What It Actually Costs to Run Electricity to a Detached Garage (2026)

I used to think this was a simple question.

“How much to run electricity to my detached garage?”

Then I got a couple quotes and realized I’d basically asked, “How much does a car cost?”

Because “power to the garage” can mean one light and two outlets so I can stop doing the extension‑cord shuffle, or it can mean a legit workshop (multiple circuits, 240V, maybe heat, and that EV-charger idea you swear is “later”… until it isn’t).

And the big price swing usually isn’t “electrician A charges more per hour.” It’s the boring stuff: where the wire has to go, how much dirt/concrete/pavers have to get messed with, and whether your main panel is already full or sketchy.

The numbers people actually care about (2026), without pretending they’re universal

Here’s the gut-level budgeting I’d use.

If the garage is close and the path is easy, you’re often in the $900–$2,500 neighborhood.

If it’s the more normal situation—underground run, conduit, 4‑wire feeder, and a small subpanel so you can have actual circuits instead of one overloaded line—it’s commonly $2,500–$6,500.

If the run is long, you’re crossing hardscape, boring is required, restoration is a whole separate project, conductors get upsized, or the house needs upgrades first… that’s when you see $6,500–$15,000+.

Also: the distance in your head is almost never the distance in the quote. I’ve literally paced out “about 60 feet” and then watched the real route do a weird dogleg around a patio, a big tree, and a side gate. Suddenly it’s 95 feet, and nobody’s lying—reality is just annoying.

For a basic sanity check, Trusscore’s 2026 garage pricing guide lists running electricity and lighting at $1,100–$3,000+.¹ I read that as “short run, not much drama.” If your garage is right there and you want a couple lights/outlets and you’re getting numbers that look like a kitchen remodel, something extra is baked into the job.

What blows the price up (aka: why two quotes can be miles apart)

This is where I wish I’d spent 10 minutes thinking before I called anyone.

Trenching + fixing the mess. Digging is one thing. Putting everything back so you don’t hate your yard/driveway is another.

Countbricks pegs residential trenching at roughly $5–$12 per linear foot, and mentions it can climb when access/restoration get tougher.² That’s not “your exact price,” but it’s a good reminder that a long run can add up fast even before you talk about wire, conduit, fittings, breakers, and labor.

What you’re powering. Homeowners (me included) answer load questions with “just normal stuff.” That’s not a spec. If one person is pricing “lights + a couple outlets” and another is quietly designing for “workshop + 240V + room for an EV charger later,” those two numbers should be different.

And it’s not only what you’ll run—it’s what you’ll run at the same time. A heater + compressor + table saw is a different story than “I’ll charge a drill battery.”

Your main panel. Sometimes the garage is easy and the house panel is the headache.

When somebody says “you need panel work,” I like to force the explanation into one of these buckets: (1) there’s no space for breakers, (2) you’re tight on capacity, or (3) the equipment is in questionable condition. If they can’t say which one it is, comparing quotes gets messy because you’re not even sure what problem they’re solving.

Long runs = bigger wire. Over distance, voltage drop shows up under load, and that can push conductor size up. That’s how “it’s only 200 feet away” turns into a wire line item that makes you blink twice.

Permits. In a lot of places, feeding a detached structure is permitted/inspected work. The permit fee itself usually isn’t the killer. The permit is more like a rules-enforcer: burial depth, method, grounding at the detached building, etc. If someone is way cheaper because they don’t do permits, it might be because the job they’re offering is simply not the same job.

The stuff I’d ask before anyone starts (so the quote doesn’t grow legs)

I’m not trying to turn you into an inspector. I just want you to get a scope that doesn’t magically expand mid-project.

Ask for plain-English answers to things like:

• Underground trench, boring, or overhead? (And who handles utility locates?)
• What size feeder/subpanel are you pricing?
• How many circuits are included in the garage, specifically?
• What’s included for restoration (soil only, seed/straw, concrete patch, pavers reset, etc.)?
• If the main panel is full once it’s opened up, what happens—change order, alternate plan, or is it already included?

A quick note on overhead: sometimes it’s allowed and sometimes it isn’t. Even when it’s allowed, it can look ugly. But it can also avoid the most expensive part (dig + restoration), so it’s worth asking for an alternate price just to learn where the money is.

Cheap-ish cost savers that aren’t sketchy

This is the part where people expect some magic trick. It’s not magic. It’s “make the job easier.”

Clear the route, move cars, unlock gates, point out sprinklers/gas/septic if you know where they are, decide now whether you want 240V someday, and accept that surface-mounted conduit inside a garage is often totally fine.

My take: what to budget

If you only need a ballpark for 2026, I’d budget like this:

• $900–$2,500 for close/simple/basic power
• $2,500–$6,500 for the typical underground run + conduit + feeder + subpanel
• $6,500–$15,000+ when the route/restoration/panel situation is the real project

If your number is coming in high, it’s usually because your property has expensive obstacles (hardscape, long distance, tight access) or because the scope is quietly “future proofed.”

If you’re already messing with electrical, these other pages tend to come up right after: EV charger installation cost and electrical panel upgrade cost. The broader hub is here: Home Energy Upgrades.

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