Most new wood fences around Portland run $1,700-$7,500 with materials on a line of roughly 150 ft, and $3,200 is the typical job (market data, November 2026). Per foot, that comes to about $11-$50 . The things that push a quote up or down are height, gates, pulling out an old fence, slope and how hard the yard is to get into.
Ready to have one put up? What we build and how the work goes is on our fence installation page. Everything below is about cost.
How much does fence installation cost in Portland?
These are the Portland-area market ranges we start from. Materials are included, the figures were read in November 2026, and none of them is our quote.
| Work | Typical | Low end | High end | Priced | Includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood fence, ~150-ft line | $3,200 | $1,700 | $7,500 | whole job | materials |
| Wood gate, built or redone | $600 | $250 | $1,500 | whole job | materials |
| Fence stain or paint | $1,000 | $500 | $2,000 | whole fence | materials |
You'll see much bigger numbers on some sites and smaller ones on others. National calculators average in cheaper markets, and some local fence companies quote their premium builds as the starting point. Our figures are for wood fences only. Chain link and wire are usually the cheapest per foot, but there's no price row for them here, so we don't print one . In west-side backyards, the fence people ask us about most is cedar pickets on pressure-treated rails and posts . For how we price other work, see pricing.
What does a new fence cost per foot?
Divide the row by its length and you get the per-foot number: $1,700 ÷ 150 ≈ $11, $3,200 ÷ 150 ≈ $21, and $7,500 ÷ 150 = $50 a foot, materials in.
Stretching that in a straight line gives a rough sketch for other lengths. This is our own arithmetic on the 150-ft row, not separate market data:
| Fence run | Low | Typical | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 ft | ~$1,130 | ~$2,130 | ~$5,000 |
| 150 ft | $1,700 | $3,200 | $7,500 |
| 200 ft | ~$2,270 | ~$4,270 | ~$10,000 |
| 300 ft | ~$3,400 | ~$6,400 | ~$15,000 |
Real quotes don't scale that neatly. Some costs show up whatever the length: the trip, laying out the line, waiting on the utility locate, the corner and end posts, and any gate. So a 60-ft side fence costs more per foot than a 300-ft straight run along the back of a lot .
To get your own number, walk the line with a long tape. Write down the total length, then count corners and gate openings separately, because each of those gets its own heavier post.
How much of a fence quote is labour and how much is materials?
The same market row puts materials at about 45 % of the price and the work at about 30 person-hours for the typical job. Applied to the $3,200 figure, that splits like this:
| Part | Share | On a $3,200 fence | Per foot, 150 ft |
|---|---|---|---|
| Materials | about 45 % | ≈ $1,440 | ≈ $10 |
| Labour | about 55 % | ≈ $1,760 | ≈ $12 |
The material side pays for posts, rails, boards, concrete or gravel for the footings, screws or nails, hinges and a latch. Treat that split as a November 2026 snapshot. The labour side pays for laying out the line, digging and setting posts, hanging rails and boards, building the gate and cleaning up after.
Post holes dug in winter, when west-side yards stay soaked for weeks, can take longer to dig and to set properly .
What makes one fence quote higher than another?
Two quotes for "a fence across the back" can be thousands apart and both be fair. Usually they're pricing different fences. These are the usual reasons, roughly in order .
Height. Six feet is the normal privacy height. Going to eight means taller boards, longer posts set deeper. Portland and unincorporated Washington County both require a building permit for a wood fence taller than 7 ft, which adds a fee and some waiting .
The old fence. Somebody has to pull out the old boards and dig out the old posts and their concrete. We have no market row for that part . Hauling as a stand-alone job is off our list, along with the rest of what we don't do.
Gates. Each one brings a heavier post, a brace and hardware.
Slope. On a hill, panels can drop in stair-stepped sections or rake along the grade. Each way means extra cutting and fitting. Hillside lots like the ones around West Slope are where this shows up most.
Getting in. A narrow side yard means every board, post and bag of concrete goes in by hand.
Board style. Board-on-board or shadowbox uses many more boards than a single row. Horizontal boards need posts closer together or a frame to keep them straight .
