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How deep are water wells in Austin, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Austin, Texas are typically 430 to 800 feet deep (median 570 ft, 337 wells drilled in the last 10 years). No single layer dominates: 32% draw from the Lower Trinity, 26% from the lower Trinity (Twin Mountains and Travis Peak) and 16% from the upper Trinity (Paluxy and Glen Rose), according to the state's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model and the Hill Country Trinity model (TWDB). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $17,000 to $40,500.

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 pointTravis County
What is under Austin, TexasUnderground column at the center of Austin: median well 570 ft, middle half 430 to 800 ft, water at 322 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Above the Woodbine: 0 to 285 ftAbove the WoodbineWoodbine: 285 to 315 ftWashita and Fredericksburg: 315 to 906 ftWashita and Frederick…Upper Trinity: 906 to 1,470 ftUpper Trinitycontinues to 2,394 ft02004006008001,000ftGround level · 605 ft above sea levelMedian well: 570 ftWater standing in the well from 322 ftWater level322 ftMiddle half430–800 ftMedian well570 ft

Under Austin, Travis County

Layers at the center of Austin from TWDB's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (quarter mile cells, summarized here to about 1.3 miles), at true depth scale. The well and the water are the median of 337 real wells.

Home wells in and around Austin

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: Austin and about 2 miles around it

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
430 to 800 feet
Median depth
570 feet
Deepest 10% are past
850 feet
Water level (median)
322 feet
236 wells
Yield (median)
30 gpm
292 wells, gallons per minute
Wells used
337
In the last 10 years
Inside the city limits
246
the rest within 2 miles
All years on file
1,043
median 550 ft, since 1999
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 322 feet below the surface (236 wells).

What is under Austin, TexasUnderground column at the center of Austin: median well 570 ft, middle half 430 to 800 ft, water at 322 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Above the Woodbine: 0 to 285 ftAbove the WoodbineWoodbine: 285 to 315 ftWashita and Fredericksburg: 315 to 906 ftWashita and Frederick…Upper Trinity: 906 to 1,470 ftUpper Trinitycontinues to 2,394 ft02004006008001,000ftGround level · 605 ft above sea levelMedian well: 570 ftWater standing in the well from 322 ftWater level322 ftMiddle half430–800 ftMedian well570 ft
Layers at the center of Austin from TWDB's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (quarter mile cells, summarized here to about 1.3 miles), at true depth scale. The well and the water are the median of 337 real wells.

Which formation do wells in Austin draw from?

No single layer dominates: 32% draw from the Lower Trinity, 26% from the lower Trinity (Twin Mountains and Travis Peak) and 16% from the upper Trinity (Paluxy and Glen Rose), according to the state's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model and the Hill Country Trinity model (TWDB). Read that as the most likely layer, not a certain one: where our method names the Lower Trinity, the state's own aquifer code agrees in about 53% of wells.

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Lower Trinity32%86650–850
Lower TrinityTwin Mountains and Travis Peak26%71460–550
Upper TrinityPaluxy and Glen Rose16%44725–842
Middle Trinity15%41350–648
Washita and Fredericksburg7%19245–472
Above the Woodbine2%642–74
Near or below the base of the Trinity2%4—

For 93% 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 Austin

From the state's model, at 605 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)
Above the Woodbineshale, chalk and marl0285285
Woodbinesandstone with shale28531530
Washita and Fredericksburglimestone, marl and clay315906591
Upper Trinitysandstone, limestone and marl9061,470564
Lower Trinitysandstone with shale and limestone1,4702,394924

Depth over time

Home well depth in and around Austin has not changed meaningfully in 20 years: the median was 525 feet in 2003 to 2007 and 610 feet in 2021 to 2025 (a difference under 10% or within the margin of error).

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–2005540180
2006–2010490292
2011–2015570194
2016–2020550196
2021–2025610155
202660025

What a well costs in Austin

At the median depth for Austin (570 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $17,000 to $40,500: $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 (430 to 800 feet) the range runs from $13,500 to $54,500. 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 Austin, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Austin, Texas are typically 430 to 800 feet deep (median 570 ft, 337 wells drilled in the last 10 years). One in ten goes past 850 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 Austin draw from?

No single layer dominates: 32% draw from the Lower Trinity, 26% from the lower Trinity (Twin Mountains and Travis Peak) and 16% from the upper Trinity (Paluxy and Glen Rose), according to the state's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model and the Hill Country Trinity model (TWDB). Read that as the most likely layer, not a certain one: where our method names the Lower Trinity, the state's own aquifer code agrees in about 53% of 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 Austin?

At the median depth (570 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $17,000 to $40,500, 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 Austin?

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 322 feet below the surface (236 wells). The level moves with drought and from one well to the next.

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

Austin is inside the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer 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 93% 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 7,977 wells in the area of the state's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model (North and Central Texas) where the State of Texas recorded the aquifer, our estimate of the formation the well draws from names the same layer of the state's model in about 74% of them, and that layer or the one next to it in at least 95%; among the 3,130 of those wells that the state places in a Trinity layer (Paluxy to Hosston) it is about 56%.

  • The layers come from the Texas Water Development Board's Northern Trinity and Woodbine model, with quarter mile cells, summarized here to about 1.3 miles. It is a regional model, not a survey of any lot: between one model point and the next, the real depth of each layer can differ.
  • In this model every layer is at least 30 feet thick, even where the real rock is thinner or missing. Thin layers and the edges of the model are approximate.
  • Inside the Trinity this atlas does not name single model layers: it groups the Paluxy and Glen Rose (upper Trinity) and groups the Hensell, Pearsall and Hosston (lower Trinity, Twin Mountains and Travis Peak), because the check against the state's codes shows the method cannot separate them reliably.
  • "Near or below the base of the Trinity" means the well reaches the bottom of the model or passes it, often by tens of feet. Older rock that the model does not include may lie there.
  • 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/austin-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources