How Much Does Land Clearing Cost in Pennsylvania?
Most homeowners pay $1,266 to $3,900 for land clearing, according to a national cost guide updated in December 2025. That guide puts the national average at $2,581. Extensive lot clearing projects average $8,313 in the same guide.
By the acre, the guide puts lightly wooded land at $733 to $2,333 before any grading. Heavily wooded land runs $3,395 to $6,155 per acre. Clearing brush alone costs most landowners $20 to $200 per acre.
These are national market numbers, not our price list. On a Pike County lot, the price moves with tree cover, stumps, rock ledge and hauling.
What does land clearing cost per acre?
The December 2025 guide prices land clearing by the job and by the acre. Stumps are priced on their own.
| Land clearing job | National market range |
|---|---|
| Most land clearing jobs | $1,266 to $3,900 |
| National average job | $2,581 |
| Extensive lot clearing project | $8,313 average |
| Brush only | $20 to $200 per acre |
| Lightly wooded land | $733 to $2,333 per acre |
| Heavily wooded land | $3,395 to $6,155 per acre |
| Stump removal | $326 for the first stump, plus $40 to $83 per additional stump |
Source: a national cost guide updated December 27, 2025. These are market numbers, not our prices.
Sawkill Environmental handles land clearing for building lots and wooded acreage around Milford. We run our own excavators and equipment. We clear trees, brush, stumps and rock ledge. The cleared material is hauled off so the ground is ready for building.
What drives the cost to clear land?
Two lots of the same size can price very differently. The cost to clear land comes down to these factors.
- Tree cover. Heavily wooded land costs far more per acre than brush, as the table shows. More trees mean more stumps to pull.
- Stump count. Every stump has to come out with its roots before the ground can be graded.
- Rock and ledge. Rock slows the machine, and on many Pike County lots it sits close to the surface.
- Hauling. Cleared wood and stumps have to leave the lot. Every truckload and every mile to the disposal site adds to the bill.
- Access and slope. Steep ground and tight access slow every step of the job.
- Erosion controls. State rules require erosion and sediment controls for any earth disturbance, and clearing counts.
Why does rock raise land clearing costs in Pike County?
Pike County ground is often thin over rock. The US Geological Survey (USGS) reports that most of the county is in the Glaciated Low Plateau Section. The glacial till there is typically thin, less than 6 feet thick. Bedrock is exposed at the surface in many areas.
That shapes land clearing here. Stumps often sit in shallow soil over rock, and ledge near the surface may need breaking before grading. Breaking rock is slow machine work, and machine hours drive the price. For what rock work and digging cost on their own, see our excavation cost guide.
Do you need a permit to clear land in Pennsylvania?
Clearing a lot counts as earth disturbance under Pennsylvania’s Chapter 102 rules. A 2024 Pike County Conservation District guide lists clearing and grubbing in that definition, next to grading and excavations. Grubbing means pulling the stumps and roots. PA DEP guidance scales the erosion and sediment (E and S) steps with the size of the disturbed area.
| Earth disturbance | What PA DEP requires |
|---|---|
| Any size | Erosion and sediment controls |
| 5,000 square feet or more | A written E and S plan, kept on site |
| One acre or more | The plan goes in with a Chapter 102 permit application to DEP or the county conservation district |
Those controls and plans are part of what clearing a building lot costs. We install erosion and sediment controls per the approved plan. This is general information, not legal advice. Your township and the county conservation district can confirm what applies to your lot.
Can you burn the brush instead of hauling it?
Pennsylvania’s open burning rule has a section on clearing and grubbing wastes. It covers trees and shrubs cleared from land during or before construction. The definition leaves out dirt laden roots, so stumps packed with soil fall outside it.
Inside the state’s air basins, burning that waste takes an air curtain destructor approved by DEP in writing. That machine blows a curtain of air across a burn pit to contain the smoke. Outside the air basins, DEP can order a burn stopped after a complaint.
Check with your township before you plan a burn pile. Hauling the wood and stumps away leaves a clean lot, ready for grading.
Can the timber help pay for land clearing?
On larger wooded acreage, standing timber may have value. Penn State Extension says timber should never be sold without an independent appraisal of its worth, called stumpage value. It also notes there is no blue book for stumpage values.
Stumpage value varies by species, tree size, tree quality and site access, among other factors. Pennsylvania’s DCNR Bureau of Forestry has service foresters by county, and they give free advice to forest landowners. Talk to a forester before the clearing starts.
What comes after land clearing?
Cleared ground still needs shaping before anything gets built. The next line item is site preparation and grading. That covers the building pad, cut and fill, stone base and compaction.
The lightly wooded range above does not include grading. Ask for grading as its own line on any estimate.
How do you get a land clearing estimate?
Sawkill Environmental is based in Milford and clears wooded lots and acreage for building in Pike and Wayne counties. We are licensed and insured (PA HIC #PA225040), and we run our own excavators and equipment. Estimates are free. Learn more about our land clearing work, or call or text (973) 552-8580.