Yard cleanup costs an average of $360, and most homeowners pay between $200 and $600 for the service, depending on lot size and how much debris you need removed.
Yard cleanup costs an average of $360, with most homeowners paying between $200 and $600. Prices will depend on yard size, amount of yard waste, and services performed. A quarter-acre yard cleanup costs between $200 to $500, while a full-acre cleanup totals between $850 and $1,100.
Yard cleanup jobs are all unique—some require simple leaf removal, while others call for everything from junk hauling to brand-new turf installation. Here are some factors that can affect your total.
Yard cleanup costs between $0.02 and $0.10 per square foot, with the lower end of that range being accurate for removing standard yard debris like leaves and fallen sticks and the higher end including junk. In either case, the larger your lot size, the more you’ll pay for the cleanup. Where in that range your total falls depends on what and how much debris you need removed, but this is a good place to start to nail down an accurate budget.
Yard Size | Average Cost of Cleanup |
---|---|
1/6 acre | $150–$225 |
1/5 acre | $175–$275 |
1/4 acre | $225–$400 |
1/2 acre | $430–$700 |
3/4 acre | $650–$800 |
1 acre | $850–$1,100 |
The true cost of yard cleanup comes down to which services you need to get your lawn looking its best. Costs account for the amount of labor, who you need to hire, and the equipment required to do the job.
Yard Service | Average Cost |
---|---|
Leaf Removal | $190–$600 |
Junk Removal | $130–$380+ |
Mowing | $50–$200 |
Weeding | $50–$150 |
Installing mulch | $100–$350 |
Forestry mulching | $400–$1,500 |
Hedge and Tree Pruning | $270–$1,400 |
Lawn Aeration | $0.03–$0.05 per sq. ft. |
Garden Cleanup | $45–$75 per hour |
Where you live will tip the scales of the cost of professional yard cleanup due to labor costs, the availability of local pros, and the standard size of local lawns. Prices will be higher in states with larger lot sizes, as well as in states with a higher cost of living, which plays an important role in labor charges.
Location | Average Cost |
---|---|
California | $520 |
Florida | $370 |
Georgia | $330 |
Illinois | $340 |
Michigan | $330 |
New York | $440 |
North Carolina | $350 |
Ohio | $340 |
Pennsylvania | $340 |
Texas | $330 |
If you have a few trees that cause trouble—such as ones that drop fruit, acorns, and slippery flower petals—it can be helpful to have a yard cleanup team regularly service your property. Much like home cleaning services, many landscapers will offer package pricing for pre-scheduled visits, which increases your long-term costs but keeps the per-service cost lower.
One annual visit will cost an average of $360, quarterly contracts will cost about $500 a year, and monthly cleanups will cost just $600 a year. The lower costs come from landscapers discounting guaranteed services, as well as the fact that less work will be required per service if you keep up with cleanups. In the end, you may end up getting more for your money if you find and hire a dependable team for regular services.
Frequency | Average Cost per Cleanup |
---|---|
Annual | $360 |
Quarterly | $125 |
Monthly | $50 |
When booking a yard cleanup service, pay close attention to each company’s pricing method. Some companies charge an hourly rate for labor and services, while others charge a flat rate. You can expect to pay $30 to $80 per hour for yard cleanup labor costs. Some companies may base your project cost on your yard size, namely the cubic or square footage covered.
Pricing Method | Average Cost |
---|---|
Per hour | $30–$80 |
Flat rate | $200–$600 |
Per square foot | $0.02–$0.05 |
There's no question that every lawn needs a bit of attention coming out of the winter or right after all the leaves fall in autumn. You may find seasonal prices for yard cleanup depending on your region's climate. On average, fall cleanup costs between $200 and $600, while spring cleanup costs $100 to $300. Other fall lawn care services like mulching, thatching, and aeration can add to the cost.
Season | Average Cost | Common Services |
---|---|---|
Spring | $100–$300 | Clear remaining leaves and debris, pull or trim weeds, mow and edge lawn |
Fall | $200–$500 | Remove fallen leaves and debris, clear walkways and plant beds, mow and edge lawn |
The condition of your yard plays a role in your pricing, too, as yards with more debris to remove will require more time and labor to clean up. Yards in need of add-on services—like fertilizing, weeding, and removing overgrowth—will also cost more.
If you keep up with yard maintenance throughout the year and just need one professional service to get it looking spectacular, you’ll pay an average of $360. Prices will push closer to $600 and up to $1,500 if you’ve let your yard go and it needs some serious TLC to bring it back to life.
