Site Prep Costs in Texas: Well, Septic, and Electric Explained

By Justin·January 15, 2025·7 min read

If you are putting a manufactured home on raw Texas land, the home itself is rarely your biggest expense surprise. The three killers are well, septic, and electric — and they vary wildly across the state. Here are real numbers from real installs in 2024 and 2025, broken down by region.

Well Drilling

Texas well costs depend entirely on how deep the water table is in your area, and that changes dramatically across the state.

East Texas (Tyler, Lufkin, Beaumont): $7,000-$12,000. Shallow water table, often 80-150 feet. Easier drilling, cheaper.

Central Texas (Austin, Waco, Hill Country): $10,000-$18,000. Limestone aquifers, medium depth (150-400 feet). Drilling through rock is slower and pricier.

South Texas (San Antonio south to the Valley): $9,000-$15,000. Carrizo and Gulf Coast aquifers, moderate depth.

West Texas (Midland, Lubbock, El Paso): $14,000-$25,000+. Deep water tables (400-800+ feet), low yield in some areas, sometimes require deeper specialized casing.

North Texas (DFW area): $10,000-$16,000. Trinity aquifer, medium depth, fairly predictable.

Other costs that come with the well: Pressure tank ($800-$1,500), well house / pump house ($1,500-$3,500), water filtration if minerals are heavy ($1,200-$4,000), permit and inspection ($150-$500).

Always pull a drilling log report for your county before quoting. Most TX counties publish them through the Texas Water Development Board.

Septic Systems

This is where Texas counties have gotten strict. Two main types:

Conventional Gravity Septic

Cost: $5,500-$9,000 installed.
Requirements: typically need 0.5+ acres, percolation test must pass, soil must drain.
Approved in: many older subdivisions, some rural counties with sandy soil (East Texas).
Lifespan: 25-40 years with good maintenance.

Aerobic Treatment Unit (ATU) Septic

Cost: $10,000-$18,000 installed.
Requirements: required in most rural Texas counties built after 2000, in counties with clay soil, smaller lots, near water bodies.
Lifespan: 20-30 years, requires quarterly maintenance contract (~$300/year).

Counties that REQUIRE aerobic for new installs in 2025: Bexar, Comal, Hays, Travis, Bandera, Kendall, Williamson, Caldwell, and most counties surrounding any lake or river.

Permits: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) handles the rules, but local Authorized Agents (usually your county environmental office) issue the permit. Cost: $300-$700.

Don't forget: You need a licensed installer (TCEQ Site Evaluator + Installer II at minimum). Never let an unlicensed installer set your septic — you cannot get permits closed and the home will not pass final inspection.

Electric Service

Wildly variable depending on how close existing lines are.

Best case (utility pole at the property line): $1,800-$3,500. Just need a meter pole, service panel, and the utility's connection fee.

Mid case (need to extend 100-300 feet): $3,500-$8,000. Utility company runs new line, usually charges per pole + per foot.

Worst case (need 500+ feet of new line): $10,000-$30,000+. This is where rural buyers get blindsided. Always call the utility BEFORE buying the land to get a written line extension quote.

Other costs: Service panel ($1,200-$2,500), meter pole ($500-$1,000), underground vs overhead trenching ($800-$3,000), inspection fees ($150-$400).

Co-ops to know: Most rural Texas is served by electric co-ops (Pedernales, Bluebonnet, GVEC, CoServ, etc.). Their connection policies differ from investor-owned utilities like Oncor or CenterPoint. Always check the co-op's published line-extension policy.

Realistic Total Site Prep Budgets

For raw Texas land needing everything:

Best case (East TX, easy access): $18,000-$28,000 total
Average case (Central / South TX): $28,000-$45,000 total
Difficult case (West TX, remote, deep well): $45,000-$75,000+ total

If you are budgeting for a $75,000 home plus raw land, plan for total project cost of $100,000-$140,000 depending on where in Texas you are. That is the honest number nobody at the dealership will tell you.

The single best move: get written quotes from a well driller, a septic installer, and the local electric utility BEFORE you commit to the home. A weekend of phone calls can save you from a six-figure surprise.