French drain cost in Charleston, SC
Local estimate from BLS wage data and BEA price levels. Reviewed Nov 4, 2026.
- Typical range (60 linear ft)
- $560 – $1,950
- Per linear ft
- $9.40 – $33
- before permit
- Versus US midpoint
- −6%
- US $1,350
- Rank of 300 metros
- #208
- 1 = most expensive
Charleston homeowners pay roughly $560 to $1,950 to install a French drain at 60 linear ft, or $9.40 to $33 per linear ft (permit not included). Against the US midpoint, Charleston is 6% lower. Construction laborers earn a median of $20.98 an hour in the Charleston area, 7% below the US median of $22.66.
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Estimated cost for 60 linear ft in Charleston, SC, standard level
$980 to $1,550
About $16.50 to $26 per linear ft before permits. Labor is about 51% of the bill.
| Part | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | $490 | $760 |
| Labor | $500 | $780 |
| Permits and fees | $0 | $0 |
| Total | $980 | $1,550 |
Cost breakdown for 60 linear ft in Charleston, SC
| Part of the job | Low | Midpoint | High | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials | $280 | $620 | $970 | 49% |
| Labor | $290 | $640 | $1,000 | 51% |
| Permits and fees | $0 | $0 | $0 | 0% |
| Total | $560 | $1,250 | $1,950 | 100% |
Where the Charleston price comes from
Labor is 51% 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 Charleston the blended ratio comes out at 0.91.
On the materials line, the BEA goods price index for the Charleston metro is 96.3 (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 (101.0) and land at $0 to $0.
Related projects, priced for Charleston
Because every project leans on different trades, Charleston's wage level does not move all prices equally. Against the US midpoint, sod installation runs −4% and retaining wall −9%.
| Project | Size | Range | vs. US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retaining wall | 200 sq ft of wall face | $6,250 – $12,300 | −9% |
| Gravel driveway | 1,000 sq ft | $2,300 – $9,450 | −7% |
| Sod installation | 1,500 sq ft | $1,450 – $3,200 | −4% |
| Concrete slab | 400 sq ft | $2,300 – $4,900 | −6% |
| Sprinkler system | 4,000 sq ft of lawn | $3,700 – $9,300 | −7% |
| Inground pool | 450 sq ft | $33,000 – $103,500 | −8% |
Is Charleston cheap or dear? The local comparison
Same job, same size (60 linear ft), priced for the nearest metros. Hilton Head is the priciest of the group at $1,250. Myrtle Beach is the cheapest at $1,200.
| Area | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charleston, SCthis page | $560 – $1,950 | $1,250 | |
| Hilton Head, SC65 miles | $560 – $2,000 | $1,250 | level |
| Florence, SC80 miles | $550 – $1,950 | $1,250 | −2% |
| Myrtle Beach, SC85 miles | $530 – $1,850 | $1,200 | −5% |
| Columbia, SC95 miles | $550 – $1,950 | $1,250 | −2% |
| Savannah, GA95 miles | $540 – $1,900 | $1,200 | −5% |
| South Carolina (statewide) | $550 – $1,950 | $1,250 | −2% |
| United States | $600 – $2,100 | $1,350 | +7% |
Across 300 US metros, Charleston comes in at #208 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, Charleston is 2% above the South Carolina figure.
Other South Carolina metros
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville, SC | 434,900 jobs | $560 – $1,950 | $1,250 | −1% |
| Columbia, SC | 394,200 jobs | $550 – $1,950 | $1,250 | −2% |
| Spartanburg, SC | 165,150 jobs | $550 – $1,950 | $1,250 | −2% |
| Myrtle Beach, SC | 146,260 jobs | $530 – $1,850 | $1,200 | −5% |
| Florence, SC | 89,060 jobs | $550 – $1,950 | $1,250 | −2% |
| Hilton Head, SC | 81,920 jobs | $560 – $2,000 | $1,250 | level |
Cities with a workforce like Charleston's
Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is Charleston against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.
| Metro | Size | Range | Midpoint | vs. here |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia, SC | 394,200 jobs | $550 – $1,950 | $1,250 | −2% |
| Boise, ID | 391,790 jobs | $610 – $2,100 | $1,350 | +8% |
| Des Moines, IA | 404,130 jobs | $600 – $2,100 | $1,350 | +7% |
| Tucson, AZ | 389,630 jobs | $580 – $2,000 | $1,300 | +3% |
When to schedule French drain in Charleston
We use NOAA's 1991-2020 climate normals for Charleston City (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 Charleston: 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.
