French drain cost in Tallahassee, FL
Local estimate from BLS wage data and BEA price levels. Reviewed Nov 4, 2026.
- Typical range (60 linear ft)
- $540 – $1,900
- Per linear ft
- $8.95 – $31.50
- before permit
- Versus US midpoint
- −10%
- US $1,350
- Rank of 300 metros
- #256
- 1 = most expensive
If you want to install a French drain in Tallahassee, plan on $540 to $1,900 for 60 linear ft, all in. Per linear ft, that is $8.95 to $31.50 for materials and labor, with the permit on top. The local midpoint runs 10% lower than the national one. Construction laborers earn a median of $18.61 an hour in the Tallahassee area, 18% below the US median of $22.66.
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Estimated cost for 60 linear ft in Tallahassee, FL, standard level
$940 to $1,500
About $15.50 to $24.50 per linear ft before permits. Labor is about 49% of the bill.
| Part | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | $490 | $760 |
| Labor | $460 | $720 |
| Permits and fees | $0 | $0 |
| Total | $940 | $1,500 |
Cost breakdown for 60 linear ft in Tallahassee, FL
| Part of the job | Low | Midpoint | High | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials | $280 | $620 | $970 | 51% |
| Labor | $260 | $590 | $910 | 49% |
| Permits and fees | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0% |
| Total | $540 | $1,200 | $1,900 | 100% |
What is behind the Tallahassee number
The wage side of the estimate leans on construction laborers, who do 50% of the hours on a typical job. Their local median is $18.61 an hour. Add the other trades involved and the blended wage index for Tallahassee is 0.84 (US = 1.00), which puts labor at 49% of the total.
On the materials line, the BEA goods price index for the Tallahassee metro is 96.2 (US = 100). The midpoint materials bill for 60 linear ft comes to $620, compared with $650 at national prices. Permit and inspection fees are scaled by the broader index (93.9) 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 Tallahassee. The wage table below marks each row.
How Tallahassee compares
Same job, same size (60 linear ft), priced for the nearest metros. Crestview is the priciest of the group at $1,250. Albany is the cheapest at $1,150.
| Area | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tallahassee, FLthis page | $540 – $1,900 | $1,200 | |
| Panama City, FL80 miles | $550 – $1,950 | $1,250 | +3% |
| Albany, GA90 miles | $510 – $1,800 | $1,150 | −5% |
| Dothan, AL95 miles | $510 – $1,800 | $1,150 | −4% |
| Gainesville, FL115 miles | $550 – $1,950 | $1,250 | +2% |
| Crestview, FL125 miles | $560 – $1,950 | $1,250 | +5% |
| Florida (statewide) | $570 – $2,000 | $1,250 | +5% |
| United States | $600 – $2,100 | $1,350 | +11% |
Across 300 US metros, Tallahassee comes in at #256 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, Tallahassee is 5% below the Florida figure.
Other Florida metros
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami, FL | 2,819,940 jobs | $590 – $2,050 | $1,350 | +10% |
| Tampa, FL | 1,447,120 jobs | $560 – $1,950 | $1,250 | +4% |
| Orlando, FL | 1,411,730 jobs | $550 – $1,950 | $1,250 | +3% |
| Jacksonville, FL | 765,930 jobs | $560 – $1,950 | $1,250 | +4% |
| North Port, FL | 339,940 jobs | $560 – $2,000 | $1,250 | +5% |
| Cape Coral, FL | 304,790 jobs | $560 – $1,950 | $1,250 | +3% |
Cities with a workforce like Tallahassee's
Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is Tallahassee against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salinas, CA | 186,430 jobs | $730 – $2,550 | $1,650 | +36% |
| York, PA | 183,590 jobs | $620 – $2,200 | $1,400 | +16% |
| Salem, OR | 188,620 jobs | $680 – $2,400 | $1,550 | +26% |
| Lincoln, NE | 182,620 jobs | $580 – $2,000 | $1,300 | +7% |
Planning more than one job in Tallahassee?
Because every project leans on different trades, Tallahassee's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, sod installation runs −7% and sprinkler system −13%.
| Project | Size | Range | vs. US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retaining wall | 200 sq ft of wall face | $6,200 – $12,200 | −10% |
| Gravel driveway | 1,000 sq ft | $2,200 – $9,000 | −12% |
| Sod installation | 1,500 sq ft | $1,400 – $3,050 | −7% |
| Concrete slab | 400 sq ft | $2,150 – $4,650 | −11% |
| Sprinkler system | 4,000 sq ft of lawn | $3,500 – $8,700 | −13% |
| Inground pool | 450 sq ft | $31,800 – $99,500 | −12% |
French drain: what moves the price in Tallahassee
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).
Tallahassee: what basic, standard and premium work costs
Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Tallahassee 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
$540 to $1,100
Shallow yard drain, easy digging
Standard
$940 to $1,500
Standard drain with fabric, gravel and a pop-up outlet
Premium
$1,350 to $1,900
Deep or long drain, hard soil, dry well or sump discharge
| Size | Basic | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| short run (30 linear ft) | $270 – $540 | $470 – $740 | $670 – $940 |
| side yard (60 linear ft) | $540 – $1,100 | $940 – $1,500 | $1,350 – $1,900 |
| long run (120 linear ft) | $1,100 – $2,150 | $1,900 – $2,950 | $2,700 – $3,750 |
Tallahassee labor market for French drain
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 Tallahassee is 0.84 times the national level.
