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$79,000 – $93,000 all-in That's a realistic finished-backyard number for a gunite pool here — against a $70,000 quoted starting price. The gap is permits, fencing, decking, a heater, and landscaping. See the full breakdown ↓
That gunite figure isn't an estimate. Elston Construction in Bossier City publishes it, and they're the only builder in this market who puts a price in writing.
That's the whole problem. Ten of the eleven pool builders serving Shreveport and Bossier City publish no pricing at all. You can't compare what nobody will state, which means most homeowners here start the process with no idea whether a $60,000 quote is fair or absurd.
This page fixes that. Below is what the pool costs, what the permit costs, what the add-ons cost, and what the honest all-in number looks like when everything is included — not the shell price, the whole backyard.
Pool cost by type in Louisiana
| Pool type | Price range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Vinyl liner | $35,000–$55,000 | Bourgeois Pools, 2026 |
| Fiberglass | $50,400–$64,900 avg $57,655 for a 15x30 | Bourgeois Pools, 2026 |
| Gunite/concrete | From ~$70,000 | Elston Construction, Bossier City |
| Gunite/concrete | $55,000–$75,000+ | Bourgeois Pools, 2026 |
| Entry-level advertised | From $19,900 | A-1 Pool Company |
One caveat worth stating plainly: Elston and A-1 are north Louisiana, Bourgeois is near Lafayette in the south. Prices between the ends of the state are close but not identical, so treat the Bourgeois numbers as Louisiana-wide rather than Shreveport-exact.
Louisiana sits below the national average of roughly $66,000, and labor is the reason. Pool crews in the Southeast bill around $65 an hour against roughly $115 in the Northeast. Materials cost about the same everywhere — what changes by region is labor, permitting, and how booked local builders are.
For the full national picture by size and material, see the inground pool cost guide.
What the permit actually costs
Permit fees are one of the few pool costs you can calculate exactly before talking to anyone.
| Jurisdiction | Rate | On a $70,000 pool | Review time |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Shreveport | $4.25 per $1,000 $31.50 min · $68.25/inspection | ~$298 | Often 1–2 days |
| Bossier City | $5.00 per $1,000 $50 minimum | ~$350 | About 1 week |
Unincorporated Caddo Parish follows Shreveport's rules exactly, a policy in place since 2021, with the towns of Greenwood and Oil City excepted.
Unincorporated Bossier Parish runs permits through Code Inspections Plus, the parish's contracted building official. One trap: if your property sits outside city limits but uses Bossier City utilities, you need both a parish permit and a city permit.
Fees verified August 2026 against city sources. Confirm current figures with the permit office before budgeting.
What a pool actually costs, all in
Here's the number nobody in this market will show you. Take Elston's published $70,000 gunite starting point and add everything a finished backyard actually requires, using Louisiana builder pricing:
| Line item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Gunite pool, starting point | $70,000 |
| Shreveport permit (on a $70,000 contract) | ~$298 |
| Safety fencing (required by code) | $1,500–$3,500 |
| Concrete decking — assuming 600 sq ft at $5–$10/sq ft | $3,000–$6,000 |
| Gas heater, installed | ~$1,850 |
| LED pool lights — two fixtures at $400–$800 each | $800–$1,600 |
| Landscaping repair after the crew leaves | $2,000–$10,000 |
| Realistic all-in | $79,000–$93,000 |
That's a $9,000 to $23,000 gap between the price a builder quotes and the money that actually leaves your account. Swap stamped concrete or pavers in for plain decking at $15 to $30 per square foot and the top of that range moves another several thousand.
None of these are surprise charges or anyone being dishonest. They're the standard difference between a pool quote and a finished backyard. Knowing the gap exists before you sit down with a builder is the entire advantage.
What's usually missing from the quote
Louisiana builder pricing on the items most often left out:
| Item | Cost | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Safety fencing | $1,500–$3,500 | Not optional — code requires a barrier |
| Concrete decking | $5–$10/sq ft | Stamped concrete or pavers: $15–$30 |
| Gas heater | ~$1,850 | Then $250–$400 a month to run |
| Electric heat pump | $2,500–$5,000 | Only $100–$150 a month — cheaper over any real ownership period |
| LED lighting | $400–$800 | Per fixture |
| Landscaping | $2,000–$10,000 | Putting the yard back together |
| Water to fill it | $60–$300 | On city water. Considerably more if trucked in |
Ask every builder bidding your job to quote these same line items. Two bids that look $20,000 apart often describe the same pool with different amounts of backyard attached.
What moves your price in this parish
Three local factors that a national cost calculator can't see.
