LandClearly Research
Why Published Land-Clearing Prices Disagree
20 published pricing sources reviewed · Last reviewed: September 2026
What this page is not. This is an audit of what other publishers say, with every figure checked against the live source page. It is not a dataset of completed LandClearly contractor quotes, it is not a measurement of transaction prices, and it does not produce a LandClearly price. We deliberately publish no national average, median or average-of-averages, because averaging figures with incompatible scopes produces a number that describes no real project.
Key findings
1. The ranges are not directly comparable
Sources label materially different scopes: lightly forested versus heavily forested, forestry mulching versus full clearing, clearing-only versus clearing plus site preparation. LawnStarter publishes both $733–$2,333 and $3,395–$6,155 per acre in the same guide — the difference is vegetation, not disagreement.
2. Acreage alone does not determine the number
Across national and contractor sources alike, the recurring drivers are vegetation density, stem size, terrain and access, debris handling and the finish the ground must reach. Acreage scales a job; it does not describe one.
3. Method changes what is being priced
Mulching and full-clearing figures may describe materially different deliverables because mulched material may remain onsite while root or stump extraction, haul-off or other work may be excluded. Incompatible scopes should not be compared as identical work.
4. Region and operator market matter
Texas, New York, Michigan and NC/VA guides publish visibly different bands, and Texas operator pages differ from each other within the state. Regional vegetation, site conditions, service scope and local operator markets can contribute to differences between published figures.
5. Some headline numbers share a source ecosystem
Several consumer cost guides cite each other or draw on the same cost-publisher data. Repeated figures are therefore not necessarily independent observations, and most publisher pages do not expose the project-level records that would reproduce their headline range.
Same search. Different scope. Different published ranges.
The ranges below are shown as published. They are grouped by scope to make the differences visible — not to imply that every range measures the same work.
Published per-acre ranges differ across sources and scope groups. No average is calculated.
General land clearing
- HomeGuide$1,200–$8,000 / acre
- LawnStarter — lightly forested$733–$2,333 / acre
- LawnStarter — heavily forested$3,395–$6,155 / acre
- Fixr — clearing to build$500–$5,000 / acre
Forestry mulching
- HomeAdvisor$400–$1,500 / acre
- Environmental Forest Products — New York$750–$2,500 / acre
- KNS LandWorx — NC/VA$1,400–$5,500 / acre
- Fast Forward Plots — Michigan$1,200–$3,500 / acre
Texas land clearing
- Bear Claw Land Clearing$1,500–$8,000+ / acre
- Corral Bros — Central Texas$1,500–$6,500 / acre
- Mulchtex — light/moderate$800–$2,500 / acre
- Mulchtex — dense/heavy$2,500–$6,500 / acre
- Daniel Dean — Southeast Texas$2,700–$11,000 / acre
Published ranges shown as reported. Groups — and sources within groups — may still differ in scope and are not combined into an average.
The source comparison
Sources are grouped by comparable scope and never merged. Figures are reproduced as published and were checked against each live page in September 2026. Where a page could not be retrieved, the figure is withheld and flagged instead of repeated on trust.
National general land clearing
Broad national guides covering land clearing as a single category. Scope varies: some include tree work, most treat grading and excavation as separate line items.
Angi
National land clearing
Published figure withheld — page not retrievable
Terrain and vegetation density; grading and excavation described as extra.
Visible date: 2026-03-17
Not verifiable: Page could not be retrieved on 2026-09-16 (access blocked by the publisher). Figure withheld rather than repeated unchecked.
HomeGuide
National land clearing
$1,200–$8,000 per acre
Size, terrain, accessibility, vegetation type and density.
Visible date: 2025-11-20
HomeAdvisor
National land clearing
$1,396–$6,174 typical project range
Lot size, vegetation density, terrain; permits, survey and grading extra.
Visible date: 2026-06-17
Corrected on review: Our working note recorded an upper bound of $6,170; the live page publishes $6,174. The page figure is used.
LawnStarter
Lightly forested land
$733–$2,333 per acre
Explicitly excludes grading and leveling.
Visible date: 2025-12-27
LawnStarter
Heavily forested land
$3,395–$6,155 per acre
Same guide, same exclusions — a different vegetation band, not a different market.
Visible date: 2025-12-27
Fixr
Land clearing to build
$500–$5,000 per acre
Clearing is treated as one step; site preparation is priced separately at $200–$2,000 per acre.
Visible date: 2025-01-31
Bob Vila
General land clearing
$250–$1,000 per acre general; $500–$5,600 tree clearing
Older guide that cites other cost publishers; density changes the scope materially.
Visible date: 2023-02-28
Forestry mulching
A method-specific group. Mulching figures often assume material stays on site and that stump or root extraction is quoted separately, so they are not interchangeable with full-clearing numbers.
