Retaining wall cost in Olympia, WA

Olympia 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, Olympia 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 Olympia are March through January: 11 of 12. Outside them, February has an average overnight low at or below freezing (32°F).

In February the average low is at or below freezing, which means frozen ground and slower digging, compaction and sod or stone placement. NOAA counts about 77 days a year with a low at or below 32°F at this station.

Olympia gets about 51 inches of precipitation in a normal year, including roughly 4 inches of snow. The wettest months are January, November and December (8.2 inches in November). Inside the workable window, July and August are the driest, at 0.5 and 1.0 inches. The station averages about 7 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.

What local crews earn in Olympia

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 Olympia the blend is 1.35.

Brickmasons and blockmasons (47-2021) carry 50% of the labor weighting. BLS does not publish this trade for the Olympia metro, so we used the Washington statewide median: $40.00 an hour against $29.87 for the US. The middle half of them earn between $35.14 and $49.11 an hour.

For construction laborers (47-2061, weighted 30%) the local median is $25.52 an hour, which is 13% above the national $22.66. The middle half of them earn between $21.90 and $33.85 an hour. BLS counts 730 of them working in the area, 56.0 for every 10,000 jobs (US: 70.5), so the local bench is thinner than average.

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (47-2073), 20% of the weighting: a median of $49.55 an hour, 72% above the US median of $28.78. The middle half of them earn between $33.47 and $54.71 an hour. About 260 work in the metro. That is 20.0 per 10,000 jobs, compared with 30.7 nationally, so expect fewer 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 $720 to the midpoint estimate; the 25th percentile takes off about $380. That is a swing of roughly 3.1% to 5.9% of the total, which is useful for judging whether a bid reflects wages or something else, such as scope or margin.

Olympia-Lacey-Tumwater has 130,300 jobs in total (BLS, May 2025), ranking 167th by size among the 300 metros on this site.

How Olympia compares

Of the five closest metros, 4 are cheaper than Olympia. Yakima is the lowest at about $11,500 (midpoint, 200 sq ft of wall face), 105 miles away.

Out of the 300 metros we cover, Olympia ranks #10 for the cost of this job (#1 is the most expensive). Statewide, Olympia is 2% above the Washington figure.

Elsewhere in Washington

Metros of a similar size

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

Olympia: what basic, standard and premium work costs

The cited range is split into basic, standard and premium bands, then scaled to Olympia. 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).

Planning more than one job in Olympia?

Jobs that often go together with retaining wall are priced below at their usual sizes, using the same Olympia wage and price inputs. Compared with national midpoints, French drain comes out highest (+24%) and sod installation lowest (+9%); the gap comes from the trades each job uses.

Why two Olympia quotes can differ

• 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.