base of the Ogallala as the model draws it. So these pages say "at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum", never a certain formation. The state's own 2025 report on this model says depth alone overstates the upper Dockum.
  • "Near or below the base" means the well ends near or below the base of the Dockum, or of the Ogallala where there is no Dockum (Permian red beds; Gray, Carson, Donley, Moore and north Potter counties). Half of these wells end within about 51 ft of the base, and the state usually records them as Ogallala or Dockum wells. That is not an error: the model simply ends there.
  • For old wells without a screened interval (bottom of the hole) the method is only a little better than always saying Ogallala (65% against 58%); with an interval it is 89% against 80%. Figures over all years carry that weakness; last 10 years figures rest almost entirely on intervals.
  • We never use the model's water levels. The water level on this page is the one each driller measured when the well was finished.

These are depths of real wells drilled nearby, not a promise about any property. Groundwater can change over short distances and with drought. A licensed water well driller can tell you what to expect on a specific tract.

Read the full methodology · Download the data (CSV, CC BY 4.0)

How to cite

TerraFunded (2026). Texas Well Atlas: Underground. From Texas Water Development Board driller reports and groundwater availability models (data as of November 10, 2026). https://terrafunded.com/wells/places/amarillo-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources