How Much Does Fence Installation Cost?

Installing a common backyard privacy fence in the US — wood or standard vinyl, something like 100 to 200 linear feet, about 6 feet tall, posts set in concrete, and one walk gate — often clusters around $3,000–$8,000. The wider national spread, about $1,500–$15,000, covers a short chain-link or short wood run at the low end and a longer vinyl or aluminum fence, extra gates, or a sloped lot at the high end. Ornamental metal and a very long property line can clear that spread. This is a planning range, not a quote.

Linear-foot rules of thumb are easy to misuse. A 100-foot fence is not half the price of a 200-foot fence, because the gate, the corners, the permit, and the trip to set posts do not shrink in half. Price the line you can walk, not a rate you saw on a forum.

A 150-foot privacy run inside the typical band usually lands around $20–$50 a linear foot. That rate is a cross-check, not a bid. Two corners and a gate do not get cheaper because the side yard is short.

What the range includes

The typical band assumes an existing single-family yard, a privacy fence of about 100 to 200 linear feet, pressure-treated wood or a standard vinyl panel about 6 feet high, posts set in concrete to a normal depth, one walk gate, ground a truck can reach, and a lot that is reasonably level. Where the city requires a permit for a fence of that height, an ordinary permit fee usually sits inside the bid. Ask anyway. A new survey is not included.

A short, flat wood run in a lower-cost area sits toward the lower half. A longer vinyl run, or one that turns several corners, sits at the top of the band and leaves it if the material is aluminum or the grade is steep.

The floor of the national spread, near $1,500, is a short chain-link or short wood fence on easy ground. It is not a 6-foot vinyl enclosure that someone discounted. The top, toward $15,000, is where a long vinyl or aluminum line, more than one gate, and difficult post holes usually land. Ornamental metal, an 8-foot fence, or a large lot can clear that top. Treat a number above it as a different scope and ask which driver caused it.

None of the bands include a retaining wall, an automatic gate opener, removal of a long old fence that needs its own haul-away, or a separate exterior job such as a wood deck or window replacement. If the fence returns to a deck, the deck frame is that other guide. If the same wall needs new windows, price those openings on their own. Do not fold either into the fence bid.

As a cross-check, not a bid: chain-link on a short, flat run is often discussed toward the floor of the national spread, and vinyl privacy on a longer yard is often discussed from the top of the typical band into the wider spread. Ask for wood and vinyl as two proposals if you are deciding between them.

What moves the price

Driver	How it changes the bid
Length and corners	More panels are more posts and more concrete. Corners and changes of direction add labor faster than the extra feet.
Material	Pressure-treated wood is the common mid band. Cedar costs more. Vinyl costs more up front and needs less staining. Chain-link is usually cheaper. Aluminum sits above chain-link.
Height	A 4-foot picket is a smaller job than a 6-foot privacy fence. Eight feet can mean heavier posts, a different panel, and a height the city may not allow.
Gates	One walk gate is in the typical band. A driveway gate, a double gate, or hardware on a slope is its own line.
Terrain and access	Slopes, rock, tree roots, and a backyard the truck cannot reach turn post holes into the project.
Old fence	Pulling a few posts is ordinary. Posts set in deep concrete, or a line shared with a neighbor, are not a free add-on.

If the fence is also a pool barrier, say so at the start. Height, the latch, and the gap under the pickets are code, not a style choice. Confirm the property line and the setback before anyone digs. A fence built on the neighbor’s side of the line is not a discount.

DIY or hire

A straight wood privacy run on flat ground is a realistic project for someone who can set posts plumb, in concrete, at the depth the inspector wants, and who will follow the setback the city actually enforces. The property line is the part that causes fights. If you are not sure where it is, settle that before the first hole. Call before you dig so marked utilities are not a surprise in the post hole.

Hire the whole job if the lot slopes, if the fence has to hold back soil, if it is a pool barrier, or if you have not pulled a permit before. Vinyl panels are less forgiving of posts that wander out of line. A leaning DIY fence is not a savings.

Replacing a single rotten board or a latch is ordinary DIY when the posts under them are still solid. Use the same thickness and do not bury a soft post under a new panel. If a wood deck stair lands where the fence returns, leave the deck structure to that scope so the fence crew is not asked to rebuild a stair.

Repair or replace

Repair the surface when the posts are sound: replace a few boards or pickets, reset a loose rail, and swap a latch or a hinge. Stain or seal wood that is still solid and is only weathering. That maintenance is cheaper than any of the bands on this page.

Replace when posts are soft at the ground, the fence leans as a line, rails are split along most of the run, or most of the panels are already gone. Hanging new vinyl on posts that were set for a lighter wood fence, or that rock in the hole, is a way to buy a new surface for a structure that still needs to come out.

If you did not build the fence, push on the posts before you price panels. The posts are the project or they are not. A screwdriver into the wood at grade will tell you more than the color of the stain. A gap under a leaning section is not automatically a bad panel. If the soil has washed out along a slope, the grade is the problem, and new boards will not hold it.

How to use this number

Ask for bids that state the linear feet, the height, the material and the style, the post depth and whether concrete is included, the number and type of gates, who pulls the permit, and whether removal of the old fence is included. Compare a standard wood privacy bid with the typical band. Compare vinyl, aluminum, and a long or sloped run with the wider spread, and make the material an option so you can see the panels versus the posts.

A very low bid on a 6-foot privacy fence is a reason to ask about post depth and whether the gate is included, not a reason to celebrate. A high bid should point at length, vinyl or metal, gates, or the slope. Two or three local bids on the same line are the number that matters. How this site sets the band is explained on the methodology page.