Well vs City Water Calculator
| City water totals | 10 yrs | 20 yrs | 30 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30/mo bill | $3,600 | $7,200 | $10,800 |
| $50/mo bill | $6,000 | $12,000 | $18,000 |
| $70/mo bill | $8,400 | $16,800 | $25,200 |
| $90/mo bill | $10,800 | $21,600 | $32,400 |
Enter your monthly city water bill, what a drilled well would cost, the yearly running cost, and how long you expect to stay. The calculator totals both sides over your years, finds the payback point, and shows the month the well starts winning - if it ever does.
The framing that keeps this honest: the well is a long-stay bet. At typical bills the payback lands around two decades, which means movers and short-horizon owners pay the well premium for water they could have bought cheaper - and then inherit the testing duty the city used to do for them.
How to use
- Monthly bill is the water line only - skip sewer, which most wells do not eliminate.
- Well price is the drilled complete package: drilling, casing, pump, pressure tank, wiring and connection - typically $5,000-15,000 by depth and geology.
- Running cost default $300 a year folds in pump power, annual bacteria and nitrate testing, and upkeep; a pump replacement around year 10-15 adds $1,500-2,500.
- Years staying is the lever that flips the answer - run it at both your optimistic and pessimistic move dates.
Frequently asked questions
Is well water cheaper than city water?
Monthly, usually yes - a well's running cost of a few hundred dollars a year beats even a modest $60 city bill. But the drilled well is a $9,000 head start the water must pay back, which at that bill takes about 21 years of staying put. Cheap water plus a long horizon wins; anything shorter stays on the meter.
Whose job is water safety with a private well?
Yours entirely - EPA puts it plainly: private well owners are responsible for delivering safe drinking water to their households. That means annual bacteria and nitrate tests at minimum, plus testing after floods or any nearby land-use change; the city utility does this continuously and folds it into the bill.
How long does a well pump last?
Submersible pumps typically run 10-15 years, and pulling and replacing one costs $1,500-2,500 depending on depth. It is the well's built-in second purchase - the calculator's running cost covers testing and power, so budget the pump as its own line around year 12.
Does a well add or subtract home value?
Both ways: in rural markets a good well with clean test records is a selling point, while an untested one is a buyer's discount - lenders and inspectors increasingly want a recent potability result. Keep the paperwork; it converts your running cost into resale value.
What about drought and wells?
Wells do not dry on a schedule, but shallow wells falter in multi-year droughts while municipal systems usually hold pressure. The honest hedge is depth at drilling time - the extra casing feet cost far less than a re-drill - plus the low-flow habits the well flow rate calculator helps you plan around.