If they move the meter to the house, just put in an integrated panel that includes the meter mount. You won't have to worry about running wires from the meter to the panel. Or maybe I'm not understanding your question.

Do I understand you correctly that the electric meter for your home is on a pole 160 ft. from your home? Is this a rural situation? I can offer some suggestions but I'm not sure I quite understand your situation. If it is as you say, discuss with your PUCO about bringing the meter to the house and running the power from the pole to the house underground.

Around here ALL underground is the customer's responsibility.
Also, the POCO will only go one pole into the property. So if the house is over ~200' from the property line the customer foots the bill for the rest.

Hello, yes- it in a 110 year old farm house. I am looking into having the meter moved closer. I was wondering if it would be less expensive, for the land owner, to just upgrade the wiring and panel? That's why I was asking about the wire size, to get a rough est. They may decide to just board up the place.

I guess there are some benefits to living in more civilized parts of the country.

I hope by that you don't mean Texas.

Doesn't a 200 amp service require a bigger wire than #4 aluminum?

Yes it does. The OP states he has 60 amps right now.
The question of what size wire is hard to answer accurately without more info.
Typically 200 amps requires 2/0CU or 4/0AL. An overhead drop would be significantly smaller.

"Typically 200 amps requires 2/0CU or 4/0AL. An overhead drop would be significantly smaller."

Overhead gets relief for being in free air.

The other thing to keep in mind is that wiring after the meter must comply with the NEC.
Wiring BEFORE the meter is distribution wiring and NOT always covered by the NEC (except limited things like clearances, etc.).

The POCO has their own rules for distribution wiring.

Can anyone provide a ballpark figure on how much it costs to upgrade a 60AMP panel (1930s era) to a new (200AMP?) panel?

We just looked at a home, 1930s, original owner, original everything. We're trying to get our heads around how much it'd cost to update/modernize.

You shouldn't tack on to two year old threads. You should have asked in a new thread.

We can't give you that answer as there are far two many factors involved. You'll have to find some reputable electrical contractors (ask for referrals) to get bids from. It's more than just upgrading the panel (which isn't that much work) but also upgrading the SERVICE (i.e., the wire coming from the power company and the meter), plus anything that needs to be done to bring the changes up to the current code. In addition there may be some more pressing changes with 70+ year old wiring that you might need to consider.

I guess "where to post" is forum/reader specific. I've made new postings on other forums, only to be chastised for not searching, finding, and posting to the existing related thread. As long as it gets seen and answered.

I'm not looking for an exact quote, just a ballpark. What's the cost range for such work. If it's just a panel, what's that cost? If its the panel plus those other things you mention, what's that add?

If anyone has done a similar update, what's the cost and what's been involved?

Search for the answer, yes. Tacking on to a long dead thread is confusing. The cost of a panel is a few hundred dollars plus $10-20 for each regular circuit breaker. More if you need to comply with AFCI or GFCI in the panel.
Installation of the panel alone could run $500-$2000 or more depending on what needs to be done. The cost of a new meter, meter base, and the drop is highly dependent on your local power company. Could easily add a thousand to the cost. Having to change anything else with antique wiring could easily run the price up over the base job. There just isn't any way to tell.

The range is like $700-$20,000...

Okay, Thanks. $20,000 is an upper estimate to work with. Worst case cost is along the order of new windows or a bathroom. With 10 rooms of 70 year old wallpaper over most-likely uninsulated walls, I'm apt to gut the place and work back up, so redoing all the wiring wouldn't be a big deal after that. I'd sleep better knowing that there's not century-old wiring inside the walls.