This page is a national reference on swimming pools: how many exist in the US, what they cost to build and maintain in 2026, and what the safety data says. Every number below is pulled from a source we fetched directly while building this page, and it is linked inline so you can check it yourself. Nothing here is estimated from memory. Where a stat could not be confirmed on a live page, we left it out rather than guess.
We build pools for a living, in Butler, Allegheny, and Beaver counties in Western Pennsylvania, so we also include our own current installed pricing further down the page, clearly labeled as ours and not a third-party estimate. Updated August 2026, and we will revisit these figures as sources publish new data.
On this page
How many pools are in the US
There are an estimated 10.7 million swimming pools in the United States: about 10.4 million residential pools and just over 300,000 public or commercial pools, according to Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) market data. PHTA is the trade association for the pool, spa, and hot tub industry, and its detailed market reports (prepared by the research firm pkdata) sit behind a paid portal. The topline figure above is the PHTA number as published on a live, publicly readable page, not something we pulled from a paywalled report we could not open.
Of the 10.4 million residential pools, roughly 59% are inground and 41% are above-ground. Inground pools cost more to build but hold value longer and drive most of the professional installation, hardscape, and maintenance spending covered in the next section.
What a pool costs in 2026, nationally
We pulled three independent, live 2026 cost guides to build a range rather than lean on one source. HomeGuide puts the national average inground pool at $62,500, with a typical range of $25,000 to $100,000. Angi puts the average at $65,909, with most homeowners landing between $44,499 and $87,349. NerdWallet lands close behind at roughly $66,000, with a full range of $14,000 to $135,000 depending on size and material. All three guides put cost per square foot somewhere between $80 and $250.
Shell material moves the price more than almost anything else. Here is how the three guides break it down.
| Shell material | HomeGuide | Angi | NerdWallet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinyl liner | $35,000 – $80,000 | $40,000 – $75,000 | $20,000 – $40,000 |
| Fiberglass | $45,000 – $100,000 | $55,000 – $100,000 | $20,000 – $85,000 |
| Concrete / gunite | $50,000 – $120,000 | $65,000 – $120,000 | $35,000 – $120,000 |
Installed cost, materials and labor, national figures. Sources: HomeGuide, Angi, and NerdWallet, fetched August 2026.
Maintenance is a real ongoing line item, not a rounding error. HomeGuide puts basic monthly pool maintenance at $80 to $150, or $960 to $1,800 a year. Total annual cost of ownership, including electricity, water, chemicals, and minor repairs, runs $3,000 to $6,000 a year per HomeGuide. Angi’s per-material maintenance numbers track with that: vinyl runs $1,100 to $1,700 a year, fiberglass $500 to $1,500, and concrete $2,700 to $4,000, the widest spread of the three materials because of acid washing and resurfacing.
On the energy side, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Alliance reports that covering a pool when it is not in use can save 50% to 70% of pool heating costs, since evaporation is the largest source of energy loss from a heated pool. It is the single cheapest efficiency upgrade available to a pool owner.
What a pool costs in Western Pennsylvania
National guides are a starting point, not a quote. Here is our own current installed pricing across Butler, Allegheny, and Beaver counties: what we are actually paying subs, seeing at the permit counter, and quoting homeowners this year. This is Elements’ own data, not a third-party estimate.
| Tier | 2026 price range | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | $55,000 – $70,000 | Fiberglass or vinyl liner pool, standard rectangle or kidney shape, core equipment, a simple concrete or paver apron. |
| Mid-tier | $70,000 – $85,000 | Larger shell, upgraded paver patio, LED lighting, variable-speed pump, basic automation, a seating or low retaining wall. |
| Premium | $85,000 – $100,000+ | Custom shape, integrated spa or tanning ledge, 800+ sq ft of paver or natural stone, full automation, saltwater system, water feature. |
Source: Elements Landscape Management, our own 2026 installed pricing across Butler, Allegheny, and Beaver counties. Full breakdown, hidden costs, and past project numbers in our Western PA pool cost guide.
