How deep are water wells in Harlingen, Texas?
Home water wells in and around Harlingen, Texas vary a lot in depth: the middle half are 50 to 112 feet deep (median 60 ft, 75 wells drilled in the last 10 years), so look at the wells closest to the tract. New wells run about 53% shallower than 20 years ago (median 127 ft in 2003 to 2007, 60 ft in 2021 to 2025). Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $4,000 to $10,000.
Updated every day from Texas Water Development Board driller reports. Last update: November 11, 2026, using the state file of November 10, 2026.
Under Harlingen, Cameron County
The well and the water are the median of 75 real wells. This atlas does not have a state layer model for this area yet.
Digging in…
Home wells in and around Harlingen
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.
Well depth (ft)
- <100
- 100
- 200
- 300
- 400
- 600
- 800+
Dashed line: Harlingen and about 2 miles around it
Green: aquifer mapped by the state
Key figures
- Typical depth (middle half)
- 50 to 112 feet
- Median depth
- 60 feet
- Deepest 10% are past
- 181 feet
- Water level (median)
- 10 feet
- 73 wells
- Yield (median)
- 40 gpm
- 63 wells, gallons per minute
- Wells used
- 75
- In the last 10 years
- Inside the city limits
- 12
- the rest within 2 miles
- All years on file
- 281
- median 85 ft, since 2001
- Confidence
- Standard (30 or more wells)
When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 10 feet below the surface (73 wells), well above the bottom: the typical well holds about 50 feet of water.
Which formation do wells in Harlingen draw from?
We cannot say yet for Harlingen. This atlas assigns layers with the TWDB layered models processed so far (the Northern Trinity and Woodbine model, the Hill Country Trinity model, the northern Gulf Coast Aquifer model and the High Plains Aquifer System model), and none covers this area with enough wells. The depth, water level and yield on this page do come from the real wells here.
Depth over time
New home wells in and around Harlingen are shallower than 20 years ago: the median went from 127 feet (2003 to 2007) to 60 feet (2021 to 2025), 53% less. That usually happens when new homes go up in a different area or drillers switch layers.
| Period | Median depth (ft) | Wells |
|---|---|---|
| 2001–2005 | 127 | 117 |
| 2006–2010 | 95 | 46 |
| 2011–2015 | 53 | 39 |
| 2016–2020 | 60 | 37 |
| 2021–2025 | 60 | 41 |
| 2026 | under 10 wells | 1 |
What a well costs in Harlingen
At the median depth for Harlingen (60 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $4,000 to $10,000: $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 (50 to 112 feet) the range runs from $4,000 to $13,000. 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
- Wells in Cameron County
- City · 26.1916, -97.6977
Nearby places
Median depth of home wells in each place.
- Las Palmas II 60 ft
- Palm Valley 126 ft
- Combes 55 ft
- Primera 65 ft
- Lasana 46 ft
- San Benito 145 ft
Common questions
How deep do you have to drill a well in Harlingen, Texas?
Home water wells in and around Harlingen, Texas vary a lot in depth: the middle half are 50 to 112 feet deep (median 60 ft, 75 wells drilled in the last 10 years), so look at the wells closest to the tract. One in ten goes past 181 feet. The depth a given tract needs depends on where it sits and what layers the driller hits.
How much does a water well cost in Harlingen?
At the median depth (60 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $4,000 to $10,000, 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 Harlingen?
When the wells were finished, the water stood a median 10 feet below the surface (73 wells), well above the bottom: the typical well holds about 50 feet of water. The level moves with drought and from one well to the next.
Do I need a permit to drill a well in Harlingen?
In the state's boundary file (current as of November 2019) no groundwater conservation district covers Harlingen. Districts created or enlarged since then are missing from that file, so confirm with the county or TWDB before drilling. Anywhere in Texas the well must be drilled by a licensed driller, who files the report with the state.
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.
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/harlingen-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.
Sources
- Submitted Driller's Reports database, Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) (file of November 10, 2026)
- Texas place boundaries, U.S. Census Bureau (2023 cartographic boundary file)
- Ground elevation: Terrain Tiles (Mapzen), Registry of Open Data on AWS
- TWDB well report viewer (each well's official report)