Short answer: The average lawn mowing cost is about $50 to $60 per visit for weekly service on a suburban lawn. Across 23 lawn companies’ posted price lists (October 2026), the median is $50 for 4,000 sq ft of grass and $60 for 8,000 sq ft. Biweekly visits cost 25 to 50 percent more each. An acre runs about $90.
$50 median weekly price, 4,000 sq ft lawn (13 price lists)
$60 median weekly price, 8,000 sq ft lawn (middle half $57.75–$67)
$58 industry-average revenue per paid worker-hour at the U.S. median wage (BLS, Census)
+65% rise in lawn care prices, July 2019 to July 2026 (BLS CPI)
The average lawn mowing cost in 2026 is about $50 per visit for a small lawn and $60 for 8,000 sq ft of grass, based on prices that 23 U.S. lawn companies in 20 states post on their own websites. Size explains most of the gap between quotes; frequency, region and what the visit includes explain the rest.
This guide shows every one of those price lists, turns them into per-visit, per-square-foot, per-acre and monthly figures, and adds Census data on how big American lots actually are. The second half is for operators: what to charge for mowing, built from BLS wages, EIA fuel prices, the IRS mileage rate and mower makers’ own productivity ratings.
Average lawn mowing cost: what 23 lawn companies charge
We collected residential mowing prices that lawn companies publish on their own websites with a lawn or lot size attached, then priced each list at standard lawn sizes. Cost-guide sites, lead-generation marketplaces and booking apps are left out, because none of them is the company doing the work. Four of the 23 lists are locally owned locations of one franchise, Augusta Lawn Care; the rest are independent. All pages were checked on Oct. 18, 2026. Prices are pre-tax unless noted.
| Lawn size (grass only) | Median weekly price | Middle half | Full range | Lists | Median biweekly price (lists) | Weekly price per 1,000 sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,000 sq ft (small lawn, about 1/10 acre) | $50 | $45–$53 | $40–$70 | 13 | $67.50 (10) | $12.50 |
| 8,000 sq ft (about 1/5 acre of grass) | $60 | $57.75–$67 | $45–$120 | 10 | $79.25 (8) | $7.50 |
| 15,000 sq ft (large lawn, about 1/3 acre) | $80 | $70–$111 | $55–$200 | 7 | $100 (5) | $5.33 |
Lawn mowing cost calculator
Enter your grass area (not the lot), pick weekly, biweekly or acreage service, and tick any extras. The rates come from the price lists above.
Rates are fitted to the 23 posted price lists in this guide (Oct. 2026): $35 base plus $2.50 to $4.00 per 1,000 sq ft weekly reproduces the middle of the market at 4,000 to 15,000 sq ft. Terrain factors follow one company's posted 5 to 50 percent surcharge. Pre-tax. See How we built these numbers.
Formula: price per visit ≈ $35 base + (lawn area in thousands of sq ft × $2.50 to $4.00) for weekly service. Worked example: an 8,000 sq ft lawn = $35 + 8 × $2.50 to $4.00 = $55 to $67, which is where the middle half of the posted prices sits ($58 to $67). For biweekly visits, use $5.00 to $7.00 per 1,000 sq ft.
At 4,000 sq ft, the cheapest weekly list price in the sample is $40 (Bloomingdale, N.J. and the low end of Central Ohio) and the highest is $65 to $70 in Seattle, Detroit and Raleigh. Seattle’s price includes Washington sales tax. Most lists cluster between $45 and $53, which is the number to compare a quote against.
Every price list in the sample
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Company (location) | Priced by | What the company posts | Included in a visit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Again Lawn Care (Colorado Springs, CO) | Lawn area | Weekly: $50 under 5,000 sq ft; $60 for 5,000–10,000; $70 above. Biweekly: $65 / $75 / $85. | Mowing |
| Mow Time (Denver metro, CO) | Lot size | $34.95 per week for lots up to 10,500 sq ft (its maximum); weekly season contracts only. | Mow, trim borders, edge drives and walks, mulch clippings |
| A1 Lawn Care (New Britain, CT) | Lot size | Weekly / biweekly: under 1/4 acre $60 / $75; 1/4–1/2 acre $80 / $95; 1/2–1 acre $90 / $120 (labeled a typical range). | Mowing, edging, clipping cleanup; mulch or bag clippings |
| Brian’s Lawn Service (Ocala, FL) | Lawn area | Up to 5,000 sq ft: $50 weekly or $75 biweekly (March to September); $60 biweekly October to February; or $175 a month on a 12-month plan. | Mowing, string trimming, edging, blow-off |
| GreenLine Lawn Co (North Atlanta, GA) | Lot size | Mowing from $65 for a 1/4-acre lot, weekly or every other week; south-side first biweekly mow $49. | Mow, edge, trim, blow walks and drive |
| Augusta Lawn Care, Boise franchise (Boise, ID) | Lawn area | Weekly / biweekly: up to 4,000 sq ft of turf $53 / $79.50; 4,000–6,000 $68 / $102; 6,000–8,000 $90 / $135. | Mowing, edging, trimming |
| Augusta Lawn Care, Bloomington franchise (Bloomington, IL) | Lawn area | Weekly / biweekly: up to 5,999 sq ft of turf $50 / $75; 6,000–13,999 $62.50 / $93.75; 14,000–20,999 $90 / $135. | Mowing, edging, trimming |
| Ironclad Property Service (Manhattan, KS) | Lawn area | Weekly: $50 up to 5,000 sq ft; $60 to 8,000; $70 to 12,000; $80 to 19,999. Biweekly: $70 / $80 / $90 / $100. One-time Quick Cut: $25 up to 3,500 sq ft to $60 at 12,000. | Mowing, trimming, edging as needed, hard-surface cleanup |
| Bluepeak Landscaping (Randolph, MA) | Lot size | Weekly mowing from $70 per visit up to 1/4 acre; lawn mowing $165 per acre, $70 minimum. | Mow, string trim, edge drives and walks, blow-off |
| Lawnade (Metro Detroit, MI) | Lawn area | $45–$55 under 2,000 sq ft; $49–$70 for 2,000–5,000; $70–$120 for 6,000–10,000; $100–$200 over 10,000. Frequency not stated. | Mowing |
| GC Signature Outdoors (Smithville, MO) | Lawn area | Weekly: $45 per visit up to 5,000 sq ft; larger yards quoted. | Mow, weed-eat, trim, edge drives and walks, blow-off |
| Lawn Panther (Raleigh suburbs, NC) | Lawn area | First mow $49 up to 8,000 sq ft; recurring weekly or biweekly visits $49–$65 by lawn size. | Mow, edge, line-trim, blow |
| Augusta Lawn Care, Bloomingdale franchise (Bloomingdale, NJ) | Lawn area | Weekly / biweekly: up to 6,000 sq ft of turf $40 / $60; 6,000–10,000 $50 / $75; 10,000–15,000 $60 / $90. | Mowing, edging, trimming |
| Augusta Lawn Care, Westbury franchise (Westbury, NY) | Lawn area | Weekly / biweekly: up to 5,000 sq ft of turf $42 / $63; 5,000–8,000 $60 / $90; 8,000–12,000 $80 / $120. | Mowing, edging, trimming |
| Lawn Harmony Landscaping (Columbus area, OH) | Lawn area | Weekly: $40–$50 up to 5,000 sq ft of turf; $45–$65 for 5,000–10,000; $55–$85 for 10,000–20,000. Biweekly $50–$90. $40 minimum. | Mow, trim, basic edging |
| Clean Peak Landscaping (West Chester, PA) | Lot size | Lawn mowing from $49; average $60–$90 per cut for a 1/2- to 1-acre lawn. | Weekly mowing, string trimming, edging walks, drives and beds |
| Just Mowing (Erie, PA) | Lot size | Seasonal-contract price per mowing: under 0.15 acre $30; under 0.20 $36; under 0.30 $42; under 0.50 $50; larger by estimate. One-time mows from $40. | Commercial mower cut |
