What It Really Costs to Develop Raw Land: Driveway, Well, Septic, Power, and Permits

The listing reads well: a few acres, mostly wooded, on a gravel road, for less than a lot in town. It may be a bargain. Just know that the land price is the first bill, not the last.

Raw land has no driveway, no cleared site, no water, no sewer, and no power. Each is a separate project with its own contractor, permit, and invoice, and the county collects its fees before the house can start. Together they can cost as much as the land.

This guide puts dated ranges on each item, explains why distance drives most of them, adds them up for one illustrative parcel, and shows how to get real quotes before you close.

The big items and what they cost

HomeGuide's cost pages are dated January 2024 to January 2026, and Angi's land development guide was updated July 9, 2026. Both are estimates, shown here as ranges only. Angi's overall figure sets the frame: $25,000 to $50,000 on average, with totals that can reach $150,000 depending on plot size and location.

Driveway and clearing. HomeGuide's gravel price is $4 to $10 per square foot installed, so a drive twice as long costs about twice as much. Clearing depends on size, terrain, access, and vegetation: "Heavily forested land with large trees and thick underbrush costs significantly more to clear than land with only small trees and shrubs." Grading at $2,000 to $5,000 is "for a small home site on mostly level land" and rocky soil or large boulders can push it to $50,000+. See land clearing cost and methods, the acreage calculator, and, if the parcel has no road frontage, landlocked property and legal access.

Well and septic. HomeGuide's $6,000 to $16,000 covers a 200-foot well including drilling, casing, pump, electrical, and permits, at $30 to $80+ per foot, "with some homeowners paying $100 per foot or more in challenging areas." Its septic range runs from a conventional system to an engineered one, plus $1,000 to $2,000 for permits, inspections, and testing: "Requirements vary by location." Angi's July 2026 averages, $7,500 for a well and $8,000 for septic, sit inside those ranges. The soil decides which septic tier you get. See drilling a well, what a perc test is, and septic system cost and types.

Electric. HomeGuide (January 2026) prices the run from the road at $5 to $25 per linear foot, depending on distance and overhead versus underground service. Angi (July 2026) averages $12,250 with a range reaching $25,000, depending on distance to the local lines and permit costs. See what utilities are available on land and the cost to run electricity to land.

Surveys and the perc test. HomeGuide (January 2026) puts a one-acre boundary survey at $500 to $1,000 and a new construction survey, which stakes the house and drive, at $400 to $1,800; see land survey types and costs. Its perc test figures, $200 to $1,500 hand-dug and $500 to $3,000+ by excavator, come from a page dated January 2024, the oldest number here.

Why distance drives everything

Many of these prices are per foot or per square foot. The driveway, the power line, and any water line all run from the road to the house, so every foot you set the house back is a foot you pay for more than once.

Power is the clearest case. HomeGuide notes that "Some companies run new electrical lines up to a certain length free of charge." Beyond that you pay per foot. Suwannee Valley Electric Cooperative in north Florida, under a policy revised January 23, 2026, credits each new residential member the average cost of building 1,200 feet of overhead primary line, worth $10,946 in January 2026, and states that the "Consumer-member is responsible for any construction cost exceeding the credit." A site 2,000 feet from the line pays roughly the cost of the last 800 feet.

Mark the layout with survey flags so every contractor quotes the same plan.

Permits and impact fees

Nobody sends a quote for this item, and fees are set by each state, county, and city. Florida provides the examples; your county building department has its own schedule.

Building permit and plan review fees

Florida law makes it unlawful to construct a building "without first obtaining a permit therefor from the appropriate enforcing agency" and paying its fees. In both examples the permit fee scales with construction value, and plan review is a second fee on top. The City of Ocoee, in Orange County, sets its residential permit fee at "$30 plus $3.50 per $1000.00 of residential construction cost" plus plan review at half the permit fee (revised January 27, 2026). Alachua County, effective October 1, 2026, starts at a $150 minimum base fee, adds $4.40 per $1,000 of value on the first $100,000, and adds plan review at 20 percent of the permit fee.

Impact fees

Impact fees are a separate and, in these examples, much larger charge. Florida's statute calls them "an important source of revenue for a local government to use in funding the infrastructure necessitated by new growth" and, for fees adopted or increased after July 1, 2026, says collection may not be required before the building permit is issued. Florida counties charge them at the permit, so you pay when you build, not when you buy.

Lake County, Florida published these fees for January 2 to September 30, 2026, for a single family detached home of 1,500 to 2,499 square feet in its Central and North Central Transportation Benefit Districts:

The roads fee differs by district, and the schedule carried an end date, so ask for the current one. Martin County's schedule effective January 1, 2026 totals $8,203 for a home of 1,101 to 2,300 square feet and $11,443 above that, and already lists higher rates for January 1, 2027.

