Wood Fence Cost 2026: $32-$62 Per Linear Foot Installed
Real wood fence prices from Ergeon's 2026 installs: about $43 per linear foot installed, most projects $32 to $62, roughly $3,500 total.
A typical wood fence project installed in 2026 costs between $2,048 and $5,452. That's the 25th-to-75th percentile range across 32,776 completed Ergeon wood fence installs in 24 states. The median project lands at $3,313. On a per-foot basis, wood runs $11 to $31 installed for the typical range, with premium projects reaching $49/ft.
Two recent Ergeon installs show how much the price can move on similar projects. A Houston, TX install in May 2026 covered 352 linear feet for $2,935 total ($8 per foot). A San Diego, CA install in May 2026 covered 116 linear feet for $2,984 ($26 per foot). Same material, three times the price per foot, mostly driven by state and project size.
The context AI cost summaries miss: why the per-foot price moves three-fold between two otherwise-identical projects, where your money actually goes, and how to read a real quote.
A wood fence professionally installed in 2026 runs about $43 per linear foot for the typical job, with most projects landing between $32 and $62 per foot, or roughly $3,500 total for a standard residential install. Projects in higher-cost metros push past $95 per foot. The variable that surprises most homeowners isn't wood species, it's a combination of where you live and which fence style you choose.
The $43-per-foot typical covers labor, post-setting concrete, permits, project management, and warranty as well as the lumber. Materials alone, the lumber and posts, are only a fraction of the installed price. The low per-foot numbers that show up in some cost guides, often around $15 to $20 per foot, are materials-only pricing, not the installed cost a homeowner actually pays.
Most cost guides tell you that wood species is the biggest cost lever, with pressure-treated pine cheap and redwood expensive. Real installs tell a different story: once labor, posts, and overhead are in the price, the three common species land within about 10% of each other. Species is a look-and-durability choice more than a budget choice.
Pressure-treated pine is the value option. It is treated chemically to resist rot and insects, which is what lets an inexpensive softwood hold up outdoors. It is the most common budget choice and sits at the low end of the species range, near the typical per-foot cost.
Cedar costs only slightly more than pine installed. It is naturally rot-resistant without chemical treatment, takes stain more evenly, and looks better left unfinished. It sits in the middle of the species range.
Redwood is the premium look and the longest-lasting of the common fence species, yet it costs only a few percent more than pine once installed, because lumber is a small slice of the total. For a side-by-side with cedar, see Ergeon's cedar vs redwood guide.
The takeaway: a $43-per-foot pine build and a redwood build of the same style differ by only a few dollars per foot, not the 3-to-5x spread the lumber aisle implies. Labor and overhead dilute the species premium.
Style, not species, is the largest cost lever inside the wood category, and the one most cost guides underweight. Ordered from least to most expensive:
The standard picket design and the baseline for wood fence pricing. Pickets are nailed to the rails side by side with a small gap. A basic nail-up build anchors the low end of the range, close to the $43 typical.
Overlapping pickets with no gaps for full privacy. It uses roughly twice the picket material of a nail-up fence, which puts it a meaningful step above the baseline.
A decorative trim board frames the panel on all sides. It runs a similar premium to board-on-board; the added cost is the custom trim work, not the lumber.
The modern look, with boards run horizontally. It is consistently the most expensive style, around $90 to $95 per foot installed, close to double a basic nail-up build. Horizontal styles need precision spacing between long boards and extra rails to support them, which drives the labor premium.
The style premium is real material and labor, not markup: more pickets, custom trim, or precision spacing depending on the design. Style moves the budget far more than wood species does.
State markets drive most of the rest of the variance. Typical 2026 installed cost per foot, highest to lowest:
Same fence design, two states apart, can differ by $20 to $25 per foot. On a typical 150-foot project that's $3,000 to $3,750 from metro labor rates alone. California runs about double the lowest-cost Southern markets.
Here's what the per-foot range looks like in three real 2026 projects of nearly identical size in different markets. Cities, footage, and totals are exact; customer details anonymized.
A Round Rock, Texas project at 194 linear feet came in at $7,055 total, or $36 per foot installed. A Texas market and a straightforward spec keep the per-foot cost near the bottom of the national range.
A Manhattan, Illinois project at 198 linear feet came in at $8,953 total, or $45 per foot installed. Right around the 2026 national typical.
