French drain cost in El Centro, CA
Local estimate from BLS wage data and BEA price levels. Reviewed Nov 4, 2026.
- Typical range (60 linear ft)
- $690 – $2,400
- Per linear ft
- $11.50 – $40
- before permit
- Versus US midpoint
- +15%
- US $1,350
- Rank of 300 metros
- #50
- 1 = most expensive
El Centro homeowners pay roughly $690 to $2,400 to install a French drain at 60 linear ft, or $11.50 to $40 per linear ft (permit not included). Against the US midpoint, El Centro is 15% higher. Construction laborers earn a median of $25.75 an hour in the El Centro area, 14% above the US median of $22.66.
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Estimated cost for 60 linear ft in El Centro, CA, standard level
$1,200 to $1,900
About $20 to $31.50 per linear ft before permits. Labor is about 56% of the bill.
| Part | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | $530 | $830 |
| Labor | $670 | $1,050 |
| Permits and fees | $0 | $0 |
| Total | $1,200 | $1,900 |
Cost breakdown for 60 linear ft in El Centro, CA
| Part of the job | Low | Midpoint | High | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials | $300 | $680 | $1,050 | 44% |
| Labor | $390 | $870 | $1,350 | 56% |
| Permits and fees | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0% |
| Total | $690 | $1,550 | $2,400 | 100% |
Where the El Centro price comes from
Labor is 56% of the midpoint bill here, against 52% nationally. The mix of trades behind this job is construction laborers (50%), operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (30%), pipelayers (20%). We weight each trade's local median wage by that share and compare it with the national median. In El Centro the blended ratio comes out at 1.23.
On the materials line, the BEA goods price index for the El Centro metro is 105.2 (US = 100). The midpoint materials bill for 60 linear ft comes to $680, compared with $650 at national prices. Permit and inspection fees are scaled by the broader index (95.2) and land at $0 to $0.
Data note: 20% of the labor weighting for this project uses a statewide median because BLS has no published metro figure for that trade in El Centro. The wage table below marks each row.
When to schedule French drain in El Centro
We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for El Centro 2 Ssw (in the city). These are 30-year monthly averages, not forecasts.
November through April is the stretch where digging, grading and setting material in the ground runs into the fewest weather problems in El Centro (6 of 12 months). May, June, July, August, September and October have an average daytime high of 90°F or more.
El Centro gets about 3 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are January, February and December (0.4 inches in February). Inside the workable window, April and November are the driest, at 0.1 and 0.2 inches. The station averages about 180 days a year at 90°F or above.
Does the season change the price? Probably, but we do not have a sourced seasonal price curve, so the estimator shows a year-round figure and does not adjust by month. When you collect quotes, ask whether scheduling in a slower month gets a better rate.
| Month | Avg high °F | Avg low °F | Precip (in) | For this job |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 71 | 43 | 0.4 | Workable |
| Feb | 74 | 47 | 0.4 | Workable |
| Mar | 80 | 52 | 0.3 | Workable |
| Apr | 86 | 57 | 0.1 | Workable |
| May | 94 | 63 | 0.0 | Hot |
| Jun | 103 | 71 | 0.0 | Hot |
| Jul | 107 | 78 | 0.1 | Hot |
| Aug | 107 | 79 | 0.2 | Hot |
| Sep | 102 | 73 | 0.3 | Hot |
| Oct | 92 | 62 | 0.2 | Hot |
| Nov | 79 | 51 | 0.2 | Workable |
| Dec | 70 | 43 | 0.4 | Workable |
El Centro against nearby metros and the rest of California
Same job, same size (60 linear ft), priced for the nearest metros. Los Angeles is the priciest of the group at $1,700. Yuma is the cheapest at $1,300.
