2024 Land Development Costs: Average Site Development Cost

Site Development Cost Breakdown

The process of land development is different for every single plot of land, as there are several factors that dictate what you need to do before building on your land.

Cost of the Land

One of the first things you might want to consider is the cost of the land, which averages around $75,000 in the U.S. but can fall anywhere from $2,000 up to $500,000 or more, depending on the size of the plot, the location, and more.

Generally, homeowners won’t include this when considering site preparation, so this isn’t included in our estimates above. However, generally speaking, the price of your land will be lower if preparation costs are expected to be higher, so keep that in mind when buying a piece of land to build on.

Permits

Permits for land preparation could be non-existent, depending on what you need to do to the land and where your plot is located. However, your building permits could cost up to $1,000 or even more for land prep if you need to do heavy preparation that involves grading, land clearing, or other intensive work.

Keep in mind that this doesn’t include your construction costs and only covers permitting you’ll need during the development phase. Some possible permits include the following:

• Electrical connection

• Plumbing and sewage connection

• Septic system approval

• Land gradation

• Lot clearing

Land Clearing

The cost to clear land averages around $3,000, but you might pay as little as $0 or up to $5,750 or more, depending on your land. Land clearing includes removing trees, bushes, shrubs, overgrowth, and rocks that could interfere with building, so your total will depend on the state of your land when you begin the preparation process.

Impact Fees

Impact fees vary wildly among individual properties and areas, falling anywhere between $0 and $30,000. Impact fees are charges that home builders pay to assess and offset the impact building the home will have on the environment and the surrounding community. Impact fees can include charges for any of the following, depending on where you live:

• Fees to provide affordable housing in the area

• Fees to gauge the environmental impact of building

• Fees to upgrade utility infrastructure to account for population growth

• Fees to schools to support and keep up with community growth

• Fees to upgrade transportation in the area to keep up with population growth

• Fees to support municipal building and infrastructure

Impact fees can make a massive difference when it comes to your site development costs, so you’ll want to have a professional builder or planner in your corner to figure out what fees you’ll need to pay before you get started.

Utility Connections

Your new home will likely need connections to utilities, which might include public water, a private water well, electrical service, and natural gas. On average, utility connections will cost around $20,000, but you might pay anywhere from $100 up to $57,000. Not only will you need individual permits and approvals for some of these connections, but you might also need to pay to extend the service lines—for public water, gas, and electricity—to your plot.

As you might imagine, your total cost will vary quite a bit based on your proximity to existing connections, as installing new ones gets expensive quickly. The table below includes some average pricing for utility connections.

If you’re planning and installing a septic system where one doesn’t already exist, you’ll also have to pay for things like a percolation test, which confirms that your system won’t pollute the water in the area. A percolation test costs between $100 and $1,000, and is included in the septic estimate in the table above.

Survey

In most cases, you’ll need to pay for a land survey as part of your site development. Land survey costs average around $600, but you might pay anywhere between $300 and $2,000 for your survey, depending on the size of your plot. In general, you can expect prices of between $0.50 and $0.70 per square foot.

The survey will not only help establish where your building should sit on your plot, but it will also help plan utility lines, fencing, and hardscaping. Getting a survey done is a necessary component in most cases, as you’ll have to submit it to get your construction permits, so make sure you take great care when choosing a professional. Know what questions to ask your land surveyor and red flags to watch out for.

Engineer’s Inspection

A report from a structural engineer will cost around $500, on average, but the price could range from $0 up to $1,000. You don’t always need a report from a structural engineer as part of your land development, but it can help provide the following information, which your building department, architect, or builder may require:

• The load your specific soil can handle

• Whether or not changes are required to get supportive soil on your plot

• Changes necessary so that your building site is flat

• How the plot should be sloped for proper drainage, based on soil conditions

• The type of foundation best suits your home, climate, and soil conditions

• How and where your water management system should be set up

• How your builder should backfill around your foundation after construction

Soil Grading

If your structural engineer or builder recommends soil grading, you can expect to pay between $1,000 and $5,000 for this additional work to get the slope of your plot suitable for construction.

