Editorial Standards

A dollar figure on a well-pump page is only useful if a reader can trust where it came from. This page spells out the sourcing behind the numbers, the money behind the contractor links, who is actually writing the guides, and what happens when someone catches a mistake.

Where the dollar figures originate

Every range on this site traces back to published well and pump contractor pricing surveys and installation labor references, cross-checked against the calculator's own multipliers for pump type, well depth, and whether a pressure tank is bundled into the job. We do not accept a number from a single supplier's price sheet, and no contractor, drilling company, or pump manufacturer has ever paid to have their pricing featured or their name attached to a recommendation.

The money behind the quote buttons

Clicking through to request local bids connects a reader with a network of well contractors, and this site collects a referral fee if that connection turns into paid work. Nobody reading this site pays that fee, and it does not influence which contractor a ZIP code gets matched with or the price that contractor eventually quotes. Advice to gather two or three bids before signing anything applies across the board, including to contractors inside that same referral network.

Reviewing what's already published

A "last checked" date sits on every guide, and that date only changes when something on the page actually changed, not on a rolling schedule meant to look active. The pricing model behind the calculator, and the depth-by-depth reference table built from it, get pulled back out and re-checked every few months, or sooner if a reader points out a number that looks off.

The two people behind this site

Jessica Martinez writes every calculator description, cost guide, and FAQ answer published here. She has never held a well-drilling or pump-installation license, and none of her writing is meant to replace a licensed contractor's own assessment of a specific well. Chris Terry owns the site, sets the policy on this page, and makes the final call on corrections, but does not research or write the guides, which is why the byline never carries his name. The authors page covers Jessica's background and the guides she's written in more depth.

Flagging something that looks wrong

Spotted a range that doesn't match a contractor's actual quote, or a depth band that seems miscalculated? The contact page reaches us fastest. Before touching a live page, we trace the flagged number back to its original source rather than taking a reader's word for it or the correction request's word for it alone. Once a change is confirmed, the date at the bottom of that page moves and the change gets a plain explanation instead of a silent edit.

Lines this site won't cross