Denizens of the state … er, make that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we don’t mean to be nebby, but if you neglect your wooder heater and suddenly you can’t take a hot shower or properly get your dishes clean, yinz are gonna be feeling pretty salty. Sorry for all the mixed Philadelphia and Pittsburgh colloquial expressions, but hopefully we can all understand each other enough to get the main point: When it comes to your water heater, you don’t want to be caught unawares. What you should keep in mind as you budget for eventual water heater maintenance is that, compared with the average among your fellow Americans, Keystone State residents generally pay a little bit more for repairs, but a little bit less for a full replacement.

This May Also Interest You: How Much Does It Cost to Repair or Replace a Water Heater?

Your water heater powers your dishwasher, clothes washer and the hot shower you crave at the end of the day. When it goes kaput, it's not so much a matter of whether you should have it serviced, but how much that service will cost. And if your hot water is already out, the last thing you want right now is to be blindsided by exorbitant water heater service fees. If you’re calling around for estimates, these figures should give you a ballpark idea of how much you can expect to pay, from Three Rivers Park to the Delaware River Waterfront.

Repair and replacement costs vary depending on where you live. For comparison, the national average for diagnosis is $99, for repair is $493 and for replacement is $1,741.

The following average prices are based on aggregated HomeServe data reported by our network of contractors across the state of Pennsylvania:

Water Heater Diagnosis: $76

The technician will charge you a fee to come out to your home, tell you what’s wrong with your system and determine whether it needs to be repaired or replaced. For Pennsylvanians at large‚ this fee is 23% less than the national average.

Water Heater Repair: $515

Any number of things may be going wrong with your water heater — issues with the gas control valve, a faulty thermostat or a combination of several malfunctions. This average repair price includes replacement parts and the labor to install them. Water heater repairs cost PA people roughly 4% more than they do nationwide.

Water Heater Replace: $1,459

Water heaters don’t last forever, and a breakdown might be a sign that yours is on its way out. At the end of your water heater’s usable life (about 10 years), you'll need to spring for a new one. Pennsylvania’s average replacement price is 16% less than that of the nation.

(Note that HomeServe water heater data should generally be assumed to refer to conventional “tanked” models — the most common type — as opposed to tankless or “on-demand” models, which can cost roughly twice as much.)

More Related Articles:

7 Tell-Tale Signs of a Water Heater Not Working

How to Maintain a Hot Water Heater

Types of Hot Water Heating Systems

Water Heater Installation Costs: Tank Vs. Tankless

A Tankless Job? Decide Whether a Tankless Water Heater Works for Your Home