Picket Fence Cost and Styles: The Classic Front-Yard Fence

The classic American white picket fence costs less than you'd guess in raw material and more than you'd guess after paint. It's also the only fence style that primarily exists for curb appeal, not function.

Picket fence cost per foot

• Pressure-treated pine, unfinished: $15–$22/ft installed
• Cedar, unfinished: $22–$30/ft installed
• Pre-painted white wood: $25–$35/ft installed
• Vinyl picket: $25–$40/ft installed

Classic picket styles

Dog-ear (rounded corners cut off the tops), French gothic (pointed tops), flat-top (square cuts), and scalloped (the picket tops form a wave). All cost roughly the same in materials — labor adds 5–10% for the more decorative profiles.

Why painted white pickets cost so much

Painting picket fence is brutal labor — every picket has four sides plus the cut top. Pros charge $4–$8/ft to paint white, doubling the price of the fence. DIY takes a full weekend per 50 ft and you'll repaint every 3–5 years forever.

Vinyl picket is the secret bargain

Vinyl picket fence costs about 20% more than painted wood up front and never needs repainting. Over 15 years it's dramatically cheaper. The only catch: it looks slightly less crisp than fresh-painted wood up close. From the street, indistinguishable.

Height and zoning

Picket fences are usually 3–4 ft tall. Front-yard fences are capped at 4 ft in most cities (anything taller blocks sight lines). Side and back yards can usually go to 6 ft if you want to mix picket front with privacy back.