How Much Does It Cost To Install An Inground Pool?

How Much Does It Cost To Install An Inground Pool?

In 2021 pool prices have gone up. If you are wondering how much it costs to install a pool, you’re not alone. This year pricing went up across the board from large manufacturers. The average cost to install an inground pool is $49,000 with most pool buyers spending between $37,000 and $66,000. The additional costs associated with pool ownership for pool service, increased utilities, and repairs range from $2,700 to $6,000 every year.

Cost To Install An Inground Pool – 2021 Pricing

How Much Do Inground Pool Cost?

With custom features like waterfalls, LED lighting, diving boards, covers, or decking, expect to add $2,000 to $10,000 for each feature you add on to your project. The overall price over your pool will depend on the size, location, and what materials used to build the pool (fiberglass, concrete, or vinyl).

A swimming pool is the ideal retreat during hot summer months and adds value to the home. An inground swimming pool provides the perfect setting for entertaining guests or simply relaxing in the sun. In this pool price cost guide, we’ll cover the costs of building a basic swimming pool, all the way up to indoor luxury pools.

Table of Contents

1. Inground Pool Prices
   • Fiberglass Inground Pool Prices
   • Gunite, Shotcrete, or Concrete
   • Vinyl Pool Prices
2. Inground Pool Cost Estimator
   • By Pool Sizes
   • Small Pool
   • Semi Inground Pool
   • Indoor Pool
3. Inground Saltwater Pool Cost
4. Custom Underground Pool Prices
   • Pool Designs
   • Beach Entry
   • Lap Pool
   • Lagoon Pool
   • Pool & Hot Tub
5. Cost Factors to Build a Swimming Pool
6. Additional Costs to Put in a Pool
7. Frequently Asked Questions
8. DIY Inground Pool Cost
9. Hiring An Inground Pool Installer

2021 – Inground Pool Prices Installed

Inground pool prices range from $20,000 to $115,000 installed depending on the type of material you choose. For an average 14 x 28 inground pool, fiberglass costs $46,000, vinyl costs $36,000, and concrete runs $51,000 for installation. Below are the average prices for turn-key installation and yearly pool maintenance costs.

Fiberglass Inground Pool Prices

Fiberglass pools prices have gone up in 2021. Typically range from $18,700 for a 10′ by 16′ to $63,180 for installation on a 18′ by 30′ pool. Over a 10-year period, service and upkeep costs will cost around $3,750 and the pool will typically last for around 25 years or more.

• Smooth surface is hyper resistant to algae and needs less maintenance of pH levels.
• Are easier to clean and maintain than vinyl or concrete pools.
• Installation normally takes less than a week.

The major differences in price are tied to how much labor you pay for vs. doing it yourself. Normally a turn-key package deal can save you more than you trying to manage all of the individual parts of the installation process yourself.

2021 Fiberglass Pool Installation Prices

The majority of pool buyers prefer a turn-key installation from a professional pool contractor.

• DIY Self-Install: $12,000 to $30,000
• Assisted Installation (dig, set, fill): $20,000 to $45,000
• Standard fiberglass pool packages: $30,000 to $65,000
• Turn-key fiberglass pool packages: $45,000 to $85,000

Shotcrete, Gunite, or Concrete Pool Cost in 2021

A shotcrete pool costs between $29,000 and $60,000 with many pool buyers paying around $50,960 on average for a 14’ by 28’ pool. The long-term 10-year cost of ownership to service a concrete pool averages $27,500 which is the highest of any pool material discussed on this page.

• You have many options and creative shapes to choose for your pool.
• Typically gunite pools require more chemicals and electricity to keep them ready-to-swim.
• It may need an acid wash every four or five years to remove any algae or mold.
• The method used to remove the algae will also weaken the structural surface of the concrete. This will also speed up the need for it to be resurfaced.
• Gunite pools normally need to be replastered every 10 to 15 years, which costs around $10,000.

Vinyl Inground Pool Prices

The average cost to install a vinyl inground pool ranges between $25,000 and $45,000, and between fiberglass, and concrete, vinyl is the most affordable option. Although the initial price is lower, the long-term cost to maintain a vinyl liner pool is $13,250 over ten years.

• Like fiberglass, vinyl pools are available in a range of predesigned shapes or as a custom solution to suit your vision.
• It’s easy to clean, resistant to algae, and have a smooth finish.
• The vinyl is a liner shaped from thermoplastic or steel panels which is placed over the pool structure, and it will have either a concrete or sand floor.
• Vinyl pool liner replacement costs $3,000 to $4,000 and needs to be replaced every 10 years.

Inground Pool Cost Estimator

While estimating the cost to build an inground pool, the primary factors are the materials, size, location, and any custom features. You can expect to spend an average of $50 to $100 per square foot to build a standard 14’ by 28’ size pool, or $125 to $150 per square foot for larger sized pools that have a 9 to 12 foot deep end. For head-first diving, The Red Cross recommends a depth of no less than 9 feet.

Inground Pool Sizes & Prices

The standard size swimming pool is 14’ by 28’, and 6.5 feet deep but some pool buyers have either a higher budget or less space for a standard size pool. In our examples below, we look at average pool sizes and show construction costs using vinyl, fiberglass, and concrete.

Small Inground Pools Cost

Small inground pools also known as Cocktail Pools or “Spools” are typically a 10×16 plunge pool or a 10×20 small pool costs around $14,500 to $24,500 to install and are usually 5 ½ to 7 feet deep. The cost of a spool or small inground pool can rise if you select something like concrete instead of vinyl, add a deck, install a cover, or add a privacy fence.

Semi Inground Pool Cost

A semi-inground pool will typically cost under $10,000. Semi-inground pools are normally constructed from extruded aluminum or steel and are often priced between $6,800 and $8,500, making them more expensive than a traditional above-ground pool but costing about a third of the price of an inground pool of equal size. The installation is much faster than that for an inground pool and can often be constructed in 1 to 3 days.

Indoor Pool Cost

Indoor pools usually start at around $110,000 for a 12’ by 16’ vinyl and go up to $220,000 for a 16’ by 32’ concrete inground pool, or even higher for a larger pool with more features and elaborate customizations. Customized indoor pool prices range from $200 to $250 per square foot and factor in a perimeter of 4’ around the entire pool for the room the pool will reside in.

Price of Inground Saltwater Pools

The average price of an inground saltwater pool is $35,000 for the swimming pool and another $1,100 to $2,200 for the salt water generator, bringing the entire cost to around $36,100 to $37,200. Saltwater pools typically don’t require any chemicals added, are easier to maintain, and don’t have an offensive chlorine smell.

For pool buyers who opt not to use traditional chemicals in their pool, a saltwater pool uses a special system that converts the salt in the water into chlorine, but the levels are much lower than in a chlorine pool, so it is easier on your eyes and skin.

Estimating Long-Term Salt Water Pool Costs

• Replacing the cell in the generator every 3–6 years at the cost of $800 ($100 less than if you had a regular chlorinated pool).
• Adding salt to run your saltwater pool – An average pool measuring 14 by 28 with a depth of 6.5 feet has a water volume of just under 20,000 gallons, and for that much water, you will need around 11 x 40-pound bags of salt, which should total just under $100.

Custom Inground Pool Prices

An inground pool can go up by $2,000 to $10,000 with custom features that add value and functionality to your pool, but they don’t necessarily need to be a part of the initial installation and are options that can be added on later to help spread out the entire cost of the pool.

Inground Swimming Pool Designs, Shapes, & Prices

Inground swimming pool designs, shapes, and prices will match the level of customization desired, the materials, and the square footage. The most popular inground pool designs are:

• Geometric Inground Pools
• Free Form (Radius)
• Classic (Roman / Greek)
• Kidney Shape
• Rectangle / Square
• L-shaped

Beach Entry Pool Costs

Beach entry pools cost an average of $87 per square foot, with most pool buyers paying between $50 and $125 per square foot. Beach entries are also known as a walk-in pool or a zero-entry pool. A beach entry has a gradually sloped entry into the swimming pool— identical to the way you would walk into the water on a beach. Normally the water at that shallow end is warmer than it is in the rest of the pool.

Lap Pool Cost

An inground lap pool typically costs between $20,000 and $70,000 depending on the size and materials. Many pool buyers opt to build longer pools in order to do more laps. An average lap pool in a competition setting will be somewhere between 6’ and 9’ deep and these prices below are based on 6.5’ deep.

Indoor Lap Pool Cost

Building an indoor lap pool typically costs between $95,600 and $305,900. Construction for an indoor pool costs an average of $226 to $241 per square foot because of the construction and excavation access involved with the project. Also, factor in the cost of buying and installing a large dehumidifier to prevent moisture damage to the home.

Backyard Lagoon Pool Costs

Lagoon style pool costs typically range from $50,000 to $150,000, or between $70 and $110 per square foot depending on the features in the design of your pool and the degree of complexity involved in the design. Lagoon pools are ideal for homeowners seeking a resort style pool resembling the a tropical vacation.

Cost to Put in an Inground Pool with a Hot Tub

For an inground pool with a hot tub, you can expect to add $8,000 to $25,000 to the base price depending on the style of hot tub and how it’s integrated with the rest of the swimming pool. Pool contractors normally offer to include the hot tub with the inground pool as part of their estimate, with discounts for getting both done simultaneously. Hot tubs vary in price depending on the number of jets, quality of materials, and the number of people they seat.

• Entry Level – $2,000 to $4,000
• Medium Quality – $5,000 to $8,000
• High End – $9,000 to $12,000
• Premium – $13,000 to $20,000

Inground Pool Lights

Inground pool lighting ranges from $700 to $1,800, with LED and fiberoptic technology that can often be controlled from your smartphone or tablet. While pool lighting can be added after installation, it is a lot more cost effective to have them installed while the pool is being built.

Waterfalls or Water Features

The cost for a horizontal slit waterfall starts around $200, while the price of a rock waterfall for a pool costs about $1,500 for a prefabricated imitation rock installation or up to $15,000 or more for a custom installation constructed with real rocks.

Diving Board or Slide

Diving boards for inground pools can range from $300 to $800 for a surface mounted board, and even more for one that is elevated for use in deeper pools. An inground pool slide can cost anywhere from $900 to $20,000.

Pool Steps

Inground pool steps cost between $200 to $2,500. The lower end of the price range includes products from a variety of manufacturers that the homeowner can place in position once the pool is built. Common more expensive styles include wedding cake steps, end steps, end steps with benches, corner steps, corner steps with benches, full-width end steps, end steps with side benches, and roman steps.

Pool Deck Cost

The cost for a pool deck ranges between $2,800 and $23,200 depending on the number of sides the deck is installed on, the width of the deck, and the selected deck materials. Material options include wood, and engineered or composite wood, and each has cost and durability considerations which should make the right choice easy to make.

Inground Pool Heater Cost

An inground pool heater cost can range from $550 to over $10,000, with another $400 to $500 for installation. The difference in prices for inground pool heaters is primarily how much water you need to heat, and what the rise in temperature is from the average coldest temperature to the desired water temperature.

• Electric tankless water heaters generally start between $500 and $600.
• Larger and more powerful electric pool water heaters average between $1,500 and $3,500.
• Similar gas-powered pool water heaters fall between $800 and $2,500.

On the high-end, you will see solar pool heaters or electric pump water heaters for anywhere from $2,500 to $10,000. These work in hotter climates and transfer the heat in the air to the water in the pool, and they do so very economically.

Pool Fence or Enclosure Costs

A pool fence installation costs between $600 and $4,400 or more depending on the size of the pool, fencing materials you select, and how far back from the edge of the pool the fence is installed. Gates with a self-closing latch for your pool fence average an additional $200 to $250 each including installation.

Pool Cover Cost

Installing a manual or automatic pool cover at the cost of $550 to $3,000 is excellent for safety, keeping in more of the heat in the water, and helping restrict more of the moisture from doing any damage to the structure of the home. A high-end motorized cover will cost $4,800 to $6,000 depending on the pool’s size.

Cost Considerations When Building a Swimming Pool

The average cost to build a swimming pool increases depending on the location, surrounding landscaping, and additional features like lighting, decking, enclosures, and more.

Built-In Pool Cost by Location

The cost for built-in pools or inground pools will vary because of location in two respects–local location and geographic location. Built-in pool costs will increase if:

• If your home is located in a northern state, you’ll pay 20% more, versus in a southern state such as Texas or Florida you’ll usually pay less.
• Access to the pool installation site is difficult.
• Various states and large cities have different labor costs that affect price. Nebraska and South Dakota have the lowest labor costs, and Hawaii has the highest.
• Your home is more than 50 miles away from your pool company – it could add $50 to and from your property per day overage for transportation.
• The site of your future pool in on a steep hill – this slows down daily productivity and could add thousands of dollars if the job takes longer.
• There are lots of rocks to be excavated in the site.

Backyard Pool Landscaping Prices

Landscaping costs $3,000 to $5,000 on average for a new installation or around $4 to $12 per square foot to add plants, trees, and shrubs around your new pool. Three of the more common styles of landscaping design for built-in pools are tropical, modern, and desert. Here are average prices if you are starting with a bare-bones yard, or you want to add features to the backyard to complement the pool area:

• Sod installation costs $0.90 – $1.80 per square foot and will help regrow your grass.
• Installing a yard drainage system costs $3,400.
• Re-sloping your lawn costs $1,850 on average.
• Cutting down a tree costs $825 on average.
• Retaining wall costs $5,000 and helps level your yard.
• Installing a prefab outdoor kitchen starts at $3,000.
• Cost to build a deck or patio is $3,000 to $10,000.
• The cost to build a pergola is $3,450, while a gazebo runs $6,925.
• Installing a water mister to keep cool costs $230.

Additional Costs for Installing a Pool

On top of the cost to put in a pool, other prices include pool covers, building permits, electrician fees, increased insurance, and more.

• Inground pools can cause your home’s value to go up, thus increasing your property taxes.
• A pool increases the chances of someone getting hurt on your property which directly increases the cost of your homeowner’s insurance.

Electrician Cost for Inground Pool

The electrical work to bring power to your pool for the pump and filter costs around $2,200. Also, if there is a water heater being installed and there is insufficient capacity at the breaker panel, you may need to upgrade to a 300amp, as well as change the meter base, for about $6,000.

Pool Permit Cost

Pool building permits from the building department at your local city, or any other local governing authorities, could range between $500 and $2,000.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Cheapest Inground Pool?

For homeowners looking for cheap inground swimming pools, vinyl pools are the cheapest at around $35,000 installed.

What’s the Most Affordable Inground Pool Shape?

For either a custom-built pool or a prebuilt liner shape, the most affordable inground pools are those with the least-interesting shape—those with a rectangle or an oval shape will generally be the most inexpensive.

How Does the Type of Pool Affect Cost?

In addition to the material you choose for your pool to be built from, the style of pool has the next cost impact on the bottom line for your project, with some of the more significant projects being inground pools compared to above-ground pools ($35,000 versus $5,000) and plunge pools compared to lap pools ($20,000 versus $35,000).

What’s a Walk-In Pool and How Much Does It Cost to Build?

A walk-in pool is also known as a zero-entry pool or a beach entry pool, and they average around $87 per square foot with most homeowners paying between $50 and $125 per square foot. How it differs from the more traditional pool is it has an area where you can walk into the pool in the same way you would walk into the water on a beach, and typically the water at that shallow end is warmer than the rest of the pool.

How Much Does an Underground Pool Liner Cost?

Pool liners come in a range of thicknesses, and this affects the price you will pay. For example, a 28/20 mil 14’ by 28’ pool liner will average $600 while a thicker 28/28 20’ by 40’ pool liner will average $1,700. If you are replacing an existing pool liner with a new one, the labor costs associated with draining the existing pool, removing the current liner, and replacing it with the new liner are around $2,500.

What Does it Cost to Convert a Liner Pool to Gunite?

For an average-size pool, most homeowners will pay an average of $4,000 to convert a vinyl liner pool to a gunite pool because you are not paying to dig the hole for the pool to be installed. With some pool companies, you may still need to pay additional fees for draining the existing pool and removing the old pool liner.

How Much Does It Cost To Maintain An Inground Pool?

Depending on the size of your pool and type of pool, your monthly inground pool maintenance costs could be between $50 and $300. Common elements included in maintenance packages from pool companies include the following:

• Pool cleaning service
• Testing the water and balancing levels
• Inspecting water heater equipment
• Inspecting and replacing water filter when needed

How Much Does It Cost To Open or Close A Pool?

The average costs to open a pool is around $400, and for pool closing expect to spend $300. These services include taking the cover off, cleaning the water of any debris, checking for leaks, and getting the chemicals to the right balance. At the end of the season, they can also take the water level down, drain pumps and the filter system, and place the cover to protect the pool for the winter.

Do Swimming Pools Add Value To Your Home?

According to Realtor.com, most homeowners can expect to see a maximum return of 7% on the investment in their pool when they are selling the home. Not all home buyers want to take on the ongoing maintenance cost of a swimming pool, and some homeowners might only see a swimming pool as a liability.

What Is The Average Cost Of An Inground Pool?

The average inground pool cost between $35,000 and $60,000 for a basic inground concrete pool without any add-ons. With custom features, you could be looking at $80,000 to $200,000 or more. Also, going for a larger-than-average pool with a connected spa can start your pool prices at around $95,000. For a more elaborate pool with a tile surface and an attached spa, the cost for an inground pool would start at about $220,000.

How Much Does A Pool Cost?

Inground pools have an average base price which starts around $20,000 to $28,000 in most areas. From there, costs rise as you add upgrades like spas, pool covers, etc. If your land needs grading or extra excavation because of rocky terrain, this can add significantly to your pool cost.

How Much Does Inground Pool Resurfacing Cost?

A concrete pool should last 10 to 15 years before it needs to be resurfaced, at which point you will be spending in the region of $10,000 to $13,000 depending on size and the type of finish on the pool, and potentially as much as a total of $20,000 if replacing the tile at the waterline at the same time.

DIY Inground Pool Cost

A DIY inground pool project is a way to save money by taking on some of the tasks yourself. According to River Pools and Spas, a do-it-yourself inground pool project could save you $6,000 to $10,000 on an inground fiberglass pool project that would have cost $40,000 to $55,000 with a professional pool company.

Hiring someone to dig the pool hole for you costs between $400 and $1,500 in an area with optimal soil conditions or as much as $15,000 in hard to get to areas with rocky terrain. Additional expenses you might incur might include the following:

• Fiberglass pool shell: $500 to $5,000
• Equipment rental (one week): $2,000
• Crane: $400–$800
• Dirt hauling and disposal: $13,000
• Water (trucked in): $700–$1,200
• Backfill material: $1,000–$2,000
• Miscellaneous plumbing: $300–$600
• Pool equipment: $700–$1,200

Hiring An Inground Pool Installer

When looking to hire a professional pool builder, create a list of the top 3 to 5 companies and schedule an on-site consultation with each. Compare the bids, services, features, and warranty from each company before making your final decision.

Article Last Updated: March 21, 2021

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