PercTallyTank gallons, trench length and what the perc test really decides.

How much does a septic drain field cost in Chesapeake, VA?

A septic drain field replacement in Chesapeake, VA
$12,083
1,000 ft² of drain field · typical range $7,436 – $23,237
Typical total$12.08 per ft² of drain field$12,083
Range you should see in bidsthree bids on the same scope normally land inside this$7,436 – $23,237
Labor portion55% of the job — this is the part that moves by city$6,646
Material portion45% — bought at national prices$5,437
Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners pay near Chesapeakeabout $22/hr · Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro$46,640/yr
U.S. mean for the same tradeSOC 47-4071$53,500/yr
Versus the national pricetrade pay here runs −12.8% against the U.S. mean−$917

Notes

  • Where the number comes from. The national price for a septic drain field replacement is $13.00 per ft² of drain field — drain field replacement pricing published for 2026, $8–$25 per ft² of field. Labor is about 55% of that. Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners near Chesapeake, VA average $46,640 a year against a U.S. mean of $53,500 — a factor of 0.872 — so the labor half is scaled by that and the material half is not. Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area, SOC 47-4071.
  • Why the city matters, not just the state. Trade pay moves inside a state as much as it does between states. Crews do not commute across a state to bid a job, and materials ship at national prices either way — so a metro wage is the honest input here and a state average quietly rounds four different cities into one number.
  • What is in the price: excavation, gravel or chamber media, perforated pipe, the distribution box, backfill, grading and labor.
  • What is not: the tank itself, a new perc test, engineered plans, a pump chamber if the site needs one, and county permits. These are the lines that turn a $12,083 quote into a $15,104 invoice, so ask about each one before signing.
  • Use this as a bid check, not a quote. It prices an average job in average condition. Difficult access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a per-unit average.

a septic drain field replacement in Chesapeake, VA

$12,083 is the typical number, and three bids on the same scope normally land between $7,436 and $23,237.

That is $917 less than the same job priced at the national average.

Why the city changes the number

About 55% of this job is labor — $6,646 of the $12,083 above. Labor is the only part that moves locally; a bundle of material costs what it costs wherever it is nailed down.

Septic Tank Servicers and Sewer Pipe Cleaners near Chesapeake average $46,640 a year, against a U.S. mean of $53,500. That is a factor of 0.872, so the labor half is scaled by it and the material half is not.

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 for the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area, SOC 47-4071.

What the quote should include

The lines that turn a quote into an invoice

Ask about each of them before you sign. On a job this size they are the difference between $12,083 and something a quarter higher.

Use it as a bid check, not a quote

This prices an average job in average condition. Access, the state of what is being replaced, the season, and a crew booked out three months all move the real number, and none of them are in a national average.

If a bid lands outside $7,436 – $23,237, that is not automatically wrong — but it is the question worth asking out loud.

Nearby sizes

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