French drain cost in Honolulu, HI
Local estimate from BLS wage data and BEA price levels. Reviewed Nov 4, 2026.
- Typical range (60 linear ft)
- $830 – $2,900
- Per linear ft
- $14 – $48
- before permit
- Versus US midpoint
- +38%
- US $1,350
- Rank of 300 metros
- #3
- 1 = most expensive
Honolulu homeowners pay roughly $830 to $2,900 to install a French drain at 60 linear ft, or $14 to $48 per linear ft (permit not included). Against the US midpoint, Honolulu is 38% higher. Construction laborers earn a median of $37.48 an hour in the Honolulu area, 65% above the US median of $22.66.
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Estimated cost for 60 linear ft in Honolulu, HI, standard level
$1,450 to $2,250
About $24 to $38 per linear ft before permits. Labor is about 61% of the bill.
| Part | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | $560 | $880 |
| Labor | $880 | $1,400 |
| Permits and fees | $0 | $0 |
| Total | $1,450 | $2,250 |
Cost breakdown for 60 linear ft in Honolulu, HI
| Part of the job | Low | Midpoint | High | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials | $320 | $720 | $1,100 | 39% |
| Labor | $500 | $1,150 | $1,750 | 61% |
| Permits and fees | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0% |
| Total | $830 | $1,850 | $2,900 | 100% |
What is behind the Honolulu 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 $37.48 an hour. Add the other trades involved and the blended wage index for Honolulu is 1.62 (US = 1.00), which puts labor at 61% of the total.
On the materials line, the BEA goods price index for the Honolulu metro is 111.6 (US = 100). The midpoint materials bill for 60 linear ft comes to $720, compared with $650 at national prices. Permit and inspection fees are scaled by the broader index (111.0) and land at $0 to $0.
Data note: 20% of the labor weighting for this project uses a national median because BLS has no published metro figure for that trade in Honolulu. The wage table below marks each row.
Is Honolulu cheap or dear? The local comparison
Same job, same size (60 linear ft), priced for the nearest metros. San Francisco is the priciest of the group at $1,900. Santa Cruz is the cheapest at $1,600.
| Area | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Honolulu, HIthis page | $830 – $2,900 | $1,850 | |
| Kahului, HI110 miles | $840 – $2,950 | $1,900 | +2% |
| Santa Rosa, CA2395 miles | $760 – $2,650 | $1,700 | −8% |
| Santa Cruz, CA2415 miles | $710 – $2,500 | $1,600 | −14% |
| San Francisco, CA2415 miles | $840 – $2,950 | $1,900 | +2% |
| Napa, CA2425 miles | $740 – $2,600 | $1,650 | −11% |
| Hawaii (statewide) | $820 – $2,850 | $1,850 | −1% |
| United States | $600 – $2,100 | $1,350 | −27% |
Across 300 US metros, Honolulu comes in at #3 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, Honolulu is 1% above the Hawaii figure.
Other Hawaii metros
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kahului, HI | 73,750 jobs | $840 – $2,950 | $1,900 | +2% |
Cities with a workforce like Honolulu's
Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is Honolulu against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany, NY | 449,410 jobs | $680 – $2,400 | $1,550 | −18% |
| New Orleans, LA | 445,550 jobs | $550 – $1,900 | $1,250 | −34% |
| Tulsa, OK | 458,730 jobs | $540 – $1,900 | $1,200 | −34% |
| Greenville, SC | 434,900 jobs | $560 – $1,950 | $1,250 | −32% |
When to schedule French drain in Honolulu
We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for Honolulu Intl Ap (5 miles from the city center). These are 30-year monthly averages, not forecasts.
Weather is not a serious constraint for digging, grading and setting material in the ground in Honolulu: no month in the averages is cold enough (an average overnight low at or below freezing (32°F)) or hot enough (an average daytime high of 90°F or more) to rule it out, so the workable window is all year.
Honolulu gets about 16 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are March, November and December (2.4 inches in March). The station averages about 32 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 | 81 | 67 | 1.8 | Workable |
| Feb | 81 | 67 | 1.9 | Workable |
| Mar | 81 | 68 | 2.4 | Workable |
| Apr | 83 | 70 | 0.8 | Workable |
| May | 85 | 72 | 0.8 | Workable |
| Jun | 87 | 74 | 0.5 | Workable |
| Jul | 88 | 75 | 0.5 | Workable |
| Aug | 89 | 76 | 0.8 | Workable |
| Sep | 88 | 75 | 0.9 | Workable |
| Oct | 87 | 74 | 1.5 | Workable |
| Nov | 84 | 72 | 2.3 | Workable |
| Dec | 82 | 69 | 2.2 | Workable |
French drain: what moves the price in Honolulu
Where the water goes
A sump pump adds $500-$1,800 and a dry well $50-$3,000+. Discharging to a storm drain can mean extra permit fees.
