Land Clearing Cost Calculator

At the default prices, 2 acres of moderate vegetation cleared by forestry mulching, with no grubbing and 300 LF of silt fence, comes to $5,000, or $2,500 per acre. Clearing is $3,200, silt fence $1,050 and mobilization $750. The cost per acre is the whole job divided by the acres, so it includes the silt fence and the mobilization, not just the clearing. The 2 acres are 87,120 sq ft.

Density and method are the two big switches. At the default prices, for a 2-acre job with 300 LF of silt fence, forestry mulching comes to $3,400 for light, $5,000 for moderate and $7,800 for heavy vegetation, which is $1,700, $2,500 and $3,900 per acre. Cut, pile and haul off comes to $5,000, $8,600 and $12,200 ($2,500, $4,300 and $6,100 per acre), and cut, pile and burn to $4,300, $6,800 and $9,600 ($2,150, $3,400 and $4,800 per acre).

Grubbing adds the stump and root price on top of any method. At the same defaults, mulching with grubbing comes to $4,400, $7,400 and $11,400 for light, moderate and heavy, cut and haul to $6,000, $11,000 and $15,800, and cut and burn to $5,300, $9,200 and $13,200. Across all 18 combinations of method, density and grubbing at these defaults, the lowest total is $3,400 ($1,700 per acre, light density with mulching) and the highest is $15,800 ($7,900 per acre, heavy density with haul-off and grubbing).

Size and the fixed charges also matter. With the default method and 300 LF of silt fence held constant, 1 acre comes to $3,400, 2 acres to $5,000, 5 acres to $9,800 ($1,960 per acre) and 10 acres to $17,800 ($1,780). For a large heavy job, 10 acres of heavy vegetation with haul-off, grubbing and 1,300 LF of silt fence comes to $75,300, or $7,530 per acre. The $1,500 minimum is a floor that sets the price only when the job adds up to less. A quarter acre of light vegetation with mulching and no silt fence adds up to $950, so it is billed at $1,500.

The method decides what is left on the ground. With forestry mulching the vegetation is ground in place and the chips stay on the site, which is why the calculator has no disposal line for it. Cut, pile and haul off leaves a cleared surface, with the cut material trucked away, and the calculator adds a haul-off price per acre. Cut, pile and burn leaves the piles to be burned on site, and the calculator adds a smaller pile-and-burn price per acre.

At the default prices, mulching is the lowest of the three methods at every density, with and without grubbing, and burning is below haul-off, once the job is above the $1,500 minimum. On very small jobs with no silt fence (under about half an acre of light vegetation, or about a quarter acre of moderate or heavy), two or all three methods can come out at the same $1,500 minimum. Both orderings come from the default prices; if a quote for hauling is low in your area or mulching is high, enter your own prices in the pricing section and the order can change.

Grubbing is a separate choice, because it removes stumps and roots and not just what stands above the ground. The form notes that it is needed for building pads, drives and fields. The grubbing price depends on density and does not change with the method. The calculator has no separate haul-off for grubbed stumps and roots when you mulch; if they must leave the site, raise the grubbing price in the pricing section.

If you are considering burning, ask the state forestry agency or the local fire department whether open burning is allowed on your land and whether it needs a permit. The calculator prices burning as an option because the label says “where allowed”; it does not know whether burning is allowed where you are.

Tennessee DOT's average unit prices for contracts awarded from January 1 to December 31, 2025 list one per-acre clearing and grubbing item, 201-01.03, in Region 4: an average of $7,500 over 13 acres, $97,500 in all. The list gives item names, units, prices and quantities, and it does not state whether that item includes disposal of the debris or which specification edition applied. This page therefore does not compare it with the calculator's totals.

Wisconsin DOT's Average Unit Price List, dated 10/21/2025, prices clearing and grubbing as separate per-acre items. Clearing (201.0115) was $6,800 in fiscal year 2023, $2,420 in 2024 and $3,500 in 2025. Grubbing (201.0215) was $1,220 in 2023 and $3,400 in 2024, with no 2025 value on the list. The list does not say what vegetation was cleared.

WisDOT's 2025 Standard Specifications state the scope. In 201.5(2), payment for Clearing and Grubbing is full compensation for the clearing and grubbing within the limits and for “Handling, hauling, piling, burning, burying, trimming, chipping, wound treatment, rehandling, and disposing of waste and debris.” So WisDOT's clearing item includes disposal, and the calculator's nearest scope is its clearing line plus its haul-off line. For cut, pile and haul off those two lines add up to $1,600 per acre for light, $3,400 for moderate and $5,200 for heavy vegetation. Moderate and heavy fall between WisDOT's lowest and highest fiscal-year clearing averages ($2,420 and $6,800); light is below the lowest. The list does not say which specification edition applied to each year's contracts. The calculator's grubbing line is not compared with WisDOT's grubbing item, because the calculator prices disposal as one separate per-acre line. The comparison shows where the defaults sit, not that either figure is right for your lot.

These are highway lettings. The calculator assumes a private lot is a smaller job, with the move-in cost spread over fewer acres, and carries that in its $750 mobilization and $1,500 minimum job rather than in the per-acre prices.

EPA's page on stormwater discharges from construction activities says: “A Clean Water Act permit is required for stormwater discharges from any construction activity disturbing: 1 acre or more of land, or Less than 1 acre of land, but that is part of a common plan of development or sale that will ultimately disturb 1 or more acres of land.” It adds that construction activity “includes earth-disturbing activities such as clearing, grading, and excavating land and other construction-related activities that could generate pollutants.” The default job of 2 acres is over the 1-acre figure.

This page cannot say whether your job needs a permit, or who must get it. The rule applies to construction activity that disturbs 1 acre or more, and whether yours counts depends on what the cleared land is for. Check with your state environmental agency and your local building or planning office before work starts. This is general information, not legal advice.

Silt fence is the erosion-control line in the calculator, priced per linear foot and set along the downhill edges. Tennessee DOT's 2025 statewide average for temporary silt fence with backing (209-08.02) was $4.51 per LF over 616,841 LF, and without backing (209-08.03) was $2.16 per LF over 360,511 LF. Wisconsin DOT's Silt Fence item (628.1504) was $2.15, $2.05 and $1.99 per LF in fiscal years 2023, 2024 and 2025. The calculator's default is $3.50 per LF, between the two Tennessee averages. The lists give item names and units, not what each includes, so the calculator's rate is an estimate for installed fence and not a match to either.