What a Fence Costs
A pressure-treated privacy fence costs $25 to $55 per linear foot installed, cedar $35 to $75, and chain link $15 to $30 — so 150 ft of treated privacy fence is roughly $3,750 to $8,250. Gates are priced separately at $250 to $900 each, and removing an old fence adds $3 to $10 a foot before anything new goes up.
A fence is priced by the linear foot, but it is built by the post. Spacing decides how many posts, posts decide how much concrete and how much labour, and the rating stamped on the post decides whether the fence is standing in fifteen years or leaning in six.
The rating on the post is not the rating on the rails
Pressure-treated lumber is sold to use categories under the AWPA standard. UC3B is above-ground exposed, which is correct for rails and pickets. Anything buried needs UC4A, ground contact, which carries roughly twice the preservative retention.
The two look identical on the rack and the tag is the only difference. A UC3B post set in soil is the single commonest reason a fence fails early, and it fails at the groundline where nobody is looking until the post snaps.
Spacing, and why the count is not length divided by spacing
Six to eight feet on centre is the usual range: six for heavy privacy panels, eight where the rails can span it. A hundred-foot run at eight feet is not twelve posts but thirteen, because a run has a post at both ends.
Every corner and every gate side is an extra post, and gate posts want the next size up plus deeper concrete. A yard with four corners and one gate carries six posts that the linear-foot arithmetic never mentioned.
Depth is set by frost, not by preference
A third of the post length in the ground is the working rule, so an eight-foot post gives six feet of fence. Where the ground freezes, the hole also has to reach below the local frost line or the post will be lifted a little each winter until the gate stops closing.
Concrete per hole is small and adds up: a 10-inch hole three feet deep is about 1.6 cubic feet, so twenty posts is roughly a cubic yard of concrete before any waste.
Where the money actually goes
On a straight run of privacy fence, materials and labour land near half and half. On a short fence with several gates and corners, labour dominates, because the cost of a fence is the cost of setting posts and a gate is three posts of work in one.
Removing an old fence is a separate line and is usually quoted per foot, more if the old posts were set in concrete.
Typical costs, US, 2026
| Item | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Pressure-treated privacy fence, installed | $25–$55 per linear ft |
| Chain link, installed | $15–$30 per linear ft |
| Cedar privacy fence, installed | $35–$75 per linear ft |
| 4x4x8 ground-contact post, material | $12–$22 per post |
| Gate, hardware and hanging | $250–$900 per gate |
| Old fence removal | $3–$10 per linear ft |
Excludes permits, survey, tree and root removal, grading, rock excavation and any work on a shared boundary that needs the neighbour to agree first.
Ranges as of 2026 and indicative rather than sourced from a price index. Use them to sanity-check a quote, not to replace one — regional labour rates move these figures more than any material choice.
Questions people actually ask
- How far apart should fence posts be?
- Six to eight feet on centre. Eight is the most a 2x4 rail spans without sagging, and six is normal under six-foot privacy panels because they catch wind like a sail. Closer spacing costs more in posts and concrete and buys stiffness you can feel when you lean on it.
- Do I need concrete for every post?
- For gate posts and corner posts, yes, and deeper than the rest. For line posts it is the usual practice but not the only one: compacted gravel drains better and lets a post be replaced without breaking out a footing. Concrete that traps water against untreated end grain shortens the post it was meant to protect.
- Why is my quote so much higher than the per-foot figure?
- Because per-foot pricing describes a straight run on flat ground. Corners, gates, slope that forces stepped panels, and removal of the old fence are all separate. A hundred feet with four corners and two gates is closer to a hundred and forty feet of work.
- Whose fence is it?
- That is a survey question, not a construction one, and it is the one that turns a fence into a dispute. Locate the pins or get a survey before setting a single post; moving a finished fence costs more than the fence.
Sources: American Wood Protection Association — use category system for treated wood, International Residential Code R403.1.4 — footings below the frost line, American Wood Council — wood construction data