| Serene Scenes Lawn and Landscape (Collierville, TN) | Lot size | $35–$58 per cut, weekly only, for lots of about 4,000 sq ft up to 1/4 acre; 24 to 26 cuts a season; no one-time mowing. | Weekly mowing |
| Just Right Lawns (Austin, San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth, TX) | Lawn area | Weekly: $42–$55 up to 5,000 sq ft; $56–$81 to 10,000; $84–$180 above. Biweekly: $52–$65 / $66–$91 / $94–$190. | Front and back mow, weed-eating, edging, blow-off |
| Lawn Care Reliable (Warrenton, VA) | Lot size | Weekly from $43.95 for single-family lots up to 6,000 sq ft (most homes $43.95–$70); townhouses $26. Biweekly from $64.33 (townhouses $38). | Mow at 3–4.5 in, line trim, edge hard surfaces and beds, blow |
| Green Lawn Washington (Seattle, WA) | Lawn area | Weekly $55 and biweekly $65 up to 3,000 sq ft, then $5 for each additional 500 sq ft, to $85 / $95 at 6,000; larger lawns by estimate. Washington sales tax included. | Mow, edge, trim, blow |
| Spokane Bros Lawn Care (Spokane Valley, WA) | Lot size | From $40 up to 1/4 acre; $55 for 1/4–1/2 acre; $70 for 1/2–3/4 acre; $90 for 3/4–1 acre; over 1 acre by estimate. Same price weekly or biweekly. | Mowing, weed trimming, blow-off |
| TotalGuard Yard Care (Madison, WI) | Lot size | Weekly / one-time: under 1/4 acre $60–$70 / $85; 1/4–1/2 acre $70–$85 / $85; 1/2–1 acre $85–$100 / $120–$160; over 1 acre $110–$165 / $175–$250. | Mowing, edging, trimming, cleanup |
Lawn mowing cost by yard size, per square foot and per acre
Mowing prices rise with lawn size, but slowly. Going from 4,000 to 15,000 sq ft (almost 4 times the grass) moves the median weekly price from $50 to $80, only 60 percent more. That is because much of a visit is fixed: unloading, trimming, edging, blowing and driving take about the same time on a small lawn as a medium one.
Lawn mowing cost per square foot
Per 1,000 sq ft, the median weekly price falls from $12.50 at 4,000 sq ft to $7.50 at 8,000 sq ft and $5.33 at 15,000 sq ft. In per-square-foot terms that is about 1.3 cents, 0.8 cents and 0.5 cents. A per-square-foot quote of 1 to 2 cents is normal for a small lawn and expensive for a large one.
How much is it to mow 2,000 square feet of grass?
About $50 a visit, the same as 4,000 sq ft. Every list in the sample charges its smallest tier for a 2,000 sq ft lawn: $40 to $70 weekly (median $50) and $49 to $79.50 biweekly (median $65). Townhouse lawns can be cheaper where a company prices them separately: $26 a week at one Virginia company. If you meant buying 2,000 sq ft of new grass, see our sod installation cost guide.
Average price for lawn mowing per acre
Fewer companies post acreage prices, and many of those price by lot size rather than lawn area. Five lists in the sample cover a 1-acre lot: $60 to $165 per visit, median $90. One Massachusetts company posts a flat $165 per acre with a $70 minimum; a Wisconsin company charges $110 to $165 a visit above 1 acre. On acreage, mowing time finally dominates and price tracks the deck width of the mower the crew brings.
| Lot size | Median weekly price | Range | Lists | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6,000 sq ft lot (about 1/7 acre) | $46.50 | $30–$70 | 9 | CO, CT, GA, MA, PA, TN, VA, WA, WI |
| 10,000 sq ft lot (about 1/4 acre) | $53.25 | $34.95–$70 | 8 | CO, CT, GA, MA, PA, TN, WA, WI |
| 20,000 sq ft lot (about 1/2 acre) | $75.76 | $50–$85 | 5 | CT, MA, PA, WA, WI |
| 1 acre (43,560 sq ft) | $90 | $60–$165 | 5 | CT, MA, PA, WA, WI |
Lot-size prices look cheaper than lawn-area prices for the same number because a lot includes the house, driveway and beds. A 10,000 sq ft (1/4-acre) lot has a median weekly price of $53.25 in the sample, close to the $50 to $60 lawn-area median for 4,000 to 8,000 sq ft of grass.
