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A six-foot wood privacy fence in the Bay Area ran $27 to $37 per linear foot installed in HomeBlue’s 2022 Bay Area price guide. That puts the wood fence cost in the Bay Area for a typical 100-foot run at roughly $2,700 to $3,700.
Those figures are from 2022, so current prices are likely higher. Use them to set a budget, then get a local quote before you commit.
Below, you’ll find the per-foot ranges by height, whole-yard totals, the labor and materials split, and the choices that move a quote up or down.
How much does a wood fence cost per linear foot in the Bay Area?
For a 4 to 6 foot wood privacy fence, plan on $22 to $37 per linear foot installed. That range assumes common fence wood and ordinary site conditions, and it leaves out redwood and tropical woods, which cost more.
Where you land inside the range depends mostly on height, and on the factors covered further down.
Cost by fence height
Every extra foot adds to the bill, and the climb is steady. The installed column below is the full per-foot price; the materials column covers the pickets alone.
| Fence height | Installed, per linear foot | Picket materials only, per linear foot |
|---|---|---|
| 4 ft | $22 to $31 | $11 to $14 |
| 5 ft | $25 to $34 | $12 to $15 |
| 6 ft | $27 to $37 | $13 to $16 |
What does a whole-yard wood fence cost?
For a six-foot fence, a 100-foot run is $2,700 to $3,700 installed, and the total grows almost in line with length. A rough budget is your footage times the per-foot range.
| Length of six-foot fence | Installed total |
|---|---|
| 100 ft | $2,700 to $3,700 |
| 200 ft | $5,500 to $7,300 |
| 300 ft | $8,200 to $11,000 |
Walk the property line and measure before you compare quotes, because footage is the number every bidder starts from. A mid-size yard lands in the middle row, while a long run along several boundaries climbs past $8,000.
Remember that these totals assume a six-foot fence. If you’re pricing a shorter one, use the per-foot figures from the height table and multiply by your footage instead, keeping in mind that the wood fence cost in the Bay Area also shifts with the conditions below.
How much of the price is labor and how much is materials?
Labor runs $8 to $13 per linear foot. On a six-foot fence, the pickets alone cost $13 to $16 per linear foot.
Those two lines add up to less than the $27 to $37 installed price, so a real quote covers more than boards and crew time. When you compare bids, ask each one to say what sits between the materials and the total.
What makes a wood fence cost more?
Wood choice and board design come first. Cedar or locust costs more than pine, boards set with no gap between them use more wood, and thicker boards cost more per foot.
Height matters too, with fences of six feet and up costing more than shorter ones.
Where wood fence cost in the Bay Area climbs highest
Then the property itself gets a vote. Sloped or rocky ground, trees in the way and a back lot a truck can’t reach all mean more hours for the crew, and these conditions all push the price up:
- Removing an existing fence
- Grading the ground
- More than one gate
- Rocky soil
- Tree or shrub removal
- A hard-to-reach property
A high-cost area adds to the total, and so does a required permit or survey. Because the Bay Area is a high-cost area, expect the wood fence cost in the Bay Area to sit toward the upper end of the range.
Each item on that list is something a good installer can see on a walk-through. If a quote doesn’t mention a stump, a slope or an old fence panel you pointed out, ask why, since those are the surprises that turn into change orders later.
What can bring the price down?
Photo by Davis Vidal on Pexels
Keep the fence under six feet if privacy allows. Choose pine or spruce, space the boards an inch or more apart, and pick thinner boards, and each of those trims the per-foot price.
Flat, normal soil helps, as do easy access, a single gate, and a job with nothing to tear out or grade. A project that needs no permit or survey saves on paperwork too.
Height is the biggest lever you control. Dropping from six feet to four takes the installed range from $27 to $37 down to $22 to $31, though a shorter fence gives up privacy.
Does redwood or cedar cost more than pine?
Yes. Cedar pushes the price up and pine or spruce pulls it down, while redwood can add $10 or more per linear foot on top of the figures above. On a 200-foot run, that’s at least $2,000 extra.
That premium matters when you add up the wood fence cost in the Bay Area, since wood choice is the one decision you make before any crew arrives. What you get for it is rot resistance. University of Wisconsin-Madison wood professor Gene Wengert describes western red cedar and Alaska cedar heartwood as “very decay (and insect) resistant” in a WoodWeb column on treated pine versus cedar.
There’s a catch. Wengert warns that cedar sapwood “will decay within a year or two” and that much of the cedar sold at stores contains sapwood, so ask what grade your installer is using.
Do treated posts last longer than cedar or redwood posts?
Treated pine posts can last very long when they’re treated properly. Wengert wrote that “properly treated southern pine lumber or posts will last for a hundred years even when in contact with the wet soil.” His own fence uses cedar boards on treated pine posts.
The word that matters is properly. Ground-contact treated wood carries 0.40 pounds of preservative per cubic foot, against 0.25 for wood meant for above ground, and Wengert advises buying only wood with an AWPB certification stamp or label.
The column dates from 1998 and comes from a Wisconsin professor, so weigh it as general guidance on wood rather than a Bay Area warranty.
A Pacific Northwest reader who commented on it reported that treated pine posts often need replacing in ten years or sooner, because treatment often doesn’t fully penetrate 4x4s. That reader suggests keeping posts out of the ground with concrete-mounted stirrups.
Our read: if you go with treated posts, insist on the ground-contact grade and the stamp, and ask whether stirrups are an option for your soil.
Frequently asked questions
Does a taller fence cost more?
Yes. In the Bay Area price guide above, a four-foot fence ran $22 to $31 per linear foot installed, a five-foot fence $25 to $34, and a six-foot fence $27 to $37.
Does removing my old fence add to the cost?
It does. Removing an existing fence is one of the listed factors that raises the price, so ask for removal as its own line in the quote.
Does the number of gates change the price?
Yes. A job with one gate costs less than one with more than one, so count every opening you need before you ask for quotes.
Why do quotes for the same fence differ?
Wood type, board spacing and thickness, grading, soil, access, permits and surveys all change the price, and each installer prices them differently. Ask every bidder to itemize them so you can compare like with like. For more on judging bids, see our guide to choosing a landscaper in the Bay Area.
With 20+ years of experience behind our work, we’re happy to walk you through a quote. You can see our fencing services, browse a finished fencing project, or request a free estimate. If a new lawn is part of the plan too, our artificial turf cost breakdown covers that budget.
Sources
- Bay Area, CA Wood Fence Cost — HomeBlue
- Treated pine vs. cedar — WoodWeb