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How deep are water wells in Gainesville, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Gainesville, Texas are typically 540 to 665 feet deep (median 625 ft, 52 wells drilled in the last 10 years). Nearly all (96%) draw from the Trinity, which the state maps here as one undivided unit, the Antlers Formation; by depth, roughly 54% fall in its upper part and 42% in its lower part, an approximate split. Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $18,000 to $44,000.

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 pointCooke County
What is under Gainesville, TexasUnderground column at the center of Gainesville: median well 625 ft, middle half 540 to 665 ft, water at 404 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Washita and Fredericksburg: 0 to 223 ftWashita and Frederick…Upper Trinity: 223 to 649 ftUpper TrinityLower Trinity: 649 to 964 ftLower Trinitycontinues to 964 ft0200400600800ftGround level · 772 ft above sea levelMedian well: 625 ftWater standing in the well from 404 ftWater level404 ftMiddle half540–665 ftMedian well625 ft

Under Gainesville, Cooke County

Layers at the center of Gainesville 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 52 real wells.

Home wells in and around Gainesville

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: Gainesville and about 2 miles around it

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
540 to 665 feet
Median depth
625 feet
Deepest 10% are past
699 feet
Water level (median)
404 feet
32 wells
Yield (median)
13 gpm
41 wells, gallons per minute
Wells used
52
In the last 10 years
Inside the city limits
9
the rest within 2 miles
All years on file
159
median 583 ft, since 2001
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 404 feet below the surface (32 wells).

What is under Gainesville, TexasUnderground column at the center of Gainesville: median well 625 ft, middle half 540 to 665 ft, water at 404 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Washita and Fredericksburg: 0 to 223 ftWashita and Frederick…Upper Trinity: 223 to 649 ftUpper TrinityLower Trinity: 649 to 964 ftLower Trinitycontinues to 964 ft0200400600800ftGround level · 772 ft above sea levelMedian well: 625 ftWater standing in the well from 404 ftWater level404 ftMiddle half540–665 ftMedian well625 ft
Layers at the center of Gainesville 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 52 real wells.

Which formation do wells in Gainesville draw from?

Nearly all (96%) draw from the Trinity, which the state maps here as one undivided unit, the Antlers Formation; by depth, roughly 54% fall in its upper part and 42% in its lower part, an approximate split.

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Upper TrinityPaluxy and Glen Rose54%28509–585
Lower TrinityTwin Mountains and Travis Peak42%22648–698
Washita and Fredericksburg4%2—

For 92% 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 Gainesville

From the state's model, at 772 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)
Washita and Fredericksburglimestone, marl and clay0223223
Upper Trinitysandstone, limestone and marl223649426
Lower Trinitysandstone with shale and limestone649964315

Depth over time

Home well depth in and around Gainesville has not changed meaningfully in 20 years: the median was 544 feet in 2003 to 2007 and 620 feet in 2021 to 2025 (a difference under 10% or within the margin of error).

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–200554531
2006–201057445
2011–201556624
2016–202065824
2021–202562032
2026under 10 wells3

What a well costs in Gainesville

At the median depth for Gainesville (625 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $18,000 to $44,000: $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 (540 to 665 feet) the range runs from $16,000 to $46,500. 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 Gainesville, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Gainesville, Texas are typically 540 to 665 feet deep (median 625 ft, 52 wells drilled in the last 10 years). One in ten goes past 699 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 Gainesville draw from?

Nearly all (96%) draw from the Trinity, which the state maps here as one undivided unit, the Antlers Formation; by depth, roughly 54% fall in its upper part and 42% in its lower part, an approximate split. This is an estimate from the state's regional model, not a survey of the lot.

How much does a water well cost in Gainesville?

At the median depth (625 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $18,000 to $44,000, 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 Gainesville?

When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 404 feet below the surface (32 wells). The level moves with drought and from one well to the next.

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

Gainesville is inside the North Texas 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 92% 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.
  • In this area, north and west of Fort Worth, the state maps the Trinity as one undivided unit, the Antlers Formation. The model cuts it into layers by depth; the split between upper and lower Trinity shown here is approximate, and the depth ranges are the solid part.
  • "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/gainesville-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources