# Fence Installation Cost: Materials, Posts, and Crew Wages

Canonical URL: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/fence-installation-cost/
Plain text: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/fence-installation-cost/llms.txt
Publisher: SimplyWise, Inc. (https://www.simplywise.com)
Published: September 3, 2026
Updated: October 14, 2026
Category: Project Cost Guides
Summary: Wood fence installation cost broken into pickets, rails, posts, and concrete, with dated supplier prices and published fence erector wages.

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## Wood Fence Installation Cost: Materials, Posts, and Crew Wages

Wood fence installation cost is four buys and a wage line: pickets, rails, posts, and the concrete that holds them. Here is what each one publishes today.

At a glance

1. Treated pine privacy fence pickets, rails, and posts run $6.96 to $12.27 per linear foot at published supplier prices.
2. Cedar takes that to $10.22 to $13.99 per linear foot on a 100 foot run.
3. A 4×4 by 8 foot treated post runs $9.25 to $12.99 across two named suppliers.
4. Fence erectors earned a median of $23.07 an hour in the May 2025 BLS release.
5. A 50 pound bag of fast setting mix yields 0.375 to 0.38 cubic feet, so a 4×4 post takes four.
6. Chain link fabric, 4 foot at 12.5 gauge, runs $1.80 to $2.40 per linear foot before posts.

## What wood fence installation cost is actually made of

Almost every published cost of fence installation is one blended dollar per linear foot with nothing under it. Useless on a bid: a fence is four buys and a wage line, and all five move for different reasons.

Pickets are a face line, priced by the run each board covers. Rails are a span line, priced by section. Posts are a count line, one every eight feet plus one. Concrete is a hole volume line, labor a time line.

Know your run? The SimplyWise Fence Cost Calculator (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/fence-cost-calculator/) walks the takeoff from post spacing to rails to in-fill. Take off there, price here.

## Privacy fence installation cost per linear foot, by material

The model is the common one: a 6 foot wood privacy fence, dog ear pickets, three rails, 4×4 posts eight feet on center. Every figure comes from two suppliers, captured Aug 28, 2026.

A nominal 1×6 picket presents a 5.5 inch face, so a linear foot takes 2.18 pickets. Treated pine dog ear boards publish at $1.90 to $3.49 each, western red cedar at $3.31 to $4.49. Treated 2×4 by 8 foot rails run $4.29 to $5.99, three per section.

## Fence installation cost by run length

Treated pine, 6 feet tall, three rails, posts eight feet on center. The materials column is pickets, rails, and posts only. Bags are 50 pound fast setting mix, four per post, counted but not priced.

| Run | Posts | Pickets | Rails | Bags | Materials | Per lin ft |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 50 ft | 8 | 110 | 21 | 32 | $373 to $614 | $7.46 to $12.27 |
| 100 ft | 14 | 219 | 39 | 56 | $713 to $1,180 | $7.13 to $11.80 |
| 150 ft | 20 | 328 | 57 | 80 | $1,053 to $1,746 | $7.02 to $11.64 |
| 200 ft | 26 | 437 | 75 | 104 | $1,393 to $2,312 | $6.96 to $11.56 |

Swap in western red cedar on that 100 foot run and materials go to $1,022 to $1,399, or $10.22 to $13.99 per linear foot. Only the picket line changed. Chain link fence installation cost runs the other way: 48 inch by 50 foot galvanized fabric at 12.5 gauge publishes at $89.99 to $119.99 a roll, or $1.80 to $2.40 per linear foot before posts, rail, and ties.

## Turn the run into a signed quote

This page prices materials. The signed estimate also carries labor and markup. SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized, branded estimate in about 6 seconds. Pricing is $29.99 a month or $239.99 a year, about $20 a month annual, with a 7 day free trial.

## What the wage data says about the labor line

The government publishes an occupation for this trade and most fence installation cost guides ignore it. Fence erectors, code 47-4031, numbered 24,480 workers in May 2025 and earned a median of $23.07 an hour, mean $24.29, tenth percentile $17.22, ninetieth $33.66. Median annual pay was $47,980.

Two erectors over an eight hour day is $369 to $389 in wages. Nobody bills that. Burden, insurance, truck, auger, and profit ride on top, and the multiplier is yours.

No allowed source publishes a productivity rate, linear feet of fence per crew hour. So this page prints no installed dollar per linear foot for labor. Distrust any fence installation cost guide that does.

## Posts and concrete, the line that decides how long it lasts

QUIKRETE sets the hole rule: diameter three times the post, depth one third of the post length plus six inches of gravel base. A 4×4 post is 3.5 inches actual, so the hole is 10.5 inches across and an 8 foot post goes 32 inches into concrete.

That ring holds about 1.38 cubic feet. A 50 pound bag yields 0.375 cubic feet per QUIKRETE and 0.38 per Sakrete, so four bags per post. On the 100 foot run that is 56 bags, a pallet to move, and the line most fence installation cost estimates skip.

## Price a fence run in this order

1. Walk the line and count corners A count line, not a length line. Corners, ends, and gates each add one.
2. Pick the picket before anything else Cedar against treated pine is the biggest swing on the page.
3. Price posts and bags together Four 50 pound bags per post. Count the pallet, not the post.
4. Add gates last, and separately Hardware kits publish at $36.99 to $42.99 before the frame.

## Keep reading

- Fence Cost Calculator (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/fence-cost-calculator/)
- Contractor Hourly Labor Rates by Trade (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/contractor-hourly-labor-rates-by-trade/)
- Free Fencing Estimate Template (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/fencing-estimate-template/)

## Sources

- Treated pine picket, 6 ft, 2026-08-28: Sutherlands (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/90282/sutherlands-1-x-6-inch-x-6-foot-treated-yellow-pine-fence-board) $1.90 to $3.49 (35 branches), McCoy’s (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/0115201/58-in-x-6-in-x-6-ft-southern-pine-no-2-pressure-treated-ca-rough-sawn-dog-ear-fencing) $2.19.
- Cedar picket, 6 ft, 2026-08-28: Sutherlands (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/90480/sutherlands-1-x-6-inch-x-6-foot2-better-no-hole-western-red-cedar-fence-board) $3.31 to $4.49 (32 branches), McCoy’s (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/011512/58-in-x-5-12-in-x-6-ft-western-red-cedar-dog-ear-fence-picket) $4.19.
- 4×4 by 8 ft treated post, 2026-08-28: Sutherlands (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/12849/sutherlands-4-in-x-4-in-x-8-ft-2-s4s-green-treated-ground-contract-yellow-pine-treated-post) $9.25 to $12.99 (42 branches), McCoy’s (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/011003/4-in-x-4-in-x-8-ft-actual-3-12x3-12-2-ground-contact-treated-pine) $10.79.
- 2×4 by 8 ft treated rail, 2026-08-28: Sutherlands (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/16576/sutherlands-2-x-4-inch-x-8-foot-number2-s4s-treated-yellow-pine-lumber) $4.29 to $5.99, McCoy’s (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/010715/2-in-x-4-in-x-8-ft-southern-pine-no-1-pressure-treated-mca-06-surfaced-on-4-sides) $4.89.
- Chain link fabric, Southwestern Wire 48 in by 50 ft, 12.5 gauge, 2026-08-28: Sutherlands (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/3563780/southwestern-wire-48-inch-x-50-foot-12-12-gauge-galvanized-steel-chain-link-fabric-per-roll) $89.99 to $94.99, McCoy’s (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/06070300/southwestern-wire-320485050120009-09-chain-link-fabric-48-ft-h-50-ft-l-2-38-in-mesh-12-12-gauge-galvanized) $119.99.
- National Hardware gate kits, 2026-08-28: Sutherlands (https://sutherlands.com/products/item/2796753/national-hardware-black-steel-heavy-duty-deluxe-hinge-gate-kit) $36.99 to $39.99, McCoy’s (https://www.mccoys.com/shop/p/7175094-052303-28/national-hardware-v867-series-n109-015-gate-kit-steel-black-1-piece) $42.99.
- QUIKRETE Fast Setting Concrete Mix No. 1004 (https://www.quikrete.com/productlines/fastsettingconcretemix.asp) (50 lb bag yields 0.375 cu ft; hole 3 times post diameter, one third post length; 2026-08-28), Sakrete Fast Setting Concrete Mix (https://www.sakrete.com/product/fast-setting-concrete-mix/) (0.38 cu ft; 2026-08-28).
- BLS OEWS May 2025 (https://www.bls.gov/oes/) (47-4031 fence erectors, mean $24.29, median $23.07, 24,480 employed; flat file plus api.bls.gov, 2026-08-28).
- SimplyWise Cost Estimator, App Store (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simplywise-cost-estimator/id6670619664) (4.8; 2026-08-22).

## Fence pricing questions

**What is wood fence installation cost per linear foot?**

Pickets, rails, and posts on a 6 foot treated pine privacy fence run about $6.96 to $12.27 per linear foot at published supplier prices. Concrete, labor, gates, and tear out are separate.

**How many pickets does 100 feet of fence take?**

219, on a nominal 1×6 board with a 5.5 inch face. That is 2.18 pickets per linear foot, rounded up at the end.

**How many bags of concrete per fence post?**

Four 50 pound bags for a 4×4 post in a 10.5 inch hole 32 inches deep. Each bag yields 0.375 to 0.38 cubic feet.

**How much do fence installers earn?**

A median of $23.07 an hour in the May 2025 wage release, mean $24.29. Wages only, before burden, overhead, and profit.

**Is cedar or treated pine cheaper for a fence?**

Treated pine. Cedar publishes at $3.31 to $4.49 a picket against $1.90 to $3.49, about a $220 to $310 swing on a 100 foot run.

**Can SimplyWise price a fence from a photo?**

Yes. SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds, with material pricing from the nearest Home Depot to your registered zip.

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