Groundwater
This is the big one in Shreveport-Bossier. USDA data shows the shallowest annual water table sits within 18 inches of the surface across roughly 43% of Bossier Parish and 22% of Caddo. A long-running USGS monitoring well in Bossier Parish recorded a median depth around 10 feet across 269 measurements taken between 1978 and 2026, with readings as shallow as 3.85 feet — and the shallowest readings cluster in spring. Shallow groundwater means dewatering during excavation, and it means the design needs to account for hydrostatic pressure against the shell. The standard answer is a hydrostatic relief valve or an underdrain system, which the CDC's aquatic health code requires for public pools wherever groundwater can push up on an empty one. That code governs public facilities rather than backyard pools, but the physics doesn't care whose pool it is.
Clay
The dominant soils here — Eastwood, Guyton, Moreland in Caddo; Wrightsville, Sacul, Gore, Moreland in Bossier — include several with very high shrink-swell potential. Moreland runs 60% to 90% clay in its subsoil with very slow permeability. The USDA soil survey for Caddo Parish states that high shrink-swell potential is a limitation for foundations, that clayey subsoil limits shallow excavations, and that a high water table and shrink-swell can cause movement of footings and affect ease of excavation. Worth keeping in perspective: a 2021 study of expansive-soil risk across Louisiana ranked Bossier and Caddo among the least vulnerable parishes in the state. The clay is real and can be severe on your particular lot, but this isn't the worst ground in Louisiana.
Access
Whether an excavator and a concrete truck can reach your backyard. Tight access, fences that must come down, and long hauls for spoil all add labor, and labor is 25% to 50% of a pool project.
Three questions to ask every bidder
Does my lot need dewatering and who pays if it does? What does the contract say if you hit rock or groundwater? Does the design include hydrostatic relief?
What it costs to own
Louisiana builders put annual pool maintenance at $1,200 to $1,800 a year. On top of that, expect roughly $65 to $100 a month in added electricity while the pool is running, about $20 to $25 a month added to homeowner's insurance, and a property tax assessment that may rise 5% to 10% once the pool is on the books.
The long-cycle costs are the ones people forget:
- $5,000–$10,000
Concrete resurfacing
Every 10 to 15 years. Unavoidable on a gunite pool.
- $4,000–$8,000
Vinyl liner replacement
Every 7 to 10 years, sooner with neglected water chemistry.
- Neither
Fiberglass
Roughly $5,000–$15,000 across ten years, against $27,000–$40,000 for concrete.
Which is why the cheapest pool to buy and the cheapest pool to own are different pools. The national cost guide runs that comparison in full.
Before you sign anything
Louisiana licenses pool work at $7,500
Louisiana requires a state contractor license for residential pool work over $7,500 — dramatically lower than the $50,000 threshold that applies to general residential construction. In practice, every real inground pool in this state legally requires a licensed contractor. A Home Improvement registration does not cover pools; the state says so explicitly.
Check any bidder against the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors at lslbc.louisiana.gov before you sign. It takes two minutes, it's free, and it's the single best protection available to you on a project this size.
More on choosing a builder here: pool builders in Shreveport and Bossier City.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an inground pool cost in Shreveport?
Vinyl runs $35,000 to $55,000, fiberglass $50,000 to $65,000, and gunite starts around $70,000 based on published pricing from a Bossier City builder. Budget $79,000 to $93,000 all-in for a gunite pool with fencing, decking, a heater, and landscaping.
Why won't builders here publish prices?
Most treat pricing as a conversation to have in person. Of eleven builders serving Shreveport-Bossier, only one publishes a starting price. It's normal for the industry and it's why comparing bids is so difficult.
What does a pool permit cost in Shreveport?
About $298 on a $70,000 pool — $4.25 per $1,000 of contract value, plus $68.25 per inspection. Bossier City charges $5.00 per $1,000, roughly $350 on the same pool.
Is a pool more expensive to build in Shreveport because of the water table?
It can be. Shallow groundwater means dewatering during excavation and a design that accounts for hydrostatic pressure. Whether your lot is affected depends on where you are — get the contract language on groundwater in writing before work starts.
What's the cheapest inground pool in Shreveport?
Advertised entry pricing in the area starts at $19,900, and vinyl builds generally start around $35,000. Just weigh the ten-year math: vinyl needs a $4,000 to $8,000 liner replacement every 7 to 10 years.
Sources
- Elston Construction Co. (Bossier City), Bourgeois Pools, A-1 Pool Company — published pricing
- City of Shreveport Guide to Building Permits & Inspections, MPC 2026; Bossier City permit fee schedule
- Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors; La. Admin. Code tit. 46, Pt. XXIX, § 503
- USDA NRCS SSURGO soil data, Caddo (LA017) and Bossier (LA015) parishes; USDA Soil Survey of Caddo Parish, 1980
- USGS monitoring well Bo-377, Bossier Parish
- CDC Model Aquatic Health Code, 5th ed., 2024
- HomeAdvisor, This Old House and Bankrate for national comparison figures