Filling in a 24 × 12 ft pool that is 6 ft deep (64 cubic yards) costs about $4,100 as a partial fill-in and about $9,500 as a full removal at US average prices. Taking down an above-ground pool is far cheaper, $300 to $800. The gap between the two in-ground methods is the work of breaking out the shell and hauling it away.
Partial fill-in or full removal
In a partial fill-in the crew drains the pool, punches holes in the floor for drainage, breaks the top 2 to 3 ft of the walls into the cavity and fills the rest with dirt. The shell stays in the ground. A full removal digs out the whole shell, hauls it to a recycling center or landfill and backfills with compacted fill. Guides put a partial fill-in at $3,000 to $7,000 and a full removal at $4,000 to $16,000 (Bob Vila, Dropcurb and Fixr, 2023 to 2026).
How the removal cost is calculated
Cost = crew and equipment + demolition (full only) + pumping + fill dirt (cubic yards × price) + delivery + dumpster + permit + the extras you tick
Fill volume is length × width × depth in feet ÷ 27, the formula Bob Vila uses: 24 × 12 × 6 ÷ 27 = 64 cu yd. Fill dirt is $8 to $12 per cubic yard in all three guides.
Worked example: 24 × 12 × 6 ft, US average
| Line | Basis | Partial | Full |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crew and equipment | labor $1,000 to $4,000 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| Break out and haul the shell | full minus partial in the guides | none | $5,375 |
| Pump out the water | $55 to $100 | $78 | $78 |
| Fill dirt | 64 cu yd × $10 | $640 | $640 |
| Fill delivery | $150 or more | $150 | $150 |
| Dumpster | $200 to $800 a week | $438 | $438 |
| Permit | $50 to $800 | $313 | $313 |
| Typical total | $4,118 | $9,493 |
The demolition line is derived: the guides' combined full-removal range averages $10,500 and their partial range $5,125, and the difference is $5,375. The low end of the range adds every line at its lowest, so it can land under the guides' lowest whole-job prices; treat the typical figure as the anchor.
Options that move the price
- Restricted access: when an excavator and trucks cannot reach the yard, add $1,000 to $3,000 (Dropcurb, 2026). Full removal with restricted access and the deck taken out comes to $12,593 in the example.
- Deck removal $500 to $1,700, screen enclosure removal $800 to $2,000.
- Structural engineer letter about $500 and a soil compaction test $400 to $800, which your building department may ask for if you plan to build on the filled area.
- Regrading and reseeding the lawn $400 to $1,600.
- Permits: $50 to $250 in Bob Vila and Fixr, $150 to $800 in Dropcurb, so the calculator uses the combined range.
Above-ground pools
An above-ground pool is drained, dismantled and hauled away for about $300 to $800 (Bob Vila). If it sits on a deck, removal of the deck is a separate line. Getting the water out is the slow part; the pool volume calculator tells you how much there is.
Before you decide
A pool with a worn surface is often cheaper to repair than to bury: compare with the pool resurfacing cost calculator. If you are weighing a smaller replacement, the pool cost calculator shows what a new one runs, and the pool payment calculator turns that into a monthly figure. A partial fill-in leaves the shell in the ground, so ask your building department what is allowed and whether the work has to be disclosed when you sell. Related tools are in the pool costs hub.