How big is the average lawn? What Census data says about lot sizes
Mowing is priced by the size of the grass, so the first question is how much grass a typical house has. No federal survey measures lawn area, but the Census Bureau’s American Housing Survey (AHS), 2023 records the lot size of every sampled home. We tabulated the public-use file for the 84.2 million occupied, detached single-family homes that reported a lot size, using the survey’s own weights.
Nationally, 46.9 percent of detached homes sit on lots under 1/4 acre (10,890 sq ft), 30.9 percent on 1/4 acre up to 1 acre, and 22.2 percent on an acre or more. The median home falls in the 1/4- to 1/2-acre bracket, near its low end. Subtract the house, driveway, patio and beds, and the grass is much smaller than the lot: one Ohio company notes that a half-acre lot with a pool and a large house may have only 8,000 sq ft of turf. That is why most posted price lists put their first price break at 4,000 to 6,000 sq ft of lawn.
| Census division | Detached homes | Under 1/8 acre | 1/8 to 1/4 acre | 1/4 to 1/2 acre | 1/2 to 1 acre | 1 acre or more |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 84.2M | 11.6% | 35.3% | 21.1% | 9.8% | 22.2% |
| New England | 3.7M | 9.0% | 18.0% | 24.1% | 14.2% | 34.7% |
| Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA) | 8.9M | 19.6% | 23.6% | 21.2% | 12.0% | 23.6% |
| East North Central (OH, IN, IL, MI, WI) | 13.5M | 13.7% | 31.8% | 21.6% | 9.7% | 23.1% |
| West North Central (MN, IA, MO, KS, NE, ND, SD) | 6.4M | 5.7% | 34.6% | 28.8% | 6.8% | 24.1% |
| South Atlantic (DE to FL) | 16.8M | 7.2% | 28.6% | 26.9% | 14.1% | 23.1% |
| East South Central (KY, TN, AL, MS) | 5.8M | 4.0% | 19.0% | 20.8% | 13.7% | 42.5% |
| West South Central (TX, OK, AR, LA) | 11.1M | 9.3% | 44.7% | 17.1% | 8.6% | 20.2% |
| Mountain (AZ, CO, UT, NV, ID, MT, WY, NM) | 6.6M | 13.1% | 50.7% | 16.7% | 4.6% | 14.9% |
| Pacific (CA, OR, WA, AK, HI) | 11.4M | 18.3% | 54.5% | 13.3% | 4.5% | 9.4% |
The regional split explains a lot of the price spread you see online. In the Pacific states, 72.8 percent of detached homes are on lots under 1/4 acre, so most mowing jobs are small-lawn minimum charges. In the East South Central states (Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi), 42.5 percent of homes sit on an acre or more, so per-acre pricing matters far more there.
New homes are getting smaller lots, which pushes more future customers into the minimum-charge bracket. Of the 647,000 new single-family homes sold in 2025, 45 percent were on lots under 7,000 sq ft, according to the Census Bureau’s Characteristics of New Housing lot-size table. In the West the share was 65 percent; in the Northeast, 47 percent of new homes sold were on lots of 11,000 sq ft or more.
How to measure your lawn before you ask for a quote
Most companies in our sample price by mowable area, not lot size; one Kansas company spells this out on its price list. Measure each grass rectangle in feet, multiply length by width, and add them up. Online satellite measuring tools do the same thing. Then compare your number with the lawn-area table above, or the lot-size table if you only know your parcel size.
Weekly vs. biweekly lawn mowing prices
Biweekly mowing costs more per visit but less per month. Grass that grows for 14 days is taller and heavier, takes longer to cut and leaves more clippings to blow off, so 11 of the 13 companies in the sample that price both charge more for each biweekly visit.
| Lawn size | Weekly median | Biweekly median | Monthly cost, weekly (× 4.33) | Monthly cost, biweekly (× 2.17) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,000 sq ft | $50 | $67.50 | $217 | $146 |
| 8,000 sq ft | $60 | $79.25 | $260 | $172 |
| 15,000 sq ft | $80 | $100 | $347 | $217 |
The biweekly surcharge ranges from zero (Lawn Panther and Spokane Bros charge the same) to 50 percent. All four Augusta franchise locations add exactly 50 percent; the nine independents that price both add 0 to 50 percent on their smallest tier, with a median of 25 percent. Some companies, such as Serene Scenes in Tennessee and Mow Time in Denver, do not sell biweekly service at all in peak season.
