Search this question and you will find a lot of pages that do not answer it. We checked before writing this one — several of the top results are articles specifically titled around water heater cost in Portland that never state a single price. They talk about factors, variables and “every home is different,” then ask you to call.
So here are our actual numbers.
What we charge
| What you are getting | Installed price | Through Dec 31 |
|---|---|---|
| Standard tank — 40 or 50 gallon, gas or electric | $1,695 | $1,245 |
| Premium tank — higher capacity or longer warranty | $2,195 | $1,745 |
| Tankless conversion — unit, venting, gas line work | $4,000–$6,000 | Not included in the offer |
| Repair — standard hours, Mon–Fri 8am–4pm | $185/hr + parts | — |
Two things people ask immediately.
Gas and electric are the same price. A lot of companies charge more for gas because of the venting and the gas connection. We do not. A standard tank replacement is $1,695 whichever fuel your house runs.
The permit is in that number. Water heater replacement is permitted work in Oregon, and the permit is included along with the unit, the labor and hauling the old heater away. You are not getting a line item for it afterwards.
What genuinely can add to it
We would rather tell you these up front than surprise you in a driveway. None of them are invented, and most jobs need none of them.
- Thermal expansion tank — $250–$450. The most common addition by a wide margin. If your home has a pressure-reducing valve or a check valve on the incoming water — which a lot of newer Washington County homes do — the system is closed, and heated water has nowhere to expand. The expansion tank absorbs it. If you already have one, nothing to add.
- Venting corrections. On an older gas unit, the existing vent is sometimes undersized, improperly sloped, or shared in a way current code does not allow. This turns up most often in pre-war Portland houses where the water heater has been replaced once or twice already.
- Gas line capacity. Rarely an issue for a tank swap. It matters a great deal for a tankless conversion, because a tankless unit can demand four times the BTU of the tank it replaces.
- Drain pan and seismic strapping. Required in specific situations. Inexpensive, but they are parts.
- Access. A heater in an open garage is a different day than one down a crawlspace hatch or up two flights to a closet. We can usually tell from a photo.
What everyone else is charging
We looked at what is publicly advertised across the Portland metro and Washington County. The honest summary is that almost nobody publishes an installed price at all. Of the companies that do, or that quote ranges in their marketing, the observable band for a standard tank sits around $1,600 to $2,400 installed, and national estimate sites put Portland replacement somewhere in the $1,200 to $4,050 spread depending on system type.
That spread is not us being cheap and them being expensive. It is that the number depends on what is included. A $1,300 quote that excludes the permit, the haul-away, and an expansion tank you turn out to need is not a $1,300 job. Ask any company you are considering to tell you which of those four are in the price.
Repair or replace, and what each one actually costs
We went back through every water heater call we invoiced since mid-January — 57 of them. 29 ended in a replacement and 28 did not. That is close enough to a coin flip that it is worth asking the question before you spend replacement money.
The repairs that came up most were inexpensive parts: pilot assemblies, thermocouples, gas valves, thermostats, dip tubes. Seven of those 28 calls found nothing wrong with the water heater at all. A repair visit at $185/hour plus a cheap part is a fraction of $1,695, and on a tank under about eight years old it is usually the right call.
Past ten or twelve years the maths flips, and a leaking tank is not repairable at any age. We broke the whole decision down in repair or replace your water heater, using that same call data.
Repair pricing in full
- Mon–Fri, 8am–4pm — $185/hour + parts & materials
- Mon–Fri, before 8am or after 4pm — $462.50 minimum (call-out + first hour), then $185/hour
- Saturday & Sunday, all day — $462.50 minimum (call-out + first hour), then $185/hour
A $75 trip fee applies and covers the diagnostic visit. Estimates on replacement are free. We publish our hourly rate for the same reason we publish install prices, which we went into in what a plumber actually costs in Portland.
Is tankless worth the difference?
Sometimes, and the gap is real: $1,695 against $4,000–$6,000. That is not a price difference so much as a different project — new venting, usually gas line work, sometimes electrical.
It pays back on a long enough horizon, because a tankless unit commonly runs toward 20 years against 8 to 12 for a tank, and you stop paying to keep 50 gallons hot around the clock. It does not pay back if you are selling in three years. We laid out the full arithmetic in tankless vs. tank: what each one actually costs.
The current offer
$450 off any gas or electric tank water heater replacement, through December 31, 2026. A standard install becomes $1,245 and a premium becomes $1,745. It has to be mentioned when you schedule. Tankless conversions are excluded, and the $75 trip fee still applies. Full terms are on the offer page.
Common questions
Why do so few plumbers publish prices?
Because a published number can be beaten by a competitor who excludes things, and because genuinely difficult jobs exist. We would rather set the standard price and tell you the handful of things that change it.
Can you do it same day?
Often, yes. We carry standard 40 and 50 gallon units, and a straightforward swap is a few hours. Call early in the day for the best chance.
Do I need an expansion tank?
Only if your water system is closed — a pressure-reducing valve or check valve on the incoming line does that. Many Washington County homes have one. If you need it and do not have it, it is $250–$450 depending on size.
Is the old heater included in haul-away?
Yes, and so is disposal. It is in the installed price.
Do you serve outside Portland?
Hillsboro, Beaverton, Tigard, Gresham, Lake Oswego, Tualatin, Sherwood, Oregon City and the rest of the metro at the same prices. We also cover the coast — Astoria, Seaside, Lincoln City and Tillamook — where a travel charge applies. Full list on service areas.
Want the number for your specific house?
Tell us gas or electric, the tank size, and roughly how old it is. That is usually enough for a real figure over the phone rather than a range.
$450 off through December 31 · financing with a soft credit check · why homeowners pick us.