What determines how deep a well has to be?

Depth is set by where the reliable water-bearing zone sits below your property - the depth to a productive aquifer. That depends on local geology: valley-fill and alluvial aquifers, bedrock formations, the depth to the water table, and how the land sits relative to recharge sources.

Is the typical county depth what my well will be?

Not necessarily. A county-typical figure is a useful planning number, but depth can vary substantially within a county - even between neighboring parcels. For a property-specific estimate, use a tool that pulls actual driller logs near your address.

Why does depth matter for cost?

Depth is the single biggest driver of well cost, because most of the price is charged per foot. A well twice as deep generally costs roughly twice as much to drill and case.

Typical Water Well Depths by Utah County

How deep you'll have to drill is the single biggest thing that sets what a well costs — and it varies enormously across Utah. Here's a typical depth for every county, drawn from Utah Division of Water Rights driller logs, plus why the spread is so wide.

The range: typical Utah domestic wells run from about 100 feet to 350 feet, with a statewide median near 250 feet. The shallowest counties are Box Elder and Grand; the deepest include Salt Lake, Juab, Garfield, Wayne. Find yours below.

Typical well depth, all 29 counties

County	Typical depth	Primary city
Beaver County	300 ft	Beaver
Box Elder County	100 ft	Brigham City
Cache County	250 ft	Logan
Carbon County	250 ft	Price
Daggett County	250 ft	Manila
Davis County	250 ft	Farmington
Duchesne County	200 ft	Duchesne
Emery County	250 ft	Castle Dale
Garfield County	350 ft	Panguitch
Grand County	100 ft	Moab
Iron County	300 ft	Parowan
Juab County	350 ft	Nephi
Kane County	300 ft	Kanab
Millard County	300 ft	Fillmore
Morgan County	200 ft	Morgan
Piute County	300 ft	Junction
Rich County	200 ft	Randolph
Salt Lake County	350 ft	Salt Lake City
San Juan County	250 ft	Monticello
Sanpete County	250 ft	Manti
Sevier County	300 ft	Richfield
Summit County	300 ft	Coalville
Tooele County	250 ft	Tooele
Uintah County	150 ft	Vernal
Utah County	200 ft	Provo
Wasatch County	250 ft	Heber City
Washington County	200 ft	St. George
Wayne County	350 ft	Loa
Weber County	180 ft	Ogden

"Typical" here is a planning figure from the body of driller logs in each county — not a guarantee for any one parcel.

Why depth varies so much

A well is only as deep as it needs to be to reach a reliable, productive water-bearing zone. Where that zone sits depends almost entirely on local geology:

Valley-fill and alluvial aquifers. Utah's populated valleys are floored by deep sand-and-gravel and lake-bed sediments shed off the mountains. These make excellent aquifers, but the productive layer can sit anywhere from shallow to several hundred feet down. Cache County wells typically run 150-350 feet, completed in alluvial fan and lake-bed sediments of Cache Valley. Bear River-fed aquifers are reliable.
Bedrock. Where valley fill is thin or absent, wells finish in bedrock — sandstone, fractured volcanics, or limestone — and yield depends on hitting fractures or porous layers.
Depth to the water table. Closer to a river, lake, or the valley floor, water sits higher; up on benches and alluvial fans it sits deeper.
Recharge and basin position. A parcel near the mountain front or a perennial stream often reaches water sooner than one out in a dry basin interior.

Because of all this, two neighbors can drill noticeably different depths — the county figure is the starting point, not the final answer.

What it means for your budget

Cost tracks depth almost directly, because drilling and casing are charged per foot. A 350-foot county like Salt Lake runs a much bigger drilling bill than a 100-foot county like Box Elder — though, counterintuitively, very shallow wells cost more per foot because of fixed setup costs. The full picture is in how much a Utah water well costs.

Get a depth estimate for your exact address

A county figure is a planning number. Our calculator pulls the actual driller logs from wells near any Utah address and estimates the likely depth, cost range, yield, and water quality for your parcel in about ten seconds.

Run my address

Frequently asked questions

How deep are water wells in Utah?

Typical domestic wells run from about 100 to 350 feet depending on the county, with a statewide median around 250 feet. Box Elder and Grand counties are the shallowest; Salt Lake, Juab, Garfield, Wayne are among the deepest.

What determines how deep my well has to be?

The depth to a reliable, productive water-bearing zone under your property — which is set by local geology: valley-fill versus bedrock aquifers, the depth to the water table, and where the parcel sits in the basin.

Will my well be exactly the county-typical depth?

Not necessarily. The county figure is a solid planning number, but depth can vary a lot within a county and even between adjacent parcels. Use an address-level estimate for anything you're budgeting against.

Why does depth matter so much for cost?

Most of a well's price is charged per foot of depth, so depth is the dominant cost driver — a well twice as deep generally costs roughly twice as much to drill and case.

About this data: Typical depths are derived from the body of Utah Division of Water Rights driller logs behind this site's calculator, summarized to one representative figure per county. They are planning estimates, not guarantees — actual depth at any parcel is confirmed only by drilling.