How much should I charge every 2 weeks for lawn mowing?
Charge your weekly price plus 15 to 50 percent. In the posted lists, a $50 weekly lawn becomes $57.50 to $75 every other week. The surcharge pays for the slower cut; if the grass has grown more than a third of its height, the visit takes longer still, and the turf suffers (more on the one-third rule below).
Is 200 a month for lawn care good?
For weekly mowing, $200 a month buys about $46 a visit (200 ÷ 4.33), close to the $50 median for a 4,000 sq ft lawn. For biweekly mowing it buys $92 a visit, well above the $67.50 biweekly median for 4,000 sq ft and a little below the $100 median for 15,000 sq ft. One Florida company sells a 12-month plan at $175 a month for lawns up to 5,000 sq ft, with weekly mowing March to September and biweekly the rest of the year.
Annual cost of lawn mowing
The yearly bill depends on the length of the mowing season. A Tennessee company quotes 24 to 26 cuts a season; at its $35 to $58 per cut that is $840 to $1,508 a year. The Florida plan above costs $2,100 a year for about 41 visits (weekly March to September, biweekly October to February), and a Texas company mows weekly or biweekly all year. Season length, more than the price per cut, sets the annual gap between North and South.
What a lawn mowing service includes, and what costs extra
Nearly every company in the sample includes mowing, string trimming and blowing clippings off hard surfaces. Edging, bagging and first cuts on long grass vary, and those are where quotes for the same lawn diverge.
| Item | Usually included? | Posted extra charge | Who posts it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mowing, string trimming, blow-off | Yes, in all lists that say | Included | All companies listing inclusions |
| Edging drives and walks | Usually | +$10 to $20 by lawn size; +$10 and up; detailed bed edging +$5 to $15 | Green Again (CO); Spokane Bros (WA); Lawn Harmony (OH) |
| Bagging clippings | No | +$5 to $15 by lawn size; +$15 a cut; +$15 per 15 minutes | Green Again (CO); Lawn Care Reliable (VA); Just Mowing (PA) |
| Overgrown or first cut (grass over 6 inches) | No | +$25; +$25; +$25; from +$15 | Lawn Care Reliable (VA); GreenLine (GA); Mow Time (CO); Spokane Bros (WA) |
| One-time overgrown cut | No | $50 to $110+ by size (vs. $25 to $60 for a normal one-time cut) | Ironclad (KS) |
| Hand or push mowing where a rider can’t fit | No | +$21 per 15 minutes | Just Mowing (PA) |
| Pet-waste pickup before mowing | No | +$10; +$25 | Spokane Bros (WA); Green Again (CO) |
| Hills, narrow gates, overgrowth | No | +5 to 50 percent | TotalGuard (WI) |
One-time mowing usually costs more than a recurring visit, because the company has to fit you into a route. A Wisconsin company charges $85 for a one-time mow of a lot under 1/2 acre against $60 to $85 weekly; an Erie, Pa., company starts one-time cuts at $40, against $30 to $50 on a season contract; a Colorado Springs company sets a $75 minimum for a one-time mow. Several do not sell one-time cuts at all.
Why lawn mowing costs more than it did a few years ago
Lawn service prices have risen more than twice as fast as prices in general. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ consumer price index for gardening and lawncare services (CUUR0000SEHP02) stood at 344.9 in July 2026, up 65.2 percent from 208.8 in July 2019. Over the same seven years the all-items CPI rose 30.1 percent. In the latest 12 months the lawncare index rose 12.3 percent (July 2025 to July 2026), against 3.4 percent for all items.
- Gardening and lawncare services
- All items
Source: BLS CPI-U series CUUR0000SEHP02 and CUUR0000SA0, not seasonally adjusted; rebased by Green Industry Report BLS did not publish the lawncare index for summer 2022 or July 2024; August is used for 2023 and 2024.