| Area | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Centro, CAthis page | $690 – $2,400 | $1,550 | |
| San Diego, CA80 miles | $710 – $2,500 | $1,600 | +4% |
| Yuma, AZ85 miles | $590 – $2,050 | $1,300 | −15% |
| Riverside, CA115 miles | $710 – $2,500 | $1,600 | +3% |
| Los Angeles, CA180 miles | $750 – $2,600 | $1,700 | +9% |
| Phoenix, AZ190 miles | $610 – $2,100 | $1,350 | −12% |
| California (statewide) | $740 – $2,600 | $1,650 | +7% |
| United States | $600 – $2,100 | $1,350 | −13% |
Across 300 US metros, El Centro comes in at #50 from the top. The priciest is San Francisco, CA at $1,900; the cheapest is McAllen, TX at $1,100 (midpoints, 60 linear ft). Statewide, El Centro is 7% below the California figure.
Other California metros
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles, CA | 6,271,560 jobs | $750 – $2,600 | $1,700 | +9% |
| San Francisco, CA | 2,373,920 jobs | $840 – $2,950 | $1,900 | +23% |
| Riverside, CA | 1,716,760 jobs | $710 – $2,500 | $1,600 | +3% |
| San Diego, CA | 1,538,060 jobs | $710 – $2,500 | $1,600 | +4% |
| San Jose, CA | 1,134,970 jobs | $820 – $2,850 | $1,850 | +19% |
| Sacramento, CA | 1,080,590 jobs | $740 – $2,600 | $1,650 | +8% |
Cities with a workforce like El Centro's
Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is El Centro against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harrisonburg, VA | 65,460 jobs | $560 – $1,950 | $1,250 | −18% |
| Dalton, GA | 65,300 jobs | $520 – $1,800 | $1,150 | −25% |
| Amherst, MA | 65,670 jobs | $670 – $2,350 | $1,500 | −3% |
| Terre Haute, IN | 65,120 jobs | $610 – $2,150 | $1,400 | −11% |
Planning more than one job in El Centro?
Because every project leans on different trades, El Centro's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, gravel driveway runs +10% and concrete slab +4%.
| Project | Size | Range | vs. US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retaining wall | 200 sq ft of wall face | $7,750 – $14,500 | +9% |
| Gravel driveway | 1,000 sq ft | $2,750 – $11,200 | +10% |
| Sod installation | 1,500 sq ft | $1,650 – $3,550 | +8% |
| Concrete slab | 400 sq ft | $2,550 – $5,400 | +4% |
| Sprinkler system | 4,000 sq ft of lawn | $4,250 – $10,700 | +7% |
| Inground pool | 450 sq ft | $39,400 – $123,000 | +9% |
Pick a size, pick a tier: french drain pricing in El Centro
Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for El Centro wages and prices. They overlap on purpose: a good standard job and a modest premium job can cost the same. The grid below prices the same bands at 3 common sizes.
Basic
$690 to $1,400
Shallow yard drain, easy digging
Standard
$1,200 to $1,900
Standard drain with fabric, gravel and a pop-up outlet
Premium
$1,700 to $2,400
Deep or long drain, hard soil, dry well or sump discharge
| Size | Basic | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| short run (30 linear ft) | $340 – $690 | $600 – $950 | $860 – $1,200 |
| side yard (60 linear ft) | $690 – $1,400 | $1,200 – $1,900 | $1,700 – $2,400 |
| long run (120 linear ft) | $1,400 – $2,750 | $2,400 – $3,800 | $3,450 – $4,800 |
Specs and site conditions that change a El Centro bid
Depth and soil
Rocky or clay soil and long trenches raise excavation time.
Crawl space drains
A crawl space French drain is $2,000-$8,000 installed.
Exterior versus interior
A shallow exterior French drain is $10-$35 per linear foot; an interior basement drain is $40-$85 per foot, or $4,000-$17,000 installed (HomeGuide).
Local wages behind the labor line
Wages are the part of this estimate that changes most from town to town. 3 trades carry the job here, and each is compared with its US median. The weighted result for El Centro is 1.23 times the national level.
Construction laborers (47-2061), 50% of the weighting: a median of $25.75 an hour, 14% above the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $21.21 and $32.82 an hour. About 270 work in the metro. That is 41.3 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, so expect fewer local crews to bid.
For operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073, weighted 30%) the local median is $34.05 an hour, which is 18% above the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $26.88 and $38.63 an hour. BLS counts 240 of them working in the area, 36.7 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 30.7), so the local bench is deeper than average.
Pipelayers (47-2151) carry 20% of the labor weighting. BLS does not publish this trade for the El Centro metro, so we used the California statewide median: $36.63 an hour against $23.56 for the US. The middle half of them earn between $29.74 and $45.46 an hour.
Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the construction laborers on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($32.82 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $110. At the 25th percentile ($21.21) it shrinks by about $70. The total moves by 7.1% or 4.5%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.
For context on the local economy, BLS counts 65,430 jobs in the El Centro area. That makes it the 275th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.04% of US employment.
| Trade | Weight | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | US median | Ratio | Level used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction laborers (47-2061) | 50% | $21.21 | $25.75 | $32.82 | $22.66 | 1.14 | metro |
| Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073) | 30% | $26.88 | $34.05 | $38.63 | $28.78 | 1.18 | metro |
| Pipelayers (47-2151) | 20% | $29.74 | $36.63 | $45.46 | $23.56 | 1.55 | state |
| Blended | 100% | 1.23 | |||||
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French drain in El Centro: your questions
+How much does it cost to install a French drain in El Centro?
For 60 linear ft, expect $690 to $2,400 in the El Centro area. A standard-spec job lands at $1,200 to $1,900. Small jobs usually cost more per linear ft and large ones less.
+What is the price per linear ft for French drain in El Centro?
About $11.50 to $40 per linear ft for materials and labor, plus $0 to $0 for the permit if one is needed. The US range is $10 to $35.
+Is French drain cheaper in El Centro or San Diego?
San Diego is 80 miles away. The midpoint for 60 linear ft there is $1,600, which is 4% more than El Centro ($1,550). Wage and materials indexes both feed that gap.
+How much of the bill is labor in El Centro?
About 56% at the midpoint, or $870 out of $1,550. Materials are 44% and permits 0%. Nationally, labor is 52%.
+What would side yard (60 linear ft) cost in El Centro?
$690 to $2,400. Pick a different size in the estimator above to get your own number.
+Does French drain need a permit in El Centro?
Often, but rules are set by your city or county building office, so call before you hire. Budget $0 to $0 for fees in the El Centro area (our national range of $0 to $0 scaled by the local price level).
+Is El Centro expensive for French drain compared with the rest of California?
El Centro is 7% below the California statewide estimate ($1,650 at the midpoint). We cover 23 metros in California; see the state page to compare them.
+What do construction laborers earn in El Centro?
The BLS median is $25.75 an hour in the El Centro area, compared with $22.66 nationally. The 25th to 75th percentile range is $21.21 to $32.82.
+What do basic and premium French drain work cost in El Centro?
For 60 linear ft, basic work runs $690 to $1,400 and premium work $1,700 to $2,400. Basic means: shallow yard drain, easy digging. Premium means: deep or long drain, hard soil, dry well or sump discharge.
+When is the best time to install a French drain in El Centro?
Based on NOAA 1991-2020 normals, the comfortable months for this kind of work are November through April. April and November are typically the driest of those months. Local contractors' schedules matter as much as the weather, so book early for the busy months.
French drain near El Centro
Where these numbers come from
Base prices are national ranges from the sources below. We scale labor by local BLS wages, materials by BEA goods prices and permits by the BEA all-items price level. Full method on the methodology page.
- HomeGuide: How Much Does a French Drain Cost? (2026) (accessed November 4, 2026)
- Cost to Renovate: Renovation Labor Report 2026: Where the Money Goes (accessed November 4, 2026)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals, 1991-2020
Note on derived figures: Materials = 48% of the installed price, from Cost to Renovate's mid-range 'Outdoor Living' category split (44% labor, 48% materials). It is a category average, not a French-drain figure, so the materials line here is a rough one.