A gas water heater replacement runs about $1,525 to $2,285 at researched defaults: a 40-gallon like-for-like at the low end, a 50-gallon with an expansion tank, drain pan, permit, and haul-away at the high end, priced at $95 to $145 an hour of labor. Every scenario below is itemized line by line from a real plumbing pack.
Written by Ashesh Dhakal · The numbers are real resolver output; every price is yours to adjust in your own price book.
A like-for-like 50-gal atmospheric gas tank with the expansion tank, drain pan, permit, and haul-away a fair quote includes.
| Labor — lead | $405.00 |
|---|---|
| Gas tank water heater | $806.00 |
| Water flex connectors (×2) | $46.20 |
| Gas flex + valve | $52.80 |
| Vent connector kit | $39.60 |
| Expansion tankcommonly forgotten | $95.70 |
| Labor — Expansion tankcommonly forgotten | $54.00 |
| Drain pan + linecommonly forgotten | $75.90 |
| Labor — Drain pan + linecommonly forgotten | $67.50 |
| Permitpass-through · at cost | $225.00 |
| Haul-away / disposal | $70.00 |
| Total | $1,937.70 |
Loading the interactive calculator… the priced example above is already real, computed by the engine.
$1,524.60
$2,028.70
$2,285.20
Every total is integer-cents resolver output from the plumbing pack’s researched defaults — nothing hand-typed.
| Line item | Notes | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Labor — lead | $405.00 | |
| Gas tank water heater | $897.00 | |
| Water flex connectors (×2) | $46.20 | |
| Gas flex + valve | $52.80 | |
| Vent connector kit | $39.60 | |
| Expansion tank | commonly forgotten — caught by review | $95.70 |
| Labor — Expansion tank | commonly forgotten — caught by review | $54.00 |
| Drain pan + line | commonly forgotten — caught by review | $75.90 |
| Labor — Drain pan + line | commonly forgotten — caught by review | $67.50 |
| Permit | pass-through — at cost, never marked up | $225.00 |
| Haul-away / disposal | commonly forgotten — caught by review | $70.00 |
| Total | $2,028.70 |
Real resolver output from the plumbing pack’s researched defaults. The permit is a pass-through billed at cost — never marked up (Law 3); the flagged rows are what low quotes leave off.
A single “ballpark” hides where the money goes. Priced line by line, you can see the equipment, the labor, the code add-ons, and the pass-throughs separately — and check any quote you get against them. That’s the whole point of this tool.
A 50-gal tank costs more in equipment and, in the pack, a touch more labor than a 40.
Power-vent tanks add roughly 1.5 hours of labor for the venting and condensate work.
Harder access (attic, upstairs closet) adds labor over a basement or garage set.
Code on a closed system needs an expansion tank; a pan protects a finished space. Both are real pack add-ons.
A permit is billed at cost plus a flat admin fee — a pass-through, never marked up (Law 3).
A cheap quote usually gets cheap by leaving something out. These are the same items the app’s review engine flags for a contractor — inverted here, so a homeowner can spot them too.
In most places, yes. It's a gas or electrical appliance tied to your water and venting, so a permit and inspection are common. A fair quote lists the permit as a pass-through — billed at cost plus a small admin fee, never marked up.
A like-for-like tank swap is usually a few hours. Power-vent, a tight attic, or code add-ons like an expansion tank and pan add time — which is why those show up as separate labor and material lines, not a mystery markup.
More — tankless adds gas-line and venting work on top of the unit, so the labor and materials both climb. This calculator prices like-for-like tank replacement; a tankless conversion is a bigger parametric job your contractor would quote separately.
It can. This calculator prices a gas tank replacement. Electric swaps skip the venting work but may need an electrical circuit check. The pack asks the venting question because that's the line that moves the labor most.
Keep going — the trade page, a related calculator, and the line-by-line anatomy post below all share this pack's numbers.
Price plumbing service jobs from your own price book — flat-rate and parametric, in minutes.
Whole-house repipe cost by fixture count and pipe run, priced from a real plumbing pack.
Every line of a fair water heater replacement quote, explained — reviewed defaults, no filler.
Written by Ashesh Dhakal · The numbers are real resolver output; every price is yours to adjust in your own price book.
Plumbing pack defaults are researched from published trade data and labeled researched defaults. This page shows 2026 researched-default pricing and is dated honestly — refreshed when the numbers change, never re-dated to look fresh.