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Getting your well water tested in Texas

Texas has free or low-cost well testing. Across the state, the ones worth testing for are arsenic, plus bacteria and nitrate every year.

Compare lab tests Find my county

About 2,242,000 people in Texas get their water from a private well, about 1 in 13 residents.

Three ways to get tested, cheapest first.

2

A lab Texas certifies

The state's list of labs certified for drinking water. Many sell bottles you pick up or get by mail, and their results count for a home sale or loan.

Labs certified by Texas
3

A mail-in kit

Order online, fill the bottles at your kitchen tap and get results by email in about a week. Full well tests run about $210 to $220.

Compare kits for Texas

Look up a well's drilling report in Texas

What turns up in Texas wells.

Share of tested wells over the limit, from lab tests the USGS, EPA and state agencies collected since 2000. Your own well needs its own test.

Tested wells over the limit, statewide
Arsenic10%95 of 997Nitrate5%50 of 1,039Fluoride4%47 of 1,066Manganese2%23 of 1,033Uranium1%6 of 981Radon1%2 of 386Leadunder 1%2 of 903
GermsTest every year, whatever the chart says
Coliform bacteria29%94 of 319
StainsNot a health risk
Iron stains12%121 of 1,031

Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+

Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)

Where it shows up most

  • Nitrate shows up most in Yoakum County (about 1 in 9 wells).
  • Arsenic shows up most in El Paso County (about 3 in 10 wells).

Find your county.

5 counties have a full report with local test results and well depths.

BrazoriaHarrisMontgomeryTarrantTravis
Every county in Texas: people on wells and typical depth
CountyPeople on private wellsShare of residentsTypical well depth
Harris County298,1306%265 ft
Montgomery County106,34317%221 ft
Brazoria County79,30121%350 ft
Fort Bend County60,2147%260 ft
Parker County50,29334%230 ft
Tarrant County47,7322%340 ft
Travis County36,4223%405 ft
Williamson County32,7405%540 ft
Ector County30,31118%133 ft
El Paso County29,5693%186 ft
Liberty County28,87332%253 ft
Denton County27,5183%440 ft
Wise County25,67437%220 ft
Comal County25,50816%488 ft
Lubbock County24,9898%164 ft
Orange County24,93129%400 ft
Bexar County24,3901%500 ft
Midland County24,03114%100 ft
Randall County23,98717%320 ft
Galveston County23,6317%414 ft
Hays County22,2379%500 ft
Smith County20,9999%305 ft
Johnson County20,09711%410 ft
Walker County18,51424%250 ft
Victoria County18,41120%140 ft
Van Zandt County18,38831%420 ft
Henderson County18,26422%400 ft
Hardin County17,62031%250 ft
Hidalgo County17,4872%160 ft
Nueces County17,1395%268 ft
Bowie County16,95218%82 ft
Waller County16,91230%240 ft
Guadalupe County16,65710%240 ft
Dallas County16,631under 1%60 ft
Jasper County16,59050%178 ft
Val Verde County16,17134%420 ft
Wharton County15,87238%200 ft
Brazos County15,6817%340 ft
Hood County15,67325%365 ft
Washington County14,96742%230 ft
Polk County14,92330%200 ft
Jefferson County14,5656%199 ft
Erath County14,42434%360 ft
Bastrop County14,38515%320 ft
Harrison County13,79020%320 ft
Wilson County13,74828%370 ft
Kerr County13,37525%480 ft
Tom Green County13,27811%100 ft
San Patricio County13,18019%180 ft
San Jacinto County13,11548%205 ft
Austin County12,55242%200 ft
Burnet County12,50525%300 ft
Kendall County12,37528%388 ft
Gillespie County12,14845%224 ft
Hunt County12,13412%202 ft
Fayette County11,96349%240 ft
Chambers County11,74725%240 ft
Cameron County11,6033%110 ft
Potter County11,56710%290 ft
Kaufman County11,4048%98 ft
Jim Wells County11,31429%400 ft
Tyler County11,02256%150 ft
Bandera County10,89652%500 ft
Grimes County10,57236%290 ft
Lavaca County10,48552%170 ft
Rusk County10,36020%365 ft
Medina County9,72419%400 ft
Cherokee County9,28718%300 ft
Gregg County9,1047%418 ft
Montague County9,04945%220 ft
Colorado County9,01044%165 ft
Matagorda County9,00825%405 ft
Upshur County8,94622%476 ft
Grayson County8,8927%340 ft
Cass County8,88131%370 ft
Angelina County8,53710%190 ft
Panola County8,53438%225 ft
Atascosa County8,46017%400 ft
Bell County8,3962%500 ft
Nacogdoches County8,37913%326 ft
Houston County8,34638%303 ft
Wood County8,32019%390 ft
Bee County8,31327%185 ft
Anderson County8,05814%340 ft
Aransas County7,86133%170 ft
Gaines County7,85836%193 ft
Shelby County7,36831%240 ft
DeWitt County7,25137%180 ft
Collin County7,193under 1%862 ft
Newton County7,18659%150 ft
Comanche County7,17053%130 ft
Howard County6,99920%95 ft
Burleson County6,96139%370 ft
Cooke County6,88517%500 ft
Caldwell County6,32614%250 ft
Llano County6,10329%153 ft
Ellis County5,9013%445 ft
Gonzales County5,63629%323 ft
Jackson County5,41836%164 ft
McLennan County5,3702%1,000 ft
Hockley County5,24124%166 ft
Lee County5,23430%390 ft
Blanco County5,23146%350 ft
Leon County5,07132%440 ft
Uvalde County5,02820%240 ft
Milam County4,99220%374 ft
Live Oak County4,86343%220 ft
Karnes County4,74532%280 ft
Sabine County4,74548%130 ft
Goliad County4,54265%200 ft
Madison County4,43133%360 ft
Frio County4,39524%360 ft
Robertson County4,39126%420 ft
Bosque County4,30124%500 ft
Limestone County4,21219%320 ft
Falls County4,07024%65 ft
Andrews County4,06322%112 ft
Starr County4,0606%340 ft
Hamilton County3,87447%439 ft
Callahan County3,86428%60 ft
Taylor County3,8423%60 ft
Freestone County3,83920%380 ft
Calhoun County3,81919%227 ft
Scurry County3,69622%230 ft
Deaf Smith County3,59719%325 ft
Somervell County3,55039%490 ft
San Augustine County3,54045%192 ft
Palo Pinto County3,42012%200 ft
Hale County3,41911%305 ft
Trinity County3,39525%254 ft
Brown County3,1508%112 ft
Jack County3,10637%200 ft
Clay County3,02730%170 ft
Hill County3,0118%385 ft
Eastland County3,00817%92 ft
Coryell County2,8933%485 ft
Fannin County2,7748%71 ft
Titus County2,7619%190 ft
Jones County2,62313%57 ft
Brooks County2,59137%460 ft
Brewster County2,55727%302 ft
Wilbarger County2,54020%38 ft
Parmer County2,47625%403 ft
Lamb County2,44119%215 ft
Mills County2,43455%294 ft
Marion County2,43225%360 ft
Morris County2,40620%352 ft
Lampasas County2,37411%300 ft
Rains County2,31219%223 ft
Young County2,25613%140 ft
Martin County2,24743%95 ft
Gray County2,24011%461 ft
Hutchinson County2,21811%320 ft
Dawson County2,19418%135 ft
Kleberg County2,1927%668 ft
Refugio County2,17832%260 ft
San Saba County2,16738%279 ft
Hopkins County2,0506%436 ft
Terry County2,02117%142 ft
Castro County2,00727%361 ft
Dimmit County1,95423%450 ft
Mason County1,93849%160 ft
Wheeler County1,78636%137 ft
Kimble County1,74241%220 ft
Rockwall County1,7412%43 ft
Duval County1,73618%341 ft
Bailey County1,72125%226 ft
Lynn County1,71831%134 ft
Real County1,71162%360 ft
Camp County1,70614%480 ft
Nolan County1,69011%200 ft
Willacy County1,6628%800 ft
Wichita County1,6441%36 ft
Pecos County1,64111%275 ft
Navarro County1,5883%60 ft
Yoakum County1,52520%170 ft
Swisher County1,30219%210 ft
Jim Hogg County1,29027%360 ft
Moore County1,2766%470 ft
Ochiltree County1,21912%400 ft
Carson County1,20521%379 ft
Runnels County1,16712%80 ft
Coke County1,15735%160 ft
Floyd County1,13321%326 ft
La Salle County1,12717%320 ft
Donley County1,09334%150 ft
Reeves County1,0937%244 ft
Mitchell County1,07312%130 ft
Jeff Davis County1,07054%323 ft
Glasscock County1,05895%210 ft
Maverick County1,0562%107 ft
Dallam County1,00214%460 ft
Knox County94528%47 ft
Lamar County9282%72 ft
Zavala County91910%350 ft
Hemphill County90927%240 ft
Irion County90560%180 ft
Garza County88415%100 ft
Franklin County8839%280 ft
Haskell County86616%56 ft
Hartley County84516%530 ft
Hansford County81315%440 ft
Sutton County80924%340 ft
McCulloch County80711%250 ft
Ward County7697%130 ft
Upton County72222%240 ft
Red River County7206%90 ft
Crosby County71914%299 ft
Schleicher County71929%340 ft
Archer County6067%90 ft
Menard County59130%180 ft
Webb County578under 1%600 ft
Lipscomb County56719%290 ft
Sherman County56120%444 ft
Fisher County54115%116 ft
Armstrong County53929%265 ft
Kinney County53517%280 ft
Hardeman County53215%95 ft
Dickens County51529%104 ft
Presidio County4798%300 ft
Edwards County46433%385 ft
Baylor County43913%32 ft
Briscoe County42930%180 ft
Cochran County42617%205 ft
Stonewall County41834%60 ft
Crane County4169%240 ft
Stephens County4155%135 ft
Hudspeth County40913%407 ft
Sterling County39329%120 ft
Winkler County3875%194 ft
Concho County38012%115 ft
Crockett County37612%400 ft
Reagan County37311%325 ft
Borden County37159%94 ft
Zapata County3533%460 ft
Oldham County33819%300 ft
Coleman County3354%65 ft
Motley County30028%90 ft
McMullen County29649%310 ft
Roberts County29636%470 ft
Collingsworth County25610%110 ft
Kent County20828%100 ft
Culberson County1848%400 ft
Hall County1666%100 ft
Cottle County14310%137 ft
Foard County13913%43 ft
Childress County1372%112 ft
Delta County1192%460 ft
Terrell County10914%646 ft
Kenedy County9627%840 ft
Shackelford County772%30 ft
Throckmorton County725%27 ft
King County5320%80 ft
Loving County3961%235 ft

Questions people ask about well water in Texas

Does Texas require private wells to be tested?

Texas doesn't require routine testing of existing private wells. Keeping a well safe is up to the owner, so test for bacteria and nitrate every year.

Where can I get my well water tested in Texas?

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's Texas Well Owner Network holds periodic county well water screenings, some free and some for a small per-sample fee. Otherwise, use a lab certified by Texas for drinking water. The state's list is linked on this page.

Where these numbers come from

  • How many people use wells: EPA estimates from the 2020 Census.
  • Lab tests: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA), well samples since 2000.
  • State programs and links: Texas Water Development Board and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).