OWNR OPS
Forestry mulching
$500–$8,000+ per acre
Density, stem diameter, terrain and region; method-specific guide.
Visible date: 2026-03
HomeAdvisor
Forestry mulching
$400–$1,500 per acre; average around $500
Stump, tree and boulder removal may be extra.
Visible date: 2026-06-19
Angi
Forestry mulching
Published figure withheld — page not retrievable
Acreage, slope and density; hauling and stump work described as possible additions.
Visible date: 2026-05-30
Not verifiable: Page could not be retrieved on 2026-09-16 (access blocked by the publisher). Figure withheld.
Environmental Forest Products
Forestry mulching — New York
$750–$2,500 per acre
Regional operator guide; notes dense timber may favour conventional clearing.
Visible date: 2026-04
KNS LandWorx
Forestry mulching — NC/VA
$1,400–$5,500 per acre
Woody material density is the central driver; regional operator data.
Visible date: 2026-08-05
Fast Forward Plots
Forestry mulching — Michigan
$1,200–$3,500 per acre
Regional operator; medium density often quoted at $1,500–$2,500.
Visible date: 2026-05
Texas land clearing
Texas operator and regional guides. Even inside one state, published bands differ by vegetation type, debris handling and the service area each operator works in.
Bear Claw Land Clearing
Texas land clearing
$1,500–$8,000+ per acre
Light, medium and heavy vegetation bands.
Visible date: 2026-01
Corral Bros
Central Texas land clearing
$1,500–$6,500 per acre
Vegetation density emphasised throughout.
Visible date: 2026-07-14
Hunt County Land Clearing
Northeast Texas
$1,400–$6,200 per acre
Density, terrain, access and debris disposal.
Visible date: 2026
Mountain Movers Excavation
Central Texas
$1,500–$6,000 per acre headline; density bands from $500 (light brush) to $6,000–$10,000+ (dense forest with large stumps)
Bands are stated by vegetation class rather than as one range.
Visible date: 2026-06-12
Corrected on review: Our working note compressed this to $500–$6,000. The live page publishes a $1,500–$6,000 headline plus density bands reaching $6,000–$10,000+.
Mulchtex
Texas land clearing
$800–$2,500 light to moderate; $2,500–$6,500 dense or heavy
Method and debris handling explicitly change the scope.
Visible date: 2026-04-01
Daniel Dean
Southeast Texas
$2,700–$11,000 per acre
Brush and small trees up to about 5 inches; larger trees and stump extraction quoted separately.
Visible date: 2026-08-20
Texas Acreage Guide
Texas summary
$1,500–$8,000+ per acre
Planning bands presented as budgeting guidance, not universal Texas rates.
Visible date: 2026-08
Same acreage. Very different job.
This illustrates one of the central problems with comparing per-acre figures without first defining the scope. Two properties of identical size can represent very different workloads and clearing scopes.
How to read a price guide
- Find the method. Is the figure for mowing, mulching, full clearing, or clearing plus grubbing?
- Find the vegetation. Grass and light brush, mixed brush with small trees, or mature woody growth?
- Check stumps and roots. Left in place, ground, or extracted — and is that inside the quoted figure?
- Check the debris. Mulched on site, piled and burned where permitted, or hauled away?
- Check the finish. Walkable ground is not the same deliverable as ground built to a construction specification.
- Check the geography and the date. A national guide and a county operator page are answering different questions.
- Check what is explicitly excluded. Permits, surveys, grading, hauling and stump work are commonly outside the headline number.
Methodology and limitations
We collected publicly available land-clearing and forestry-mulching pricing pages from national cost publishers, method-specific guides and regional operators, recorded the publisher, visible date, stated geography or scope, the published figure and the stated inclusions and exclusions, then re-checked every figure against the live page before publishing. Two figures were corrected against the source during that check, and two pages could not be retrieved and are flagged rather than quoted.
This audit does not rank publishers or determine which published range is most accurate. Its purpose is to document what each source publishes and identify differences in scope and framing.
The main limitation is source dependence: this audit can only describe what publishers choose to publish. It does not observe contract prices, it cannot confirm how any publisher derived its range, and the sample is not a statistically representative survey of the US market. Sources change their pages without notice, so figures here are accurate as reviewed and should be re-checked at the source before use.
The downloadable audit contains the source-level information used for this research page. Published figures should be re-checked at the original source before reuse.
Where to go next
If you are trying to budget a specific property, the useful move is to define the job before comparing numbers. Land clearing cost explains each variable, cost per acre covers why the per-acre unit misleads, cost to clear 1 acre shows how far a single acre can move, forestry mulching cost covers the method-specific figures above, and Texas land clearing cost looks at the regional group in detail. Our methodology explains how our own estimates are built.