Post type. Some builders push steel posts instead of pressure-treated wood. They cost more up front .
Roots and rock. Older Cedar Mill lots often have big Douglas firs near the fence line. A post may need to shift a few inches rather than cut through a major root .
How much does adding a gate cost?
A wood gate, new or rebuilt, typically runs $250-$1,500 with materials, with $600 about the middle (November 2026 market data). A single walk-through gate sits toward the bottom of that. A double drive gate wide enough for a car or a trailer sits toward the top .
A gate costs more than the same width of fence because it hangs off one post and swings all day. That post usually goes deeper, gets more concrete, and the gate itself needs a diagonal brace and better hinges than a fence panel ever does.
Repairs to a welded metal gate are a separate kind of work, where market data puts the range at $300 to $1,500, all of it labour .
Is it cheaper to build a fence yourself?
It can be, if your time is free. Going by the split above, doing it yourself saves the labour share, roughly 55 % of the bill. The lumber, concrete and hardware cost you about the same as they'd cost us.
What you still pay for: a post-hole digger or a rented power auger, bags of concrete, a saw that cuts posts cleanly, and probably several weekends. We don't print rental prices because we don't have a source for them. The utility locate applies to you too, and it costs nothing (more on that below).
The first things to go on homemade fences around here are posts set too shallow and posts sitting in concrete that holds water right at the ground line, so the wood rots at grade. Next is the gate post, which leans as soon as the gate gets heavy. A pro tends to be worth the money on a long run, a sloped lot, an 8-ft fence or a gate that has to swing across a driveway .
What costs nothing, and what can add cost: permits, 811 and the property line?
The locate is free, and you can't skip it. Setting fence posts counts as digging under Oregon's rules. Dial 811, file online at Oregon811.com, or use the long number, 1-800-332-2344. Put the request in no sooner than ten business days ahead and no later than two full business days ahead of digging. Utility operators mark their lines up to the meter or the service connection without charging you. Anything past that point is yours and won't be marked: sprinkler lines, low-voltage yard lights, a wire out to a shed. Cutting one of those is the cost to avoid .
Most backyard fences carry no permit fee. Oregon's building code list lets you put up a fence shorter than 7 ft, built of wood, wire mesh or chain link, with no permit. Inside Portland city limits and in unincorporated Washington County, a wood fence only needs a permit once it's taller than 7 ft. Any fence that doubles as the barrier around a pool, hot tub or spa needs one regardless. Inside Beaverton city limits, check with the city before building over 6 ft or in a front yard. An HOA may set tighter limits than any of these, and reading its rules is free.
Front yards in Portland are usually limited to about 3½ ft in the front setback.
The property line. Where it really runs comes from the survey markers or a surveyor, and a survey is its own bill. If a neighbour is sharing the cost, put the split in writing before work starts.
Should you repair the old fence or replace it?
Look at the numbers side by side. Repairing boards and rails runs $275-$1,200 labour only, typically $625, and replacing a rotted post runs $150-$400 per post with materials, typically $275 (November 2026 market data). Compare that with $1,700-$7,500 for a whole new 150-ft wood fence .
Once several posts along one run have gone soft, fixing them one by one starts costing close to what replacement would . Much of Bethany and North Bethany was built from the early nineties through the late two-thousands, and plenty of the original fences there are reaching that point. If yours mostly stands and just needs work, start with fence repair.
What should a written fence quote include?
Check that it spells out:
- length and height, and which side the good face goes on;
- board, rail and post material, and post size;
- how deep the posts go and what they sit in;
- removal of the old fence and what happens to the debris;
- each gate, with its width and hardware;
- finish now or later;
- who files the 811 locate;
- start date and how many days on site.
Oregon requires construction agreements over $2,000 to be in writing, and most new fences pass that mark. What has to go in one is covered in Oregon contractor contract requirements.
New cedar doesn't have to be stained the day it goes up. When you're ready, staining or painting a fence runs $500-$2,000 with materials, around $1,000 being usual (November 2026 market data) . That work sits under deck and fence staining.