If you have a relatively flat, level plot already, you might not have to pay for grading at all. Steeply sloped sites will tend to cost between $2,000 and $5,000 for rough grading and finish grading to get a flat build area with good drainage, while sites with minimal slope will more often cost between $1,000 and $2,000.

Foundation Preparation

At this point in the site development process, you can finally break ground, which involves excavation for your foundation, pouring the foundation, and backfilling around it. The average cost for this part of the job is around $5,000, but your total can range from $0 up to $50,000. The table below includes some average pricing for these services based on your foundation type.

The price you’ll pay for excavation and backfilling for your foundation will depend on the soil quality and the footprint of your home, as well.

Finish Work and Landscaping

The last step in the site development process would be to tackle finish work and landscaping features, which can cost between $0 and $30,000, depending on your plans. Some things that are commonly included in this step are listed below.

• Concrete driveways: $2,500 to $7,500

• Concrete patios: $1,700 to $5,000

• Concrete walkways: $1,200 to $2,400

• Other landscaping features: $500 to $2,000+

• Outbuilding foundations: $500 to $2,000+

Land Development Costs by Square Foot

Site development costs will usually sit around $3 per square foot, but you could pay anywhere from $0.25 to $100 per square foot, depending on your plot and what you intend to build on it.

If your site is relatively level, in an area that doesn’t charge an impact fee, has easy access to utility connections, and doesn’t require much excavation for the foundation, you’re likely to pay toward the lower end of that range.

If you’re building on a steeply sloped site with hard clay soil, need to remove heavy trees and brush, and are installing a basement foundation that requires connections to all utilities, expect your prices for land development to be much higher.

DIY vs. Hiring a Pro

It might be tempting to try to handle land development—or at least the planning phase—yourself to save on the potentially high cost, but it’s not usually a good idea. Site development involves a lot of moving parts, permits, and strict regulations, which means any mistake you make as a DIYer can be costly and set you back in terms of both time and money. In most cases, you’ll end up hiring a professional in the end anyway.

For that reason, we strongly recommend hiring experts who have experience in your area to get the job done correctly the first time around. Start with a land surveying company near you, and then let that professional’s report and recommendations guide you toward other professionals.

How to Save Money on Site Development Costs

Since land development can get quite expensive, most people who are building homes will look for ways to save throughout the process. There are a few tips we can share that should help bring down your total price:

• Choose an easy lot to work with. If possible, pick a lot that doesn’t need clearing, grading, or extensive work to get utilities to it. This alone can save you tens of thousands of dollars in site development costs.

• Build in an area that’s connected to utilities. The cost to extend utility mains to your home can add up rapidly. If feasible, choose a lot where utility connections are nearby to bring costs down.

• Choose your foundation type carefully. Always consult your builder and structural engineer as to the foundation type that’s suitable for your area. When you have a choice, though, you could save $10,000 to $50,000 by opting for a slab or pier and beam foundation over a basement.

• Connect to public utilities. The cost to connect to nearby water and sewer mains will be around $2,000, which pales in comparison to what you’d pay to install a private well—around $5,500—and to get approval for and install a septic system—an average of $7,500.

• Plan ahead. When it comes to site development, you can save time and money by planning ahead and making sure you know exactly what you want to build before you start. Making changes to your site plan could mean paying professionals to redo work and paying for new inspections and permits.

• Re-use your professionals. Whenever possible, use the experts you’re hiring for site development for the rest of your build, too. For example, a structural engineer might give you a deal on the initial site inspection and drawings if you also agree to use them to create structural drawings and architectural plans for your actual home.

• Always go with an expert. Finally, you’ll likely save yourself money—not to mention time and frustration—by hiring experts who know what they’re doing from the start. Knowledgeable professionals can often help avoid problems and mistakes a DIYer is likely to make, which brings down costs across the board.