Retaining wall cost in Flagstaff, AZ

Specs and site conditions that change a Flagstaff bid

• Material

  Block, poured concrete and natural stone are priced differently; concrete and stone walls run higher than the segmental block default.

• Drainage

  Every wall needs drainage behind it. A French drain adds $10-$85+ per linear foot.

• Rebuilding

  Replacing an old wall adds $15-$30 per linear foot for demolition plus disposal.

Flagstaff against nearby metros and the rest of Arizona

Same job, same size (200 sq ft of wall face), priced for the nearest metros. Phoenix is the priciest of the group at $9,950. St. George is the cheapest at $9,600.

Out of the 300 metros we cover, Flagstaff ranks #177 for the cost of this job (#1 is the most expensive). Statewide, Flagstaff is 0% below the Arizona figure.

Elsewhere in Arizona

Metros of a similar size

Big cities and small ones price differently, so here is Flagstaff against the 4 metros with the closest total employment.

Pick a size, pick a tier: retaining wall pricing in Flagstaff

The cited range is split into basic, standard and premium bands, then scaled to Flagstaff. Bands overlap, because plenty of standard jobs cost as much as a light premium one. Sizes run from short garden wall (4x25 ft), 100 sq ft of wall face to 40 ft x 6 ft (240 sq ft of wall face).

What local crews earn in Flagstaff

The labor line is built from BLS wage data, one trade at a time. This job draws on 3 trades. We compare each trade's local median with the US median, weight the ratios by how much of the job each trade does, and apply the blend to the national labor cost. For Flagstaff the blend is 0.96.

For brickmasons and blockmasons (47-2021, weighted 50%) the local median is $27.77 an hour, which is 7% below the national $29.87. The middle half of them earn between $24.04 and $33.88 an hour. BLS counts 30 of them working in the area, 4.5 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 3.4), so the local bench is deeper than average.

For construction laborers (47-2061, weighted 30%) the local median is $22.32 an hour, which is in line with the national $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $18.61 and $24.26 an hour. BLS counts 470 of them working in the area, 70.6 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 70.5), so the local bench is about average.

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073), 20% of the weighting: a median of $28.23 an hour, in line with the US median of $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $23.79 and $29.54 an hour. About 250 work in the metro. That is 37.5 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 30.7 nationally, which suggests plenty of local crews to bid.

A quick sensitivity check: moving the lead trade (brickmasons and blockmasons) from the median to the 75th percentile wage adds about $480 to the midpoint estimate; the 25th percentile takes off about $290. That is a swing of roughly 3.0% to 4.9% of the total, which is useful for judging whether a bid reflects wages or something else, such as scope or margin.

Flagstaff has 66,610 jobs in total (BLS, May 2025), ranking 272nd by size among the 300 metros on this site.

Flagstaff weather and the retaining wall calendar

Climate numbers on this page come from NOAA's 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals at the nearest suitable station, Flagstaff Pulliam Ap (5 miles from the city center). They are 30-year averages, so any one year can run hotter, colder or wetter.

For digging, grading and setting material in the ground, the comfortable months in Flagstaff are May through September: 5 of 12. Outside them, January, February, March, April, October, November and December have an average overnight low at or below freezing (32°F).

In January, February, March, April, October, November and December the average low is at or below freezing, which means frozen ground and slower digging, compaction and sod or stone placement. NOAA counts about 202 days a year with a low at or below 32°F at this station.

Flagstaff gets about 21 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 90 inches of snow. The wettest months are February, July and August (3.0 inches in August). Inside the workable window, May and June are the driest, at 0.8 and 0.3 inches. The station averages about 3 days a year at 90°F or above.

We do not adjust the estimate by month, because we have no reliable published data on seasonal pricing. It is still worth asking contractors whether an off-peak start date changes their bid.

Planning more than one job in Flagstaff?

Jobs that often go together with retaining wall are priced below at their usual sizes, using the same Flagstaff wage and price inputs. Compared with national midpoints, French drain comes out highest (level) and sprinkler system lowest (−4%); the gap comes from the trades each job uses.