Show the numbers
| Gardening and lawncare services | All items | |
|---|---|---|
| Jul 2019 | 100 | 100 |
| Jul 2020 | 103.30 | 101 |
| Jul 2021 | 105 | 106.40 |
| Aug 2023 | 116.40 | 119.70 |
| Aug 2024 | 132.10 | 122.70 |
| Jul 2025 | 147.20 | 125.90 |
| Jul 2026 | 165.20 | 130.10 |
Two inputs explain much of that. The median wage for landscaping and groundskeeping workers is $18.82 an hour (BLS OEWS, May 2025), and regular gasoline averaged $4.331 a gallon in the week of Oct. 12, 2026, $1.27 more than a year earlier (EIA Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update). If a price you paid in 2023 now looks 30 to 40 percent higher, that is in line with the index (up 42 percent from August 2023 to July 2026), not necessarily a sign you are being overcharged.
How much to charge for lawn mowing: a cost build-up for operators
If you run or are starting a mowing business, the posted prices above are your market. What you should charge is the higher of that market price and your own cost floor. Here is the floor, built from public data and the assumptions we state.
Formula: price per visit = (minutes on site + minutes driving) ÷ 60 × your hourly rate + any extras. Your hourly rate covers labor, equipment, fuel, truck, overhead and profit. Worked example: 25 minutes on site plus 10 minutes driving at $58 per worker-hour = 35 ÷ 60 × $58 = $34 per visit for a one-person crew.
| Cost per route hour (one worker, one 60-inch rider) | Basis | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Wage | BLS OEWS median, landscaping and groundskeeping workers, May 2025 | $18.82 |
| Payroll taxes and benefits | Wages are 70.0% of private-industry compensation (BLS ECEC, June 2026), so $18.82 ÷ 0.70 | +$8.07 (loaded: $26.89) |
| Mower ownership | Exmark 60-inch Lazer Z E-Series list price $11,581.48 spread over 3,000 to 6,000 engine hours (our assumption) | $1.93–$3.86 |
| Mower fuel | 15 minutes of cutting per route hour × 1.0 to 1.5 gal per hour (our assumptions) × $4.331 per gal (EIA, Oct. 12, 2026) | $1.08–$1.62 |
| Truck and trailer | 10 to 15 miles per route hour (our assumption) × 76 cents per mile (IRS business rate, July to Dec. 2026) | $7.60–$11.40 |
| Subtotal: direct cost per route hour | $37.50–$43.77 | |
| Industry-average revenue per paid hour | $18.82 ÷ 0.323 (payroll share of revenue, 2022 Economic Census) | $58.25 |
| Left for insurance, trimmers and blowers, office, marketing, unpaid time and profit | $14.48–$20.75 |
The last line is the point. Across the industry, payroll was 32.3 percent of revenue in the 2022 Economic Census ($37.3 billion of payroll on $115.4 billion of revenue for NAICS 561730, landscaping services). Divide any wage by 0.323 and you get what the average landscaping firm brings in per paid hour: $58.25 at the national median wage. Price below that and you are either paying less than the market wage or not covering the costs every firm has.
Mowing is a core service for the industry: grass cutting and grooming brought landscaping firms $16.7 billion in 2022, 14.5 percent of industry revenue, and 47.8 percent of establishments reported selling it (2022 Economic Census, product lines).
Because wages differ, so does that benchmark: $47 per paid hour in Mississippi, $55 in Texas and Florida, $65 in Illinois, $68 in California and Colorado and $72 in Massachusetts, using each state’s median wage for landscaping and groundskeeping workers. Our landscaper salary data has metro wages, and the industry by state shows how many firms you compete with.
How much to charge per hour for lawn mowing
Charge $47 to $72 per worker-hour, depending on your state’s wage, if you want to match the industry-average revenue per paid hour; $58 at the national median. A two-person crew is two worker-hours per clock hour. Most companies quote per visit instead of per hour, so convert the hourly rate into a price per lawn with the formula above and publish that.
How much to charge for 2 hours (or 3 hours) of mowing
At the national benchmark of $58.25 