Construction laborers (47-2061), 50% of the weighting: a median of $18.61 an hour, 18% below the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $16.91 and $21.61 an hour. About 1,390 work in the metro. That is 74.7 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, so the supply of crews looks typical.
For operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073, weighted 30%) the local median is $22.37 an hour, which is 22% below the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $19.20 and $24.57 an hour. BLS counts 490 of them working in the area, 26.3 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 30.7), so the local bench is about average.
Pipelayers (47-2151) carry 20% of the labor weighting. BLS does not publish this trade for the Tallahassee metro, so we used the Florida statewide median: $22.72 an hour against $23.56 for the US. The middle half of them earn between $21.07 and $23.94 an hour.
Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the construction laborers on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($21.61 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $45. At the 25th percentile ($16.91) it shrinks by about $25. The total moves by 3.8% or 2.2%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.
For context on the local economy, BLS counts 186,160 jobs in the Tallahassee area. That makes it the 124th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.12% of US employment.
| Trade | Weight | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | US median | Ratio | Level used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction laborers (47-2061) | 50% | $16.91 | $18.61 | $21.61 | $22.66 | 0.82 | metro |
| Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073) | 30% | $19.20 | $22.37 | $24.57 | $28.78 | 0.78 | metro |
| Pipelayers (47-2151) | 20% | $21.07 | $22.72 | $23.94 | $23.56 | 0.96 | state |
| Blended | 100% | 0.84 | |||||
Climate in Tallahassee: timing your French drain job
We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for Tallahassee (5 miles from the city center). These are 30-year monthly averages, not forecasts.
September through May is the stretch where digging, grading and setting material in the ground runs into the fewest weather problems in Tallahassee (9 of 12 months). June, July and August have an average daytime high of 90°F or more.
Tallahassee gets about 59 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are June, July and August (7.8 inches in June). Inside the workable window, October and November are the driest, at 3.2 and 3.1 inches. The station averages about 103 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 | 64 | 41 | 4.4 | Workable |
| Feb | 68 | 44 | 4.3 | Workable |
| Mar | 74 | 49 | 5.2 | Workable |
| Apr | 80 | 54 | 3.5 | Workable |
| May | 87 | 63 | 3.4 | Workable |
| Jun | 91 | 71 | 7.8 | Hot |
| Jul | 92 | 73 | 7.1 | Hot |
| Aug | 92 | 73 | 7.6 | Hot |
| Sep | 89 | 70 | 4.9 | Workable |
| Oct | 82 | 59 | 3.2 | Workable |
| Nov | 73 | 48 | 3.1 | Workable |
| Dec | 66 | 43 | 4.2 | Workable |
Get 3 local quotes
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Detailed french drain report for Tallahassee, FL, $9
Multi-page report for Tallahassee, FL: low, typical and high cost, a line-item breakdown of materials and labor by trade, permit notes, the best months to schedule, a quote comparison sheet, red flags, questions for contractors, checklists and every source. Save your estimate above, preview page 1 free, and unlock the full report for $9 one-time, or get every report with CostLocal Pro.
French drain in Tallahassee: your questions
+How much does it cost to install a French drain in Tallahassee?
For 60 linear ft, expect $540 to $1,900 in the Tallahassee area. A standard-spec job lands at $940 to $1,500. Small jobs usually cost more per linear ft and large ones less.
+What is the price per linear ft for French drain in Tallahassee?
About $8.95 to $31.50 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 Tallahassee or Panama City?
Panama City is 80 miles away. The midpoint for 60 linear ft there is $1,250, which is 3% more than Tallahassee ($1,200). Wage and materials indexes both feed that gap.
+How much of the bill is labor in Tallahassee?
About 49% at the midpoint, or $590 out of $1,200. Materials are 51% and permits 0%. Nationally, labor is 52%.
+What would side yard (60 linear ft) cost in Tallahassee?
$540 to $1,900. Pick a different size in the estimator above to get your own number.
+Does French drain need a permit in Tallahassee?
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 Tallahassee area (our national range of $0 to $0 scaled by the local price level).
+Is Tallahassee expensive for French drain compared with the rest of Florida?
Tallahassee is 5% below the Florida statewide estimate ($1,250 at the midpoint). We cover 19 metros in Florida; see the state page to compare them.
+What do construction laborers earn in Tallahassee?
The BLS median is $18.61 an hour in the Tallahassee area, compared with $22.66 nationally. The 25th to 75th percentile range is $16.91 to $21.61.
+What do basic and premium French drain work cost in Tallahassee?
For 60 linear ft, basic work runs $540 to $1,100 and premium work $1,350 to $1,900. 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 Tallahassee?
Based on NOAA 1991-2020 normals, the comfortable months for this kind of work are September through May. October 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 Tallahassee
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.