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.
Related projects, priced for Honolulu
Because every project leans on different trades, Honolulu's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, gravel driveway runs +46% and sod installation +17%.
| Project | Size | Range | vs. US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retaining wall | 200 sq ft of wall face | $9,650 – $17,200 | +31% |
| Gravel driveway | 1,000 sq ft | $3,700 – $14,800 | +46% |
| Sod installation | 1,500 sq ft | $1,750 – $3,850 | +17% |
| Concrete slab | 400 sq ft | $3,450 – $6,950 | +36% |
| Sprinkler system | 4,000 sq ft of lawn | $5,400 – $13,500 | +35% |
| Inground pool | 450 sq ft | $50,200 – $156,500 | +39% |
Honolulu: what basic, standard and premium work costs
Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Honolulu 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
$830 to $1,650
Shallow yard drain, easy digging
Standard
$1,450 to $2,250
Standard drain with fabric, gravel and a pop-up outlet
Premium
$2,050 to $2,900
Deep or long drain, hard soil, dry well or sump discharge
| Size | Basic | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| short run (30 linear ft) | $410 – $830 | $720 – $1,150 | $1,050 – $1,450 |
| side yard (60 linear ft) | $830 – $1,650 | $1,450 – $2,250 | $2,050 – $2,900 |
| long run (120 linear ft) | $1,650 – $3,300 | $2,900 – $4,550 | $4,150 – $5,800 |
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 Honolulu is 1.62 times the national level.
Construction laborers (47-2061), 50% of the weighting: a median of $37.48 an hour, 65% above the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $24.21 and $41.41 an hour. About 3,040 work in the metro. That is 68.1 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 $56.55 an hour, which is 96% above the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $42.10 and $57.93 an hour. BLS counts 1,430 of them working in the area, 32.0 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 Honolulu metro, so we used the national median: $23.56 an hour against $23.56 for the US. The middle half of them earn between $21.15 and $29.52 an hour.
Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the construction laborers on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($41.41 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $60. At the 25th percentile ($24.21) it shrinks by about $210. The total moves by 3.3% or 11.1%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.
For context on the local economy, BLS counts 446,380 jobs in the Urban Honolulu area. That makes it the 56th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.29% of US employment.
| Trade | Weight | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | US median | Ratio | Level used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction laborers (47-2061) | 50% | $24.21 | $37.48 | $41.41 | $22.66 | 1.65 | metro |
| Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073) | 30% | $42.10 | $56.55 | $57.93 | $28.78 | 1.96 | metro |
| Pipelayers (47-2151) | 20% | $21.15 | $23.56 | $29.52 | $23.56 | 1.00 | US |
| Blended | 100% | 1.62 | |||||
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French drain in Honolulu: your questions
+How much does it cost to install a French drain in Honolulu?
For 60 linear ft, expect $830 to $2,900 in the Honolulu area. A standard-spec job lands at $1,450 to $2,250. Small jobs usually cost more per linear ft and large ones less.
+What is the price per linear ft for French drain in Honolulu?
About $14 to $48 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 Honolulu or Kahului?
Kahului is 110 miles away. The midpoint for 60 linear ft there is $1,900, which is 2% more than Honolulu ($1,850). Wage and materials indexes both feed that gap.
+How much of the bill is labor in Honolulu?
About 61% at the midpoint, or $1,150 out of $1,850. Materials are 39% and permits 0%. Nationally, labor is 52%.
+What would side yard (60 linear ft) cost in Honolulu?
$830 to $2,900. Pick a different size in the estimator above to get your own number.
+Does French drain need a permit in Honolulu?
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 Honolulu area (our national range of $0 to $0 scaled by the local price level).
+Is Honolulu expensive for French drain compared with the rest of Hawaii?
Honolulu is 1% above the Hawaii statewide estimate ($1,850 at the midpoint). We cover 2 metros in Hawaii; see the state page to compare them.
+What do construction laborers earn in Honolulu?
The BLS median is $37.48 an hour in the Honolulu area, compared with $22.66 nationally. The 25th to 75th percentile range is $24.21 to $41.41.
+What do basic and premium French drain work cost in Honolulu?
For 60 linear ft, basic work runs $830 to $1,650 and premium work $2,050 to $2,900. Basic means: shallow yard drain, easy digging. Premium means: deep or long drain, hard soil, dry well or sump discharge.
+Is there a bad season to install a French drain in Honolulu?
Not from a temperature point of view. NOAA's 1991-2020 normals show no month with a freezing-level overnight low or a 90°F-plus average high, so timing is mostly about contractor availability and rain.
French drain near Honolulu
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.