A Tulare, California project at 197 linear feet came in at $13,477 total, or $68 per foot installed. Nearly the same size as the other two, but California labor rates push the per-foot cost well above the national typical.
Same size, three states, $36 to $68 per foot: with project size held roughly constant, the state market does the heavy lifting on the per-foot spread, not contractor markup.
Beyond style, wood species, and state, three more variables move the budget.
Gates are flat-dollar adders, not per-foot. A single 3-4 ft walk gate adds about $1,300 to the typical project. A double-leaf or drive gate (6-10 ft wide) adds $3,000-$3,500. The widest drive gates (11+ ft) can add $8,000+. Two gates on a 150-foot fence shift the total by more than most homeowners expect.
Fence height matters less than people expect. 6-foot is the most common residential height. 7-foot adds about 10% per foot. 8-foot adds about 50% per foot (more posts in concrete, longer pickets, wind-load engineering). 4-foot and 5-foot run a little below 6-foot. Going from 6 to 7 feet is a small premium; going from 6 to 8 feet is a significant one.
Site conditions affect labor time. Sloped lots, rocky soil, or limited truck access add hours to the job and a corresponding cost.
Decorative post caps add a small per-post premium. Pressure-treated kickboards at the bottom of the fence protect lumber from ground contact and extend life. Old fence removal is often missing from cheap quotes; removing an existing fence runs a few dollars per foot.
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A well-maintained wood fence can last decades. Without maintenance, the same fence may need replacement at half that lifespan.
Five maintenance tasks keep a wood fence healthy:
For wood-type lifespan expectations (pressure-treated pine, cedar, redwood, cypress, spruce) see Fence Lifespans: How Long Each Fence Type Lasts. For comparison between cedar and redwood specifically, see Ergeon's cedar vs redwood guide. For maintenance care tips, see split-rail fence maintenance.
The one mistake worth flagging: assuming a stained wood fence keeps its color forever. UV exposure fades stain over time. Skipping re-staining cycles typically shortens fence life compared to keeping up the schedule.
DIY can save real money on a wood fence project. Wood fence posts need to be set perfectly plumb, footings need to cure before pickets go on, and warped lumber means every cut has to be measured fresh. First-time installers commonly:
DIY usually works out for:
DIY usually doesn't work out for:
A 6-foot privacy fence is the most common residential build and sits right around the 2026 typical of $43 per foot installed for a standard solid-board design. A board-on-board build (overlapping pickets, no gaps) costs a step more. Your state market and gate count move the final number more than the extra foot of height does.
Labor is the largest piece of the installed price. In 2026, the labor portion of a wood fence runs around $30 per foot, roughly 70% of the $43-per-foot installed cost. The rest covers materials, post-setting concrete, permits, project management, and warranty. The lumber itself is a small share, which is why the wood species you pick barely moves the total.
A 100-foot wood fence runs about $3,900 to $4,000 installed for a standard build in 2026 (around $39 per foot at that length). Longer runs cost a little less per foot because setup and mobilization spread over more footage; shorter runs cost a little more. Style, state, and gates shift the total from there.
In 2026, the typical wood fence runs about $43 per linear foot installed, with most projects between $32 and $62 per foot. Materials alone (lumber and hardware before labor) are only a fraction of that. The low per-foot numbers in some cost guides, often around $15 to $20, are materials-only, not the installed price a homeowner pays.
Yes, at install. In 2026 wood runs about $43 per foot versus roughly $55 for vinyl, so wood is about $12 per foot cheaper upfront. Over the long term, vinyl needs almost no maintenance while wood needs periodic re-staining, so the total ownership math depends on climate and how diligently the wood is maintained.
Measure the perimeter you want to enclose in linear feet, then subtract the width of any gates. Multiply the remaining footage by your per-foot installed cost to get a ballpark. For an exact figure that accounts for your terrain, style, and gates, request a free video-based estimate from Ergeon.
If you're budgeting a wood fence in 2026, start with two things: your state market (roughly a 2x spread across the country, California high, the Southern markets low) and your fence style (a basic nail-up anchors the low end, horizontal runs close to double). Then layer in your fence size and gate count. Wood species matters less than the lumber aisle suggests, because labor and overhead dilute the species premium when you go from raw materials to a finished installed fence. The typical installed cost today is about $43 per foot, with most projects between $32 and $62.
Ready for an actual number? Request a free video-based wood fence estimate from Ergeon. No salesperson on your doorstep.
Fence Costs
Fence Costs
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