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How deep are water wells in Muleshoe, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Muleshoe, Texas are consistently 216 to 235 feet deep (median 225 ft, 57 wells reported since 2001). No single layer dominates: 51% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, and 49% are completed in the Ogallala Aquifer, according to the state's High Plains Aquifer System model (TWDB). Most of these reports do not say where the water enters, so the formation is a rough guide. Estimated cost of a complete well at the median depth: $8,000 to $20,000.

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 pointBailey County
What is under Muleshoe, TexasUnderground column at the center of Muleshoe: median well 225 ft, middle half 216 to 235 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Ogallala: 0 to 206 ftOgallalaDockum: 206 to 1,644 ftDockumcontinues to 1,644 ft0100200300ftGround level · 3,800 ft above sea levelMedian well: 225 ftMiddle half216–235 ftMedian well225 ft

Under Muleshoe, Bailey County

Layers at the center of Muleshoe 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 57 real wells.

Home wells in and around Muleshoe

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: Muleshoe and about 2 miles around it

Key figures

Typical depth (middle half)
216 to 235 feet
Median depth
225 feet
Deepest 10% are past
242 feet
Wells used
57
Since 2001
Inside the city limits
2
the rest within 2 miles
All years on file
57
median 225 ft, since 2002
Confidence
Standard (30 or more wells)
What is under Muleshoe, TexasUnderground column at the center of Muleshoe: median well 225 ft, middle half 216 to 235 ft, and the layers of the state's model with their thickness.Ogallala: 0 to 206 ftOgallalaDockum: 206 to 1,644 ftDockumcontinues to 1,644 ft0100200300ftGround level · 3,800 ft above sea levelMedian well: 225 ftMiddle half216–235 ftMedian well225 ft
Layers at the center of Muleshoe 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 57 real wells.

Which formation do wells in Muleshoe draw from?

No single layer dominates: 51% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, and 49% are completed in 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. Most of these wells have no screened interval on their report, and for those the method is only a little better than always answering the Ogallala (it matches the state's record about 65% of the time, against 58%): read the formation as a rough guide.

Going by the bottom of the hole instead of where the water enters, 77% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum.

Layer (state's model)ShareWellsTypical depth (ft)
Dockumat or just below the base of the Ogallala51%29224–238
Ogallala49%28214–226

Only 39% of these wells have the water-bearing interval on their report (reports before about 2012 rarely do). For the others we use the bottom of the hole, which tends to read one layer deeper than where the water actually comes from.

The layers under the center of Muleshoe

From the state's model, at 3,800 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 caliche0206206
Dockumred mudstone, sandstone and conglomerate2061,6441,438

Depth over time

There are not enough wells in both 2003 to 2007 and 2021 to 2025 (at least 30 in each) to say with confidence whether wells in and around Muleshoe are getting deeper. For reference, the median was 220 feet in 2001 to 2005 (13 wells) and 225 feet in 2021 to 2025 (12 wells).

PeriodMedian depth (ft)Wells
2001–200522013
2006–201022512
2011–2015under 10 wells8
2016–202022212
2021–202522512

What a well costs in Muleshoe

At the median depth for Muleshoe (225 feet), a complete home well would cost roughly $8,000 to $20,000: $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 (216 to 235 feet) the range runs from $8,000 to $20,500. 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 Muleshoe, Texas?

Home water wells in and around Muleshoe, Texas are consistently 216 to 235 feet deep (median 225 ft, 57 wells reported since 2001). One in ten goes past 242 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 Muleshoe draw from?

No single layer dominates: 51% end at or just below the base of the Ogallala, in the top of the Dockum, and 49% are completed in 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. Most of these wells have no screened interval on their report, and for those the method is only a little better than always answering the Ogallala (it matches the state's record about 65% of the time, against 58%): read the formation as a rough guide. This is an estimate from the state's regional model, not a survey of the lot.

How much does a water well cost in Muleshoe?

At the median depth (225 feet), a complete well would cost roughly $8,000 to $20,000, by TerraFunded's estimate from published Texas driller prices. The real price comes from a licensed driller's quote.

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

Muleshoe is inside the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1. 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.

Only 39% of these wells have the water-bearing interval on their report (reports before about 2012 rarely do). For the others we use the bottom of the hole, which tends to read one layer deeper than where the water actually comes from.

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/muleshoe-tx. License CC BY 4.0. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.24126380.

Sources