You may need to pay for hauling and dumping in addition to the actual cleanup if you have an excessive amount of debris or if you need your professional to remove non-natural debris, too. You’ll pay $5 to $10 per bag of leaves or tree debris you want your pro to haul away, while you could add $250 to $550 to your total if you have concrete or building material left over from past projects.
Labor will account for 90% to 95% of your yard cleanup total, as the majority of the work will go into removing overgrowth, leaves, and tree debris. If you need materials at all—like a bag or two of mulch for making small garden beds look good as new or fertilizer to revitalize your yard—the materials themselves should cost no more than $40.
As with most maintenance tasks, the more often you clean up your yard, the easier it’ll be each time. An annual cleanup will remove all fallen leaves and debris at the end of the season, but many landscapers will offer a discounted rate for a series of smaller visits throughout the season.
More frequent cleanups will also leave your lawn better-looking and healthier since you won’t be leaving a thick cover of fallen leaves to smother your grass, block sunlight, and attract pests. Leaves will decompose over time, but you should remove leaves regularly if you have dense tree coverage to prevent harming your grass.
Some municipalities provide leaf removal services, but if yours doesn't, you still have a few options. Consider composting your leaves or turning them into organic mulch. Never burn your leaves, though --- this is not only a fire hazard but the smoke can be harmful to your health and the environment
The needs of a stressed lawn and landscape often go beyond simple junk hauling and leaf blowing. Spruce up your entire outdoor living space with these additional yard cleaning services.
Fence maintenance: $300 to $900
Pool maintenance cost: $120–$350
Gutter cleaning cost: $120–$230
Cost to pressure wash a driveway: $100–$350
Cost to pressure wash a patio: $100–$400
Stump grinding cost: $120–$400
Landscaping cost: $1,250–$6,300
Land clearing cost: $1,400–$6,200
Many homeowners clean up their own yards rather than hire a pro. Doing the work yourself can save you an average of $360 after the initial investment in tools. You’ll need the following to get the job done.
Lawn mower: $200–$750
Rake: $12–$40
Weed whacker: $150–$400
Leaf blower: $90–$400
Hedge trimmer: $70–$400
While you’ll save money on labor by doing your own yard cleanup, the job can be labor-intensive and time-consuming. Hiring someone to do yard work like cleanups will save you time and effort, and a local leaf removal service can clear your yard in just a few hours rather than taking you the entire weekend.
There's no question that the best way to cut costs when cleaning your lawn is to take as much as possible on yourself. However, when it comes to lowering costs for professional yard cleanup, consider these tips:
Hire a yard team for regular, ongoing visits. Keeping up with services will reduce how much your pros need to do each time.
Address turf, garden, tree, and shrub issues early. Get to everything before things start to get overgrown and become more of a hassle to deal with.
Speak to at least three local companies to compare estimates. Shop around for the best deal, and make sure you compare based on cost and services included.
Research local organizations that haul junk or accept donations for free. Save on hauling and dumping fees if you don’t mind hanging onto bags of debris until pickup day.
Hire a landscaping team outside of the high seasons. Most companies’ pricing fluctuates based on demand. Stay ahead of the game to score off-season deals.
Home is the most important place on earth, which is why Angi has helped more than 150 million homeowners transform their houses into homes they adore. To help homeowners with their next project, Angi provides readers with the most accurate cost data and upholds strict editorial standards. We extensively research project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We rely on reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects.
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Always begin by removing large debris, leaves, and branches from your lawn to make room for the rest of your lawn maintenance checklist. Move on to mowing, weeding, and edging in the spaces between your lawn and garden. Lastly, clean off all hardscapes, porches, and patios for a fresh and tidy appearance.
If your lawn and general landscape are struggling, consider calling a local landscape specialist to suggest lawn amendments, local plants, and hardscape changes to boost the long-term health of your outdoor space. While you may be able to take on small projects yourself—such as reseeding your lawn or testing the soil—a professional can help you build a plan to bring a struggling yard back to life quickly.
The best way to clean an overgrown yard is to create a multi-stage game plan, from clearing out the debris to cleaning up the edges around hardscaping and landscape curbing. Get rid of yard debris like worn furniture and broken tools first, then start trimming and raking what’s left. Mow the grass, trim the hedges, and rake leaves away. Once that’s complete, move on to more detailed work, like pulling weeds and replanting gardens.