Land Clearing Cost Calculator
See what it costs to clear your land, as a low-to-high range, from the acreage, how wooded it is, the stumps to grind and whether it needs grading for a house.
Land clearing is priced by the acre, but the rate swings five-fold with how wooded the land is, and small lots cost more per acre than big ones. This turns your acreage, the growth on it and what you're clearing it for into a low-to-high range to hold quotes against.
How much land
Just the part being cleared. A typical building lot is a quarter to a half acre; an acre is about 209 feet on a side. Under an acre the price per acre climbs, because you're paying for the machine's day either way.
How wooded is it?
Look at the thickest part you're clearing. Large trees and thick underbrush are what push a job into the top tier.
What's it for?
Clearing for pasture or a view stops at the ground. A house site also needs rough grading so the lot drains and the foundation sits level.
Stumps to grind out
Count the trees over about 6 inches across that you want gone to the ground. Leave it at 0 if the stumps can stay or if you're getting full-service quotes, which usually include them; a wooded acre can hold 50 or more, and grinding is priced per stump.
Expect about
$4,400 to $8,250
2 acres, moderately wooded, cleared and hauled; stumps and grading not included
What moves a clearing quote
The range is the national spread for moderately wooded land; where you land in it is set by access and terrain (a machine that can drive straight in on flat ground is the low end, a sloped lot behind a fence is the high end), rock and boulders hidden under the brush, and hardwoods, which take longer to cut and haul than pine. Ask each bidder how the debris leaves: hauling costs the most, chipping on site is cheaper, and a burn permit is cheapest where it's allowed. If the land is for pasture or trails, ask about forestry mulching, which grinds everything in place for a fraction of a full clear.
Clearing follows a published size table that already carries the small-lot premium and the multi-acre discount, with the growth setting where you land in it: about $1,200–2,500 an acre lightly wooded, $2,500–4,500 moderate, $4,500–8,000 heavy at one acre. Stumps $100–400 each; home-site grading $2,000–5,000. National figures, 2026.
💡About this calculator▼
Land clearing is quoted by the acre, and the per-acre number is almost useless on its own: a lightly wooded acre runs about $1,200 to $2,500 while a heavily wooded one runs $4,500 to $8,000, and a quarter-acre lot costs more per acre than either because the contractor is charging for the day, not the dirt.
This gives you a range to hold quotes against. Enter the acreage, pick how wooded it is, say whether it's being cleared for pasture or graded for a house, and count the stumps you want ground out. The calculator reads the published size table, which already carries the small-lot premium and the multi-acre discount, and adds stumps and grading on top.
Where a quote lands in the range is about access and debris. Flat ground a machine can drive straight onto, softwoods, and a burn permit put a job at the low end; a sloped lot behind a fence, hardwoods, rock under the brush and hauling every load to a landfill put it at the top. Ask each bidder those questions and the spread narrows fast.
Start with the size table. Published clearing prices run $600 to $2,000 for an eighth of an acre, $800 to $3,000 for a quarter, $1,000 to $5,000 for a half, $1,200 to $8,000 for a full acre, $1,900 to $15,000 for two, and on up to $4,500 to $35,000 for five. The per-acre price falls as the job grows, because the equipment is already on site, and climbs on small lots, because the mobilization is the same. The calculator interpolates between rows and extends the five-acre per-acre rate for larger tracts.
Let the growth pick the point in the row. At one acre the same source prices light clearing (shrubs, underbrush, small trees) at $1,200 to $2,500, moderate (thicker brush, medium trees) at $2,500 to $4,500, and heavy (dense growth, large trees) at $4,500 to $8,000. Those three bands sit at the bottom fifth, the middle and the top half of the one-acre range, and the calculator applies the same positions to every size row, so a two-acre moderate lot comes out at $4,400 to $8,250.
Add the stumps. Grinding is priced per stump, about $100 to $400 each. Count the trees over about six inches across that you want gone to the ground; a wooded acre can hold fifty or more, which is why a stump line can rival the clearing itself. Leave it at zero if you're getting full-service quotes, which usually include stumps.
Add grading if you're building. A house site needs rough grading so the lot drains and the foundation sits level, about $2,000 to $5,000 for a small site on mostly level ground; sloped or rocky sites run far higher.
Worked example. Two acres, moderately wooded, cleared and hauled, no stumps counted: the two-acre row is $1,900 to $15,000, and the moderate band sits at 19 to 49 percent of it, so $4,400 to $8,250, or $2,200 to $4,150 an acre. Make it build-ready with a dozen stumps ground and it's $7,600 to $18,050.
📐How it's calculated▼
Clearing = size-table row for your acreage, at the density band's position. Rows (low–high): 1/8 acre $600–2,000; 1/4 $800–3,000; 1/2 $1,000–5,000; 1 $1,200–8,000; 2 $1,900–15,000; 3 $2,700–22,000; 4 $3,600–30,000; 5 $4,500–35,000; past 5 acres, the 5-acre per-acre rate. Bands: light 0–19% of the row, moderate 19–49%, heavy 49–100% (from the 1-acre tiers $1,200–2,500 / $2,500–4,500 / $4,500–8,000).
Stumps = count × $100 to $400.
Grading (build-ready only) = $2,000 to $5,000.
Total = clearing + stumps + grading, rounded to $50.
Default, 2 acres moderate, cleared: $1,900 + $13,100 × 0.19 = $4,400 low; $1,900 + $13,100 × 0.49 = $8,250 high.
1 acre light: $1,200 to $2,500. 1 acre heavy: $4,500 to $8,000.
