What Should I Charge for Fencing? (2026 Contractor Pricing Guide)
Short answer
Most fencing contractors charge about $26 to $46 per linear foot to install a 6-foot wood privacy fence, roughly $15 to $29 per foot for 4-foot chain-link, and $32 to $58 per foot for vinyl, before gates and old-fence removal. Labor is usually about half the price; a single walk gate runs about $250 to $470 installed.
Fencing unit prices by work item
Enter a ZIP code to adjust every row to local cost levels. Rates start from a national baseline of 1.00 and scale by the published city cost index for that area.
Showing national baseline rates.
| Work item | Unit | Material | Labor | What to charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Wood privacy fence, 6 ft, installed Picket species, post spacing, and whether old-fence removal is included move this most. | linear ft | $13.00 | $15.00 | $26.10 to $46.39 |
Chain-link fence, 4 ft, installed Wire gauge, mesh height, and terminal and corner post count drive the price. | linear ft | $8.00 | $9.00 | $15.40 to $28.60 |
Vinyl privacy fence, 6 ft, installed Panel grade and color, and grade changes that need stepped panels, add up. | linear ft | $22.00 | $13.00 | $32.39 to $57.59 |
Aluminum ornamental fence, installed Picket style, height, and racking to follow a slope affect labor. | linear ft | $20.00 | $12.50 | $30.51 to $53.09 |
Single walk gate, installed Material match, hardware, and self-closing hinges for pool codes vary widely. | each | $150 | $130 | $253 to $470 |
Remove and haul existing fence Concrete-set posts and disposal fees push this up. | linear ft | $0.50 | $3.50 | $3.41 to $7.09 |
Material and labor columns are bare cost per unit before markup. The charge column applies +15% materials, +20% labor, then +10% overhead and profit, and shows a realistic range rather than one false-precision number.
How this number is built
There is no proprietary data feed here and nothing is hidden. Every figure above comes from four visible steps, which is exactly how your own price book should work:
- 1Start from bare material and bare labor cost per unit, at a national baseline.
- 2Multiply both by your local cost factor, from the ZIP table below.
- 3Add markup: 15% on materials, 20% on labor. This covers waste, procurement and supervision.
- 4Add 10% overhead and profit on the marked-up subtotal, then show a range rather than one number.
Regional cost factors
A national average is close to useless on its own. The same fencing job prices very differently across markets. These are the multipliers applied above, against a 1.00 national baseline.
| Metro | Factor | Wood privacy fence, 6 ft, installed (linear ft) |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco, CA | 1.38x | $36.01 to $64.02 |
| New York, NY | 1.32x | $34.45 to $61.24 |
| Boston, MA | 1.24x | $32.36 to $57.53 |
| Los Angeles, CA | 1.22x | $31.84 to $56.60 |
| Seattle, WA | 1.20x | $31.32 to $55.67 |
| Chicago, IL | 1.18x | $30.79 to $54.74 |
| Washington, DC | 1.15x | $30.01 to $53.35 |
| Denver, CO | 1.08x | $28.18 to $50.11 |
| Austin, TX | 1.04x | $27.14 to $48.25 |
| Phoenix, AZ | 1.02x | $26.62 to $47.32 |
| Atlanta, GA | 1.00x | $26.10 to $46.39 |
| Houston, TX | 0.98x | $25.57 to $45.47 |
Before you send this number to a client
Worth doing
- Walk the actual site before committing to a fixed price.
- Itemize disposal, permits and prep as their own lines.
- Write down what is excluded, not only what is included.
- Compare these rates against your own last three invoices.
Where bids go wrong
- Using a national average as if it were a local quote.
- Forgetting that overhead is a real cost, not profit.
- Absorbing prep and access problems instead of pricing them.
- Quoting from memory when material prices moved.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to install a fence per foot?
It depends on material. A 6-foot wood privacy fence typically runs $26 to $46 per linear foot installed, chain-link about $15 to $29, and vinyl $32 to $58, before gates, old-fence removal, and local cost differences. Price gates and tear-off as their own lines.
Should I charge per linear foot or per section for fencing?
Per linear foot keeps a long run easy for the client to compare, then add gates per each and mobilization as its own line. Pricing by section only helps when panels come in fixed widths, like vinyl or ornamental.
What drives fence pricing up the most?
Terrain and access: sloped ground that needs stepped or racked panels, rocky soil that slows post holes, and concrete-set old posts to remove. Gate count and hardware also add real cost.
Do I need to include permits in my fence bid?
Often yes. Many areas require a permit for fences over a set height or near a property line, and an HOA may have its own approval. Itemize the permit so it reads as a pass-through cost, not your markup.
Other trades
Turn these rates into a sent proposal
A table is a starting point. Describe the job in plain words and Takeoff Convert prices it with cited starting prices (government wage data for labor, live supplier prices for materials where it can find them) that learn your own as you win jobs, then produces an itemized proposal your client can e-sign.
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