The short answer
Angi’s Austin page puts the local average at $6,815, with most jobs in the $3,822–$9,809 range. That’s above Angi’s national average of $5,174, which fits what This Old House says about expansive clay: homes on it, as in parts of Texas, are more likely to need piering. At the high end, Olshan reports that its Austin-area jobs averaged about $13,798 in 2026. That is a contractor figure averaged over every service it sells; the same page puts basic foundation repairs at $3,500–$8,000.
So a quote anywhere from a few thousand dollars to the low five figures can be normal. Where yours lands depends on how much of the house moved, which side of the escarpment it’s on, and what the plan includes.
Austin against other Texas cities
| Market | Typical figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Austin, average | $6,815 | Angi |
| Dallas, average | $5,223 | Angi |
| Houston, average | $5,003 | Angi |
| National, average | $5,174 | Angi |
| Austin, one contractor’s average across all its jobs | $13,798 | Olshan (contractor figure) |
| Dallas, same contractor’s job average | $11,117 | Olshan (contractor figure) |
| Austin, same contractor’s basic repair range | $3,500–$8,000 | Olshan (contractor figure) |
Both sources rank Austin above Dallas. Neither explains why, so treat the difference as a pattern, not a rule.
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The lines on a typical quote
| Line item | Typical cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation inspection | $300–$750 | HomeGuide |
| Foundation inspection, average | $600 | Angi |
| Structural engineer’s report | $300–$1,000 | Angi |
| Piers | $1,000–$3,000 per pier | HomeAdvisor |
| Permit | $75–$150 | This Old House |
| Sealing cracks | $250–$800 | HomeAdvisor |
| Slab leak repair, average | $2,500 | Fixr |
| Drainage system | $2,800–$6,500 | Angi |
| Drainage jobs at one Austin contractor, average | $7,428 | Olshan (contractor figure) |
| French drain along one side | $1,200–$4,500 | HomeGuide |
| Mudjacking or slabjacking | $4–$9 per sq ft | HomeGuide |
| Polyurethane foam lifting | $5–$25 per sq ft | Angi |
The City of Austin’s permit fee for a foundation repair wasn’t on the pages we could find, so the permit row is a national figure. Ask whether the quote includes it.
How many piers you’ll need
The count should follow the part of the foundation that moved. A floor elevation survey shows where the slab is low; the contractor places piers along the beams in that area and a little past it, so the lift doesn’t simply move the problem next door. Olshan says most slab jobs take 5–15 piers, and Angi says contractors use around 10 piers on average.
A hypothetical example: if one corner of a house dropped and the survey shows the low area runs about 30 feet along two walls, a plan with piers every 6 to 8 feet along that stretch lands in single digits. If the whole back half of the house dropped, the same spacing over 100 feet of beam doubles or triples the count.
Ask every contractor to mark each pier on a drawing of your house. Two plans with different counts are usually two different diagnoses, and that’s the conversation to have before comparing prices.
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Why per-pier prices vary so much
Published per-pier prices around Austin run from a few hundred dollars to several thousand. Five things explain most of the spread.
1. The pier type.
| Pier type | Typical price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete (poured or stacked precast) | $1,000 per pier | Angi |
| Drilled concrete, slab foundations | $765–$1,100 per pier | Olshan (contractor figure) |
| Steel push piers | $2,000 per pier | Angi |
| Steel push piers, slab foundations | $990–$1,350 per pier | Olshan (contractor figure) |
| Helical piers | $2,000–$4,000 per pier | HomeGuide |
The pier guide explains how each type works.
2. What’s under the house. Angi’s pier and beam guide gives one example: three to five steel piers cost about $6,000–$10,000 in dense clay with shallow bedrock, and more in loose or sandy soil. Around Austin that cuts both ways. On the west side, where the city describes the soil as shallow, limestone or caliche soil, piers can reach rock quickly. East of I-35, in deeper, dark, clay soils, they may have to go much further before they stop.
3. Inside or outside. Exterior piers are dug beside the house. Interior piers mean breaking through the slab or tunneling under it, then patching the floor, which costs more and disturbs flooring.
4. What’s bundled. Some per-pier prices include the elevation surveys, permit, plumbing test, engineer’s review, cleanup and warranty. Others list them separately. Compare line by line.
5. The warranty. Longer or transferable warranties are often priced into the pier. Read what the warranty actually covers before paying more for it.
Slab or pier and beam: what changes
| Repair | Typical cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Concrete slab repair | $1,000–$10,000 | HomeGuide |
| Pier and beam repair, national average | $10,000 | Angi |
| Pier and beam repair, range | $1,500–$15,000 | HomeGuide |
| Re-shimming piers and beams, average | $1,600 | Angi |
| Adding a pier under a pier and beam house | $800–$4,000 per pier | Angi |
| Replacing a beam | $400–$1,200 per beam | Angi |
A pier and beam house that only needs re-shimming is often the cheapest repair in this market. One that needs new piers, beams and sill work can be the most expensive. The pier and beam page and the slab page go through each.
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Does insurance pay?
| Situation | Usually covered? | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Settling, shrinking or swelling clay | No: most policies exclude earth movement | Texas Department of Insurance |
| Damage caused by a sudden plumbing leak under the slab | Often, depending on the policy | Texas Supreme Court ruling of 1998 |
| A slow leak that went on for months | Usually not: policies cover sudden discharge, not continuous or repeated leakage | Texas Department of Insurance |
| A policy with a foundation endorsement | Up to the endorsement’s limit, sometimes capped at 15% of dwelling coverage | Texas Department of Insurance |
The insurance guide covers what to tell your insurer and when.
Paying for it
Many contractors offer payment plans. If you’re offered one, get the interest rate, the term and the total you’ll repay in writing, and compare it with a home equity line or personal loan. Whatever the method, keep the payments tied to progress:
- The Texas Department of Insurance says to be wary of a contractor who asks for a large or full down payment.
- The Texas Attorney General says not to pay in full until the work is complete and you’ve inspected it.
- Don’t sign a contract with blanks in it; the Attorney General warns that blanks tend to get filled in later, and not in the homeowner’s favor.
- For a homestead improvement over $5,000, the Attorney General says the contractor must by law deposit your payments in a construction account at a financial institution.
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How to compare two quotes
The Texas Attorney General’s advice is to get more than one bid, in writing, with detail about exactly what will be done. Then check that the plans are actually comparable:
- Same diagnosis? Both plans should be based on an elevation survey, and you should have copies of the readings.
- Same scope? Count the piers, note the type and depth, and check which are interior.
- Same extras? Line up the permit, engineer’s review, plumbing tests, after-repair survey and cleanup.
- Same warranty? Compare what’s covered, for how long, and the transfer terms.
- Same drainage advice? A plan that ignores drainage invites a second repair. The Foundation Performance Association says improper drainage can cause continued movement of a repaired slab.
If two plans still disagree badly, an evaluation by a licensed professional engineer who doesn’t sell repairs can settle it. HomeAdvisor says a general structural report averages $550.
Where these figures come from
Every range on this page comes from a published cost guide (Angi, HomeAdvisor, HomeGuide, Fixr, This Old House) or from one contractor’s own published averages, labelled as such. The guides’ dates are in the Sources list below. None of them is a quote for your house, and we don’t yet have job data from contractors serving Austin to compare against. Your contractor’s written plan is the only price that counts.