Safety and drowning statistics
The CDC estimates 4,000 fatal unintentional drownings occur in the US every year, an average of 11 drowning deaths per day. It also estimates 8,000 nonfatal drownings a year, or 22 a day. Both figures are averages drawn from 2012 through 2021. Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4, and the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children ages 5 to 14, after motor vehicle crashes.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission tracks pool- and spa-specific incidents for children under 15 separately. For 2022 through 2024, an estimated 6,300 children under 15 were treated in hospital emergency departments each year for nonfatal pool or spa drowning injuries. For 2020 through 2022, an average of 357 pool- or spa-related fatal drownings a year were reported for that same age group. Young children carry most of that risk: 73% of the nonfatal ED-treated injuries and 79% of the reported fatalities involved children younger than 5. Fatalities have been trending down year over year: 386 in 2021 versus 345 in 2022 for children under 15.
None of this is a reason to skip a pool. It is a reason to fence it, cover it, and supervise it. A code-compliant, self-latching fence and a locked cover close most of the gap between these numbers and zero.
Ownership and market trends
Pool ownership skews heavily toward single-family homeowners in warm-weather states, but the Western PA build cycle we operate in runs on a different calendar: contracts signed over the winter, permits filed in early spring, dig dates as soon as the ground thaws, swimming by early summer. The inground-vs-above-ground split nationally (59% inground, 41% above-ground) is not what we see regionally. Almost everything we build here is inground, since an above-ground pool does not survive a Pennsylvania winter the way a properly backfilled inground shell does.
On the cost side, all three national guides above point the same direction: material choice and square footage move the number more than any single upgrade, and maintenance is a real multi-year cost that belongs in the same conversation as the installation quote.
Sources
Every source below was fetched directly while researching this page in August 2026. Numbers pulled from each are cited inline above.
- Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (PHTA) market data, via PoolGuard USA's 2026 industry roundup
Total US pool count, residential vs. commercial split, inground vs. above-ground split. PHTA's own research pages gate the underlying pkdata market reports behind a paid portal; this figure is the PHTA number as reported on a live, publicly fetchable page.
- HomeGuide, "How Much Does An Inground Pool Cost? (2026)"
National average cost, cost by size, cost by material.
- HomeGuide, "Pool Maintenance Cost"
Monthly and annual maintenance cost, total cost of ownership.
- Angi, "How Much Does an In-Ground Pool Cost? (2026 Guide)"
National average cost, cost by material with annual maintenance, cost by state including Pennsylvania.
- NerdWallet, "How Much a Pool Costs in 2026: In-ground vs. Above-Ground"
Cost by size, cost by material with expected lifespan, cost by state, monthly utility and maintenance figures.
- CDC, "Drowning Facts"
Annual fatal and nonfatal drowning estimates, leading cause of death by child age group. Page reviewed January 27, 2026.
- U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, "Pool or Spa Submersion: Estimated Nonfatal Drowning Injuries and Reported Drownings, 2025 Report"
Child-specific (under 15) drowning injury and fatality data, 2020-2024, published May 2025.
- U.S. Department of Energy, Better Buildings Alliance, "Pool Efficiency" fact sheet
Pool cover heating-cost savings.
- Elements Landscape Management, own installed pricing
Western PA 2026 pricing tiers and past project costs. Internal, not a third-party estimate.
Who we are
Elements Landscape Management builds inground pools, patios, retaining walls, and full outdoor living projects across Butler, Allegheny, and Beaver counties in Western Pennsylvania. We dig, we stack, we pour, and we design the yard around the pool, not just the hole in the ground. If you are pricing a pool for your own property, start with our pool page or read our full 2026 Western PA cost guide for tiers, hidden costs, and real project numbers.
Ready to price your own pool?
National averages are a starting point. Our project planner and cost guide use current Western PA numbers, not national ones.