Charleston gets about 44 inches of precipitation in a normal year. The wettest months are July, August and September (6.1 inches in August). The station averages about 25 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 | 58 | 44 | 2.6 | Workable |
| Feb | 60 | 46 | 2.6 | Workable |
| Mar | 66 | 52 | 3.0 | Workable |
| Apr | 72 | 60 | 3.0 | Workable |
| May | 79 | 68 | 2.6 | Workable |
| Jun | 84 | 74 | 4.8 | Workable |
| Jul | 88 | 77 | 5.1 | Workable |
| Aug | 86 | 77 | 6.1 | Workable |
| Sep | 83 | 73 | 5.3 | Workable |
| Oct | 76 | 63 | 4.1 | Workable |
| Nov | 67 | 53 | 2.3 | Workable |
| Dec | 61 | 47 | 2.9 | Workable |
Why two Charleston quotes can differ
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).
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.
Pick a size, pick a tier: french drain pricing in Charleston
Three bands are cut from the same cited range and localized for Charleston 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
$560 to $1,150
Shallow yard drain, easy digging
Standard
$980 to $1,550
Standard drain with fabric, gravel and a pop-up outlet
Premium
$1,400 to $1,950
Deep or long drain, hard soil, dry well or sump discharge
| Size | Basic | Standard | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| short run (30 linear ft) | $280 – $560 | $490 – $770 | $700 – $980 |
| side yard (60 linear ft) | $560 – $1,150 | $980 – $1,550 | $1,400 – $1,950 |
| long run (120 linear ft) | $1,150 – $2,250 | $1,950 – $3,100 | $2,800 – $3,950 |
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 Charleston is 0.91 times the national level.
Construction laborers (47-2061), 50% of the weighting: a median of $20.98 an hour, 7% below the US median of $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $18.00 and $24.49 an hour. About 3,710 work in the metro. That is 94.1 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 70.5 nationally, which suggests plenty of local crews to bid.
For operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073, weighted 30%) the local median is $24.35 an hour, which is 15% below the national $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $23.39 and $29.69 an hour. BLS counts 1,470 of them working in the area, 37.3 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 30.7), so the local bench is deeper than average.
Pipelayers (47-2151), 20% of the weighting: a median of $23.20 an hour, in line with the US median of $23.56. The middle half of them earn between $20.71 and $26.38 an hour. About 170 work in the metro. That is 4.3 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 2.1 nationally, which suggests plenty of local crews to bid.
Quotes come from real crews, not medians. If the construction laborers on your job are paid at the 75th percentile ($24.49 an hour) instead of the median, the labor line grows by about $55. At the 25th percentile ($18.00) it shrinks by about $45. The total moves by 4.3% or 3.6%, so wages alone rarely explain a quote that is far outside our range.
For context on the local economy, BLS counts 394,170 jobs in the Charleston-North Charleston area. That makes it the 66th largest of the 300 metros we cover, with 0.25% of US employment.
| Trade | Weight | 25th pct | Median | 75th pct | US median | Ratio | Level used |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construction laborers (47-2061) | 50% | $18.00 | $20.98 | $24.49 | $22.66 | 0.93 | metro |
| Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073) | 30% | $23.39 | $24.35 | $29.69 | $28.78 | 0.85 | metro |
| Pipelayers (47-2151) | 20% | $20.71 | $23.20 | $26.38 | $23.56 | 0.98 | metro |
| Blended | 100% | 0.91 | |||||
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French drain in Charleston: your questions
+How much does it cost to install a French drain in Charleston?
For 60 linear ft, expect $560 to $1,950 in the Charleston area. A standard-spec job lands at $980 to $1,550. Small jobs usually cost more per linear ft and large ones less.
+What is the price per linear ft for French drain in Charleston?
About $9.40 to $33 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 Charleston or Hilton Head?
Hilton Head is 65 miles away. The midpoint for 60 linear ft there is $1,250, which is 0% more than Charleston ($1,250). Wage and materials indexes both feed that gap.
+How much of the bill is labor in Charleston?
About 51% at the midpoint, or $640 out of $1,250. Materials are 49% and permits 0%. Nationally, labor is 52%.
+What would side yard (60 linear ft) cost in Charleston?
$560 to $1,950. Pick a different size in the estimator above to get your own number.
+Does French drain need a permit in Charleston?
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 Charleston area (our national range of $0 to $0 scaled by the local price level).
+Is Charleston expensive for French drain compared with the rest of South Carolina?
Charleston is 2% above the South Carolina statewide estimate ($1,250 at the midpoint). We cover 7 metros in South Carolina; see the state page to compare them.
+What do construction laborers earn in Charleston?
The BLS median is $20.98 an hour in the Charleston area, compared with $22.66 nationally. The 25th to 75th percentile range is $18.00 to $24.49.
+What do basic and premium French drain work cost in Charleston?
For 60 linear ft, basic work runs $560 to $1,150 and premium work $1,400 to $1,950. 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 Charleston?
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 Charleston
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.