How much does land clearing cost per acre?

Lightly wooded or brushy land commonly runs $500 to $2,000 an acre. Moderately wooded land runs about $2,000 to $4,000. Heavily wooded land with mature trees and stumps to pull often runs $3,000 to $6,000 or more. Those ranges assume normal terrain; steep ground, wet ground and no room to work push them up.

Why does the same acre get quoted at two very different prices?

Almost always the debris. Mulching the growth in place, burning it on site where that is permitted, and loading it into trucks for disposal are three different jobs with three different costs, and the third can be more than the clearing itself. Ask every contractor what their price assumes happens to the material before you compare the numbers.

What is forestry mulching and is it cheaper?

A mulching head on a machine grinds standing brush and small trees into chip that stays on the ground as cover. It is often cheaper than cut-and-haul because nothing gets loaded or trucked, it leaves the soil intact and holds erosion, and it can work in weather that would bog a truck. The tradeoff is that it does not remove stumps or root mass, so it suits pasture, trails and access more than a building pad.

Do stumps cost extra?

Usually yes. Clearing prices often cover taking the trees down and off; pulling or grinding the stumps is a separate line, commonly $100 to $400 per stump or folded into a per-acre grubbing price. If your lot is going to be built on, you need the stumps and root balls out, so make sure the quote says so.

Do I need a permit to clear my own land?

Often, yes. Many counties regulate clearing near wetlands, streams and steep slopes, and some require an erosion and sediment control plan before any ground is opened. Rules vary by state and county and change with acreage. Ask your contractor what they have pulled in your jurisdiction before, and confirm with the local authority yourself.

Pricing guide

Land clearing cost per acre

Updated July 20267 min readUS pricing

Clearing an acre in the US typically costs $1,500 to $5,000, with light brush at the bottom and mature hardwood with stumps to pull at the top. The number that surprises people is not the tree count. It is what happens to everything once it is on the ground.

The short answer

Light brush: $500 to $2,000 an acre. Moderate woods:$2,000 to $4,000. Heavy woods with grubbing:$3,000 to $6,000+. Forestry mulching often lands $1,000 to $3,000 an acre because nothing has to be hauled anywhere.

Prices by how thick the growth is

Typical 2026 US land clearing prices per acre
Land type	What is on it	Per acre
Grass and scrub	Overgrown field, few or no trees	$300-$1,000
Light brush	Brush and saplings, scattered trees	$500-$2,000
Moderate woods	Mixed growth, regular tree cover	$2,000-$4,000
Heavy woods	Mature trees, dense understory, stumps out	$3,000-$6,000+
Forestry mulching	Ground in place, chip left as cover	$1,000-$3,000
Stump grinding	Per stump, priced by diameter	$100-$400

Ranges are for general guidance. Small jobs under an acre are usually quoted as a day rate rather than pro rata, because mobilizing the machine costs the same either way.

The debris decision is the price

Once the growth is down it has to go somewhere, and the three options do not cost remotely the same:

Mulch it in place. A mulching head grinds it to chip where it stands. No loading, no trucking, no tipping fee, and the chip holds soil against erosion. Cheapest per acre by a wide margin on suitable ground.
Burn it on site. Cheap where it is permitted, and it frequently is not. Burn permits, seasonal bans and air-quality rules vary by county, and the pile still has to be built and tended.
Haul it off. The most expensive by far: loading time, truck time, and a disposal fee at the other end. On a heavily wooded acre this line alone can exceed the cost of the clearing.

This is the single question to ask every contractor before you compare quotes. Two prices that look wildly different usually turn out to be a mulching quote sitting next to a cut-and-haul quote.

Clearing is not the same as grubbing

Clearing takes the growth off the surface. Grubbing pulls the stumps and root mass out of the ground. If the lot is going to carry a house, a slab or a driveway, you need grubbing, and you need the resulting holes backfilled and compacted or you will be dealing with settlement later. If the goal is pasture, a trail, a view or firebreak, mulching without grubbing is often the right and much cheaper answer. Say which outcome you want when you request the quote, because the two jobs are priced completely differently.

Order of operations

Clearing comes before grading, which comes before any dig. Contractors who cover all three can run them back to back on one mobilization, which is usually cheaper than scheduling three visits and always faster. Of the 21,050 contractors in this directory, 2,361 show land clearing work and 92 show forestry mulching specifically.

What pushes an acre over the range

Slope. Steep ground slows machines, limits which ones can work at all, and often triggers erosion control requirements.
Wet ground. Saturated soil and machines do not mix. Wet sites either wait for a dry spell or need mats, and both cost.
Access. If a chip truck cannot reach the work, the material has to be moved twice.
Salvage value. On a big enough parcel, merchantable timber can offset part of the bill. Ask whether the contractor sells or subs the logging side.
Utilities and boundaries. Overhead lines, buried services and a fence line you cannot cross all add care and time.

Find land clearing contractors near you

2,361 contractors in this directory show land clearing work. These cities have the most, or search your own:

Vancourt, TX Conroe, TX Colony, OK Jacksonville, FL Lakeland, FL Austin, TX Candor, NC Knoxville, TN Search your city →

Notes

Prices are typical 2026 US ranges for general guidance, not quotes. Clearing rules near wetlands, streams and slopes vary by state and county; confirm permit requirements with your local authority before any ground is opened.