Land guide · Water

How deep are wells in the Texas Hill Country? (by county)

Across 22,436 state well records in Hays, Travis, Comal, Blanco, Caldwell and Bastrop counties, the typical water well was drilled to about 420 feet. Half were between about 270 and 560 feet. But it swings a lot from county to county, and even mile to mile.

Typical well depth by county

County	Typical depth	Middle half	Well records
Hays	about 500 ft	400–700 ft	4,186
Travis	about 420 ft	260–620 ft	5,677
Comal	about 480 ft	380–600 ft	4,586
Blanco	about 350 ft	210–460 ft	3,482
Caldwell	about 240 ft	160–350 ft	1,435
Bastrop	about 320 ft	210–460 ft	3,070

"Typical" is the median: half the wells are shallower, half are deeper. "Middle half" is the range from the 25th to the 75th percentile. Rounded to the nearest 10 feet.

See it on the map

Map of typical well depths across Hays, Travis, Comal, Blanco, Caldwell and Bastrop counties. Darker colors mean deeper wells.

Open the zoomable well-depth map

Near town

Typical depth of wells within 3 miles of each town (towns with at least 20 records nearby).

Town	County	Typical depth	Wells
San Marcos	Hays	about 180 ft	51
Kyle	Hays	about 430 ft	62
Buda	Hays	about 410 ft	140
Wimberley	Hays	about 650 ft	307
Woodcreek	Hays	about 440 ft	180
Dripping Springs	Hays	about 510 ft	211
Austin	Travis	about 400 ft	422
Bee Cave	Travis	about 820 ft	265
Lakeway	Travis	about 560 ft	277
Lago Vista	Travis	about 400 ft	167
Pflugerville	Travis	about 610 ft	48
New Braunfels	Comal	about 150 ft	69
Canyon Lake	Comal	about 340 ft	143
Bulverde	Comal	about 500 ft	525
Garden Ridge	Comal	about 440 ft	171
Johnson City	Blanco	about 300 ft	287
Blanco	Blanco	about 400 ft	175
Round Mountain	Blanco	about 300 ft	86
Lockhart	Caldwell	about 40 ft	53
Luling	Caldwell	about 260 ft	93
Martindale	Caldwell	about 40 ft	56
Bastrop	Bastrop	about 280 ft	160
Elgin	Bastrop	about 180 ft	23
Smithville	Bastrop	about 340 ft	112

Are wells getting deeper?

Here's the typical depth by the year the well was drilled, all six counties together. Older records are fewer and spottier, so take the early numbers loosely.

Drilled	Typical depth	Wells
before 1980	about 270 ft	2,317
1980–1999	about 450 ft	736
2000–2009	about 440 ft	6,589
2010–2019	about 440 ft	7,138
2020 and later	about 430 ft	4,571

Hays County water notice

As of October 15, 2026, the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (western Hays County) says it is in Emergency Drought Stage and won't accept new permits for production or non-exempt well construction until conditions improve. Household (exempt) wells still need the district's forms before drilling. Source: the district's website.

What these numbers can and can't tell you

It's drilled depth, not water depth. A well drilled to 500 feet may have water standing much higher in the hole.
Your land is its own place. Neighbors a mile apart can hit very different rock. A licensed local driller who has worked your area is the best person to ask.
Check the groundwater district first. Most districts here want a new well registered, and some want a drilling authorization, before anyone drills. Each county page lists the districts and their rules.
Ask about yield, too. Drillers' short pump tests don't show how a well holds up in a dry summer. Ask the neighbors.

Common questions

How deep is a typical water well in the Texas Hill Country?

In our count of 22,436 state well records across Hays, Travis, Comal, Blanco, Caldwell and Bastrop counties, the typical (median) well was drilled to about 420 feet, and half were between about 270 and 560 feet.

Which county has the deepest wells?

Of these six, Hays County's wells run deepest, at a typical 500 feet. Caldwell County's run shallowest, at about 240 feet.

Does the depth of nearby wells tell me how deep my well will be?

Not for sure. It's a good starting point, but depths can change a lot within a few miles. Ask a licensed local well driller and the groundwater district before you buy or drill.

Where does this data come from?

From the Texas Water Development Board's Groundwater Database and Submitted Drillers Reports, which we downloaded and counted ourselves. Monitoring, test and environmental wells are left out.

Where the numbers come from

We counted water-supply well records from Texas Water Development Board, Groundwater Database (GWDB) bulk download (download, data as of 2026-10-13) and Texas Water Development Board, Submitted Drillers Reports (SDR) bulk download (download, data as of 2026-10-13). Water-supply wells only (monitoring, test and environmental wells left out). Depth is how deep the well was drilled. A well listed in both TWDB databases is counted once. County figures count wells inside the county line. County lines: US Census Bureau TIGERweb. Updated 2026-10-15.

This guide is general information from public records, not a guarantee for any property and not legal or engineering advice.