Well and septic permit fees

Florida's septic rule, Rule 62-6.030, effective June 8, 2026, sets state fees for a new system at $100 for application and plan review, $115 for the site evaluation, $55 for the permit, $75 for the initial inspection, and a $5 surcharge, about $350 before county add-ons. The South Florida Water Management District charges $100 for a well construction permit, per Rule 40E-1.607(2), F.A.C., as amended January 12, 2026, and delegated agencies set their own.

A worked example budget

The figure and table add up the ranges for one hypothetical parcel: a level site, one acre cleared, a 100-foot gravel drive, a 200-foot well, a conventional septic system, electric from the road, and impact fees at the Martin and Lake County rates. It is illustrative.

Left out, and each pushes the number up: building permit and plan review fees, which depend on the value of the house; an engineered septic system at $15,000 to $50,000+, which could exceed every other line combined; rocky grading at $50,000+; and a long power run, up to $25,000 in Angi's range.

Compare the totals to the asking price. If the land is priced in the same range, development is not an add-on. It is a second land price.

How to get real numbers before closing

Quotes, not ranges, tell you what to pay. Collect them during the due diligence period in your contract; how to make an offer on land covers how to write one.

Written quotes. Have a new construction survey stake the house, drive, well, and drainfield, then walk the parcel with a well driller, a septic installer, an excavator, and the utility's planner, and ask each for a written quote on that layout. The septic installer cannot price the system until the soil evaluation says which type the county will allow.

The soil evaluation. Florida's septic rule requires "At least two soil profile descriptions within the proposed system soil absorption area to a minimum depth of 6 feet or to refusal" plus the water table at the visit and the estimated wet-season water table. That separates a $3,500 system from a $50,000 one, and it can rule a site out before you own it. The USDA's Web Soil Survey gives a free first look but does not replace the on-site profiles.

A contingency in the offer. Make the purchase contingent on your due diligence, with enough days to get the evaluation, survey, and quotes back and the right to walk away with your deposit if the numbers do not work. Confirm the contingency language and the fee schedules with a licensed attorney or the county office in your state before you sign. Check zoning and the flood zone too, since both limit where the house and drainfield can go.

Ways to reduce the cost

Buy improved land. Angi's advice: "Buy a plot that already has utility connections." It estimates the savings at $5,500 to $36,000, in line with HomeGuide's $9,000 to $34,500+ figure for utilities on vacant land. Compare the premium on such a lot to the quotes above.

Share the driveway. If a neighbor's drive runs close to your site, a recorded access easement with a written maintenance agreement can split the gravel and the upkeep; easements explained covers what it should say.

Phase the work. Driveway and power can go in first while you save for the rest, and in Florida the impact fees wait for the building permit. If you plan to live on the land meanwhile, read mobile home, tiny home, or RV on your land first.

Do the low-risk work yourself. Flagging, hand-clearing brush, and collecting quotes cost little. Leave the well, septic, and electrical work to the contractors who pull the permits. Before anyone digs, contact 811: "811 is the free national before-you-dig service." Florida requires notice "Not less than 2 full business days before beginning any excavation" and other states set their own periods.

How lenders see development costs

A land loan pays for the dirt; see land loans explained and land loan requirements. A construction loan pays for the build, site work included. Fannie Mae's single-close construction-to-permanent rules, dated May 6, 2026, show how a conventional lender sizes it. If you already own the lot when construction financing first advances, the loan is measured against the "as completed" appraised value of the lot and improvements. If you do not, it uses the lesser of the purchase price (construction cost plus the lot price) or that value. Either way the loan is capped by what the finished home appraises for; costs above that value come from you.

Fannie Mae also requires that "the utilities of the property must meet community standards" and, where public water and sewer are not available, that a well and septic be in place and in use. See construction loans: from land to house, owner financing for land, and the land loan calculator.

The quote checklist

Collect these before your due diligence period ends. The land due diligence checklist covers title, access, and zoning, and the printable checklist keeps everything in one place.

• Electric utility: line extension policy and estimate for your footage and route
• Well driller: per-foot rate, expected depth, what is included
• Well permit fee: county or water management district
• Soil evaluation or perc test: county or approved evaluator
• Septic installer: system type the evaluation allows, plus permit and inspection fees
• Excavator: clearing by the acre, grading, driveway by length and width, and what rock does to the price
• Surveyor: new construction survey, plus a boundary survey if corners are unknown
• Building department: permit fee formula, plan review fee, impact fee schedule
• Water or sewer utility: connection charges, if one serves the parcel
• Due diligence contingency long enough to collect all of the above

The bottom line

Raw land is cheap because the work is not done. A driveway, clearing, a well, septic, a power line, and the county's fees each carry a four- or five-figure price, and together they can match the land. Distance sets most of those prices and soil sets the biggest swing. Measure, get the soil evaluated, collect written quotes, and put a contingency in your offer. Then compare the total to the asking price.