HomeBasement waterproofing cost calculator
Basement waterproofing cost calculator
Cost guides put basement waterproofing in the US at $2,461 to $8,202 for a whole job, with a median published average of $5,000. Pick interior, exterior or a sump pump and a city to see that job's range, or enter a size for a per-square-foot figure.
Under the price, the calculator shows whether water is likely to be a recurring problem where you live: USDA's soil survey rates a shallow water table a limit for basements on more than half the mapped land in 1,061 of the 3,122 US counties it covers. Enter a ZIP code and it looks up your county (USDA SSURGO, August 5, 2026).
Basement waterproofing, whole job · the US
low end
typical: median of the published averages
high end
Published figures in the US for basement waterproofing, whole job: $2,461 to $8,202, the median low and high end across 7 sources (pages updated June 14, 2024 to July 20, 2026).
These are ranges guides publish, not a quote. Written quotes from licensed contractors, after someone has found where the water comes from, are what set the price of one house. We don't do the work.
| Source | Where | Published range | Average | Page updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angi | US | $2,461 to $8,202 | $5,241 | July 20, 2026 |
| Thumbtack | US | $1,903 to $6,556 | $3,494 | July 10, 2026 |
| HomeAdvisor | US | $2,461 to $8,202 | $5,241 | June 17, 2026 |
| Fixr | US | $3,000 to $10,000 | $5,000 | February 6, 2026 |
| HomeGuide | US | $6,000 to $18,000 | January 23, 2026 | |
| Forbes Home | US | $3,000 to $10,000 | $5,000 | December 1, 2024 |
| Bob Vila | US | $2,300 to $7,575 | $4,920 | June 14, 2024 |
Is the water table high where you live?
This is the county's share of land where USDA records a saturated zone within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year. It is a county figure, not the water level at one lot. For one address, use USDA's Web Soil Survey or a nearby well record.
Example result
ZIP 43215 · Franklin County, OH
of Franklin County's mapped land: a shallow water table limits basements
inside Columbus city limits
USDA's soil survey records a saturated zone within about 6 feet of the surface for part of the year on more than half of the county's mapped land. That is a county share, not the water level at one lot, and it doesn't say whether a drain is needed. Surface fixes (gutters, downspouts, grade) come first, and a drain on a lot with a high water table usually needs a place to send the water, such as a sump pit or daylight. Full Franklin County page.
How the calculator works
Each job type is a set of price ranges published by cost guides, in 8 sources and 40 rows, read on September 28, 2026. The low end is the median of the sources' low ends, the high end is the median of their high ends, and the typical figure is the median of the averages a guide publishes. Pick a city and the figures come from the guides that price that city; a city with no published range falls back to the US figures and says so. A range is what a guide publishes, not a quote.
Worked example: the sources that publish a per-square-foot price put it at $3 to $10 at the median, so 1,000 square feet is 1,000 x $3 = $3,000 at the low end and 1,000 x $10 = $10,000 at the high end.
Angi and HomeAdvisor publish closely matching ranges, and HomeAdvisor is part of Angi, so agreement between them is one source's number repeated. A single-source range says so under the result.
US ranges by job type
The same medians for every job type, before you pick a city.
| Job | Low end | Median average | High end | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basement waterproofing, whole job | $2,461 | $5,000 | $8,202 | 7 |
| Interior waterproofing (drain and sump) | $2,000 | $6,000 | 3 | |
| Exterior waterproofing (excavation) | $7,000 | $15,000 | 3 | |
| Sump pump installation | $800 | $1,200 | $2,500 | 7 |
What the numbers leave out
A published range averages many houses. One basement's price depends on where the water comes from, the wall type, how much of the perimeter needs a drain, access and local labor, which no cost guide can see. Exterior work needs excavation and runs well above interior drains; an interior system treats water that has already reached the wall. A written quote from a licensed contractor, after someone has found the source of the water, is what sets one price. We don't do the work.
More on prices and causes: basement waterproofing cost (every published range), wet basements, basement flooding and the French drain calculator. Foundation work: foundation repair cost calculator.
Sources: cost guides linked in the tables (read September 28, 2026) · USDA SSURGO (August 5, 2026) · Methods