How much does a water test cost?

What each test costs

The clearest prices come from public labs: state health labs and university labs that test water for homeowners. Here is what the ones that publish a price charge for each common test:

• Bacteria (total coliform, often with E. coli): $10 to $41. Missouri charges a $10 handling fee. Maryland charges $41.
• Nitrate: $10 to $35. Indiana charges $10 plus shipping. Wisconsin charges $35.
• Lead: $20 to $38. EPA's own figure for a certified lab test is $20 to $100.
• Packages: Maine's basic safety test is $42. Penn State's standard package of bacteria, pH and total dissolved solids is $60. Virginia's clinic kit covers 28 things for $70.
• Full well panels: Maine's tests for new wells and home sales are $127 to $147. Wisconsin's homeowner package is $450. It covers bacteria, nitrate, fluoride, metals, hardness, volatile organic compounds and atrazine.

Private labs on your state's list set their own prices, so they can cost more or less. Call two or three and compare.

EPA's yearly well test, priced

No one tests a private well but its owner. EPA's advice is to "test your private well annually for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids, and pH levels." The well testing guide explains why each one matters.

At Penn State's lab, that set is the $70 Agriculture/Septic package. The $60 standard package covers bacteria, pH and total dissolved solids without the nitrate.

Bacteria and nitrate on their own cost $33 in Nebraska, $59 in Maryland and $70 in Wisconsin.

What state and university labs charge

State	Who tests	What it costs
Delaware	Delaware Division of Public Health	No charge for the kit or the testing
Florida	Florida Department of Health Bureau of Public Health Laboratories	$40 for private testing through the state lab
Georgia	University of Georgia Agricultural and Environmental Services Laboratories	The lab lists $20 for its basic water test, $12 for nitrate, $40 for coliform bacteria, and $90 for the home loan set of lead, nitrate, nitrite and bacteria
Indiana	Indiana Department of Health laboratory	Nitrate is $10 a sample plus $6.50 shipping per order, fluoride $10 plus shipping, and the arsenic, lead and copper kit $20 plus $6.50 shipping
Iowa	State Hygienic Laboratory at the University of Iowa	No cost in a participating county
Maine	Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory	The basic safety test is $42, bacteria alone $27, first-draw lead $32, and the fuller well tests $127 to $147
Maryland	Maryland Department of Health laboratory	Bacteria is $41, nitrate $18, and lead, copper or iron $20 each
Mississippi	Mississippi State Department of Health	$10 plus a processing fee, invoiced by email
Missouri	Missouri State Public Health Laboratory	The handling fee is $10, by check or money order
Nebraska	Nebraska Public Health Environmental Laboratory	A bacteria kit is $17 and a nitrate kit $16
Oregon	Oregon State University Extension Well Water Program	The screening is free
Pennsylvania	Penn State Agricultural Analytical Services Laboratory	The standard package of bacteria, pH and total dissolved solids is $60, or $70 with nitrate; bacteria alone is $40, nitrate $15 and lead $25
Tennessee	Tennessee Department of Health	Free for eligible wells and springs
Virginia	Virginia Household Water Quality Program, Virginia Cooperative Extension	$70 a kit, with funding to help if you need it
Wisconsin	Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene	Bacteria is $35, nitrate $35, lead $38, and the homeowner package $450, as of July 1, 2026
Prices as each program lists them, checked between Oct. 10, 2026 and Oct. 17, 2026. A state not shown either publishes no price or has no program on file here; its certified labs set their own.

Where testing is free

EPA says your local health department "may provide private well testing for free." A few states say so outright:

• Delaware charges nothing for the kit or the testing. Pick up a kit at a state health office and bring it back on a weekday.
• Iowa tests for bacteria and nitrate at no cost in counties that take part in its Grants-to-Counties program. Start with your county sanitarian.
• Tennessee tests eligible wells and springs for free. Ask the state's Waterborne Disease Team whether yours qualifies.
• Oregon State University's well water program screens for nitrate for free at many of its events.

Some states hold screening events instead. New Mexico runs water fairs, and the Texas Well Owner Network holds screenings followed by a class on the results. Virginia's Extension clinics charge $70 a kit and can help if you can't pay. EPA's advice is to use a certified lab, so if a screening turns up a problem, confirm it with one.

Costs beyond the test

The price on the list is not always the whole bill. Ask about these before you send a sample:

• Shipping. Indiana adds $6.50 an order. Wisconsin ships the kit for free, but you pay to mail the sample back.
• Collection and handling. Alabama may charge a collection fee on top of the testing fee. Missouri's $10 is a handling fee, and a free state courier carries the sample. Mississippi adds a processing fee.
• Time limits. Bacteria samples don't keep. Maine's lab must get the sample within 30 hours, and Florida's has to arrive on ice the same day it was taken. That can mean overnight shipping or a drive to the lab.

On city water, start with lead

If you pay a water bill, your utility already tests the water it sends you. It publishes the results each year in its water quality report. The report guide shows how to read one, and the lookup at the end of this page finds yours.

What the utility's tests can't show is what your own pipes add. EPA says lead gets into drinking water when plumbing that contains lead corrodes, and lead service lines are usually the biggest source. So your tap can differ from the utility's numbers. CDC says "many public water systems will test drinking water for residents upon request," so ask your utility first. If it won't, a certified lab will. The lead guide covers what to do while you wait.

Choosing a private lab

Your state certifies the labs allowed to test drinking water, test by test. TapBuff gathers every state's list, with each lab's city and phone number and which tests it is certified for. Not every lab on a list is certified for every test, and far fewer are certified for PFAS than for bacteria.

Before you pay, ask:

• Is the lab certified by your state for this exact test?
• Does the price include the bottles, shipping and the report?
• How soon must the sample arrive, and on which days does the lab accept samples?
• Will the report show each result in a unit you can compare? EPA says results should include the concentration of each thing tested, and may show whether it is above a federal standard.

Home test kits

EPA's advice is short: "Only use laboratories that are certified to do drinking water testing." A strip or a kit you read yourself can be a quick check, but it is not a lab result.

After the results

Once you have a number, look up the contaminant. The pages for lead, nitrate, arsenic and hardness give the federal limit and the NSF/ANSI certification claim that addresses each one. The standards decoder explains what the numbers on a filter box mean.