How Much Does It Cost to Repair or Replace a Water Heater in Virginia?

Virginia may be for lovers, but it’s hard to love a broken water heater. That said, Virginians won’t hate this: The cost to repair a water heater in the Old Dominion is lower than the national average. The cost to replace a water heater ... well, it'll cost you Virginians a little more than the average American.

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When your water heater goes kaput, it's not so much a matter of whether you should have it serviced, but how much that service will cost. And if your hot water is already out, the last thing you want right now is to be hit with out-of-this-world service fees. It’s best to have some idea of what you’re going to have to pay before you start calling around for estimates. These numbers should give you a ballpark idea of how much you’ll have to shell out.

Repair and replacement costs vary depending on where you live. For comparison, the national average for diagnosis is $101, for repair is $359 and for replacement is $1,396. The good news? We're seeing prices that are, on the national level, lower than when we first reported this data in 2021. National average diagnosis fees are up just $2 in four years, while average repair and replacement costs are down 27% and 20% respectively.

The following average prices are based on aggregated HomeServe data reported by our network of contractors across the state of Virginia.

Water Heater Diagnosis: $102

The diagnostic fee is what the technician will charge you to tell you what’s wrong with your system and whether it needs to be repaired or replaced. In Virginia, this fee is a dollar more than the national average.

Water Heater Repair: $338

Your technician will be able to tell you what’s wrong with your water heater — whether it’s a broken heating element or a faulty thermostat. This average repair price includes replacement parts and the labor to install them. Repairs cost Virginians an average of 6% less than the U.S. overall.

Water Heater Replace: $1,533

Water heaters only last about 10 years. If it’s been a brick since you bought yours, a breakdown might be a sign it’s nearing the end of its useful life. In that case, you'll need to spring for a new one. Virginia’s average replacement price is nearly 10% higher than the nation’s.

(Note that HomeServe water heater data should generally be assumed to refer to conventional “tanked” models — the most common type — as opposed to tankless or “on-demand” models, which can cost roughly twice as much.)

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