How much does an inground pool cost?
United States: homeowner survey
Households in the American Housing Survey that hired out a pool, tennis court or other recreational structure reported a median of $10,000; the typical range (middle half of 201 American Housing Survey data points, the United States, 2021-2023) was $5,000 to $46,300.
When the household did that work itself: a median (133 American Housing Survey data points, the United States, 2021-2023) of $1,300.
How measured: hired-out finished jobs, survey-weighted, not adjusted for inflation; do-it-yourself jobs the same way. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, data read 16 October 2026.
These figures are estimates from U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, data years 2021-2023, read 16 October 2026, for the United States. They are not a quote, and they are not a promise of what any contractor on InstaBids will charge. Your price depends on your home, the materials and the contractor. Get written bids before you decide.
What is the cost of an inground pool?
Read the national range with care. The survey item is "Added or replaced swimming pool, tennis court, or other recreational structure", so courts and other recreational structures sit next to pools, the item does not say whether a pool was in-ground, and its median is far below the county figure for new pools further down this page.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, AHS 2023 Value Labels Package, read 16 October 2026.
About half of the households in this item did the work themselves: the hired-out share is 51 percent. Roofing in the same survey is at 87 percent.
Heating is a choice made at build time. ENERGY STAR gives the federal efficiency standard for gas-fired pool heaters as 82 percent, and says heat pumps and solar thermal systems hold a pool in a set temperature range well while gas heaters suit pools that need occasional rapid heating.
Source: ENERGY STAR (U.S. EPA), Pool Pumps, read 16 October 2026.
How much does an inground pool cost in Florida?
Florida law decides part of the build. To pass final inspection, a new home pool needs at least one safety feature from the state's list: an enclosure that meets the barrier rules, an approved safety cover, exit alarms on doors and windows to the pool, self-closing and self-latching doors, or a pool alarm.
Source: Florida Statutes, Residential Swimming Pool Safety Feature Options (chapter 515), read 16 October 2026.
Leaving a new pool without any of them is a second-degree misdemeanor under the same chapter, unless the owner adds a feature and attends a drowning prevention course within 45 days. A house wall can serve as part of the barrier only if no door or window in it opens onto the pool.
Source: Florida Statutes, Residential Swimming Pool Safety Feature Options (chapter 515), read 16 October 2026.
Source: Florida Statutes, Residential Swimming Pool Barrier Requirements (chapter 515), read 16 October 2026.
Section 489.103(6) also keeps in-ground pools that involve excavation, plumbing, chemicals or wiring inside the state's contracting law.
Source: Florida Statutes, section 489.103 (exemptions), read 16 October 2026.
For a county reading, Miami-Dade's permit list was searched for residential building permits whose description reads "NEW" ahead of "POOL", leaving out any that also name repair, renovation, remodelling, resurfacing, demolition or new house construction; 100 percent of those permits carried a declared value.
Source: Miami-Dade County building permits, read 16 October 2026.
Miami-Dade County, FL: declared value on building permits
Residential building permits in Miami-Dade County for a new pool declared a median declared value on building permits of $35,000; the typical range (middle half of 1,324 Miami-Dade County permit data points, Miami-Dade County, FL, 2024-2026) was $30,000 to $48,000.
Declared permit values are what applicants reported to the county; final contract prices can differ.
How measured: residential permits with a declared value, untrimmed. Source: Miami-Dade County building permits, data read 16 October 2026.
These figures are estimates from Miami-Dade County building permits, data years 2024-2026, read 16 October 2026, for Miami-Dade County, FL. They are not a quote, and they are not a promise of what any contractor on InstaBids will charge. Your price depends on your home, the materials and the contractor. Get written bids before you decide.
The count is limited to permits worded as a new pool.
Source: Miami-Dade County building permits, read 16 October 2026.
What changes the fiberglass pool cost?
- The shell type: neither record names the shell, so fiberglass, concrete and vinyl-lined pools are counted together in both.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, AHS 2023 Value Labels Package, read 16 October 2026.
Source: Miami-Dade County building permits, read 16 October 2026. - The pump: ENERGY STAR notes that every pool has at least one recirculation pump, that halving a pump's speed cuts its energy use to one-eighth, and that running the filter six hours a day instead of around the clock cuts its energy use by three-quarters.
Source: ENERGY STAR (U.S. EPA), Pool Pumps, read 16 October 2026.
- A cover: ENERGY STAR says covering a pool when it is not in use can reduce what it takes to heat it by as much as 50 to 70 percent.
Source: ENERGY STAR (U.S. EPA), Pool Pumps, read 16 October 2026.
- Owner work: in this broad item, households working on their own reported a far smaller median than those who hired a builder.
Get written bids
Contractors who take part estimate from your photos and a written scope card, so nobody visits before you see any prices. InstaBids is in an early pilot in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Sources for the figures on this page
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/data/2023/ahs-2023-public-use-file--puf-.html, read 16 October 2026. U.S. government work; no endorsement implied.
- Miami-Dade County building permits, https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=6db5f56e886446df88313ca279e59120, read 16 October 2026. County open data, as is; no endorsement implied.
- U.S. Census Bureau, AHS 2023 Value Labels Package, www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/2023/AHS%202023%20Value%20Labels%20Package.zip, read 16 October 2026.
- ENERGY STAR (U.S. EPA), Pool Pumps, www.energystar.gov/products/pool_pumps, read 16 October 2026.
- Florida Statutes, Residential Swimming Pool Safety Feature Options (chapter 515), www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm, read 16 October 2026.
- Florida Statutes, Residential Swimming Pool Barrier Requirements (chapter 515), www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm, read 16 October 2026.
- Florida Statutes, section 489.103 (exemptions), www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm, read 16 October 2026.