Quarter acre, light, build-ready, 4 stumps: clearing $800 to $1,200; stumps $400 to $1,600; grading $2,000 to $5,000; total $3,200 to $7,800.
5 acres heavy: $19,300 to $35,000, which is $3,850 to $7,000 an acre.
📎Sources:HomeGuide — How Much Does It Cost to Clear Land? (size table, clearing tiers, stumps, grading; Nov 2025),Lawn Love — How Much Does it Cost to Clear Land in 2026? (per-acre by forest density, stumps, hourly rates),LawnStarter — How Much Does It Cost to Clear Land in 2026? (per-acre by density, stumps, site prep per sq ft)
🔍Finding your inputs▼
How much land: Only the part being cleared, not the whole parcel. A typical building lot is a quarter to a half acre; an acre is about 209 feet on a side, or a bit under a football field. Under an acre the per-acre price climbs steeply, because the contractor is charging for a machine and crew for the day either way.
How wooded is it: Judge by the thickest part you're clearing. Lightly wooded is shrubs, brush and small trees you could push over with a skid steer. Moderately wooded has thick underbrush and trees a foot or so across. Heavily wooded is dense growth with large trees that have to be felled, cut up and hauled, and it's where hardwoods and hidden rock push a quote to the top of the range.
What's it for: Clearing for pasture, a view or a trail stops at ground level. A house site also needs rough grading so water drains away from the foundation and the pad sits level, which adds $2,000 to $5,000 on an easy site and much more on a sloped or rocky one.
Stumps to grind out: Count the trees over about six inches across that you want gone to the ground. Grinding is priced per stump, and a wooded acre can hold fifty or more, so this line matters. Leave it at zero if the stumps can stay, or if you're collecting full-service quotes, which usually include stump removal in the per-acre price.
⚠️Special situations▼
It's just brush and saplings, no real trees. Is the light band still right?
Probably high. Brush-only land is the one place the published sources disagree most: one puts it at $330 to $630 an acre, another at $800 to $3,000 for a brush-removal service. Forestry mulching, which grinds brush and small trees in place and leaves the mulch, runs about $500 to $1,000 an acre and is the usual answer for pasture and trails. Use the light band as a ceiling and ask for a mulching quote.
My quote is per hour, not per acre. How do I compare it?
Hourly clearing runs about $120 to $265 with a machine and operator, and a skid-steer mulcher does one to three acres a day on light to moderate growth. Multiply the hourly rate by an eight-hour day and divide by the acres the contractor says they'll clear in it, then compare with the per-acre row here. Hourly bids favor you on easy land and hurt on rocky or dense land, where the day stretches.
The lot is a quarter acre but the per-acre figure looks huge.
That's the small-lot premium, and it's real: a quarter-acre light clear runs about $800 to $1,200, which is $3,200 to $4,800 an acre, because the contractor still trailers in a machine, an operator and a truck for what may be a half day. Expect a flat price rather than a per-acre rate, and lower it by bundling the stumps and grading into the same visit, or by lining up a neighbor's job for the same week.
I'm clearing to build a house. What isn't in this number?
Permits (many towns require one above a fraction of an acre, and some want a survey first at $500 to $1,500), erosion controls if you're near a stream or wetland, a soil test before the foundation is designed, and any excavation beyond rough grading. The grading figure here is a small, mostly level site; a sloped or rocky lot can run several times that. Ask that topsoil be stockpiled on site rather than hauled away, because you'll pay to bring it back for the yard.
❓Common questions▼
How much does it cost to clear one acre of land?
About $1,200 to $2,500 if it's lightly wooded, $2,500 to $4,500 if moderately wooded, and $4,500 to $8,000 if heavily wooded with large trees, for clearing and hauling. Other national guides put lightly forested land at $580 to $2,333 and heavily forested at $3,300 to $6,155 an acre, inside or just under those bands. Stump grinding, at $100 to $400 a stump, and grading for a house site, at $2,000 to $5,000, come on top.
Why is clearing a small lot so expensive per acre?
Because the contractor is selling a day of machine, operator and truck, and a quarter acre doesn't take much less of that day than a full acre. A quarter-acre lot runs $800 to $3,000 to clear, which is $3,200 to $12,000 an acre, while five acres runs $4,500 to $35,000, or $900 to $7,000 an acre. Small jobs are usually quoted as a flat price, and bundling stumps and grading into the same visit is the way to bring it down.
Does land clearing include stump removal?
Sometimes. Full-service clearing quotes often include stumps in the per-acre price, especially on heavily wooded land where the trees are being felled anyway; forestry mulching and brush clearing usually leave stumps at or just above the ground. Stump grinding priced separately runs about $100 to $400 a stump, and a wooded acre can hold fifty or more, so ask every bidder whether stumps are in.
What is forestry mulching and is it cheaper?
A machine with a drum cutter grinds brush and trees in place and leaves the chips on the ground, so there's nothing to haul. It runs about $500 to $1,000 an acre, or $150 to $250 an hour, against $1,200 to $8,000 for a full clear. It's the right tool for pasture, trails, fire breaks and opening up a view; it isn't the right tool for a house site, because the stumps and roots stay and the ground isn't graded.
How much does it cost to clear land to build a house?
Clearing plus rough grading, so for a typical half-acre house site, $1,000 to $5,000 for the clearing depending on growth, plus $2,000 to $5,000 to grade a mostly level pad, plus any stumps at $100 to $400 each. Sloped or rocky lots can multiply the grading figure. Budget separately for the permit, a survey if the town wants one ($500 to $1,500), erosion controls near water, and a soil test before the foundation is designed.
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