Is there a typical lifespan for a sump pump?

It has to do with the number of cycles. A sump that has to turn on 5 times an hour will wear out five time fast than one that only is on once an hour.
I bought a stainless steel, made in Germany, pump that ran for eighteen years without a problem, very wet basement.

I have one in a small container outside in my yard, it drains the rainwater before it gets to the pool. It has been in place for 14 years now, I have replaced it twice in that time or rather I am on my second one.

As @Tropical_Willie said, it depends upon how often it cycles. I am not unhappy with getting eight years out of it. They are not exactly top of the line.

OK. That makes sense so at least I have a better understanding of what’s going on.

The term for the conditions that @Tropical_Willie and @rojo refer to is “duty cycle”. If you have a sump that fills frequently, then you want a pump with the highest rated duty cycle that you can find (and afford). Quality isn’t cheap. Higher horsepower also means that the pump will have more capacity to perform its mission quickly (assuming that the output piping and drainage conditions allow), and turn off again.

In addition, you need to be certain of the pump’s required installation. Some sump pumps are meant to be submerged and some aren’t. If you buy and install a non-submerged pump (or if it become submerged, like my first one did, because of a power failure), then whether it lasts very long after that may be pure coincidence. Again, a submersible pump will generally be more expensive – and probably substantially so – compared to a non-submerged pump, because of the water-tightness that is required.

Thanks for all the info. Plumber is coming tomorrow and I’m going to give this info to my landlord and hopefully the next one lasts longer.