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Land clearing cost per acre

Clearing is machine work priced by the hour and quoted by the acre. Three things set the hours: how much wood is standing, how steep it is, and what happens to the material once it is down — that last one moves the number more than people expect.

Pre-filled with a realistic job. Change any input and the figure updates as you type — nothing is sent anywhere, and Print gives you a clean sheet without the buttons.

$3,689 – $4,78211 machine-hours · $3,689–$4,782 per acre
  • Machine and operator$165 / hr
  • Support crew, loaded$83 / hr
  • Slope factor1.00×
  • Stump grubbingnot included

Density is the main lever

DensityWhat it looks likeMachine hours per acre
LightScrub, brambles, a few small stems≈ 5
MediumMixed brush, stems up to 8 in≈ 11
HeavyDense stems up to 16 in≈ 20
ForestedMature timber≈ 34

Sound

These hour figures are the model's stated assumptions, not measured averages. They are shown so you can argue with the input rather than with the total — which is the point of every calculator on this site.

Debris handling is the hidden multiplier

Leaving material windrowed on site is the cheapest outcome and often perfectly acceptable on acreage. Chipping and spreading adds roughly a fifth. Hauling everything off adds around half again, because it is a fleet of trips and a tipping fee rather than a machine already on the job.

If the chip is staying, size where it goes with the chip calculator.

The permit question comes first

Clearing is the activity most likely to run into a tree ordinance, a wetland buffer or a stormwater requirement, and those are all decided before the machine is booked, not after. Walk the questions in the permit checker and read how ordinances are structured.

Watch

Penalties for unpermitted clearing are commonly assessed per inch of trunk removed across the whole site. On an acre of mature timber that arithmetic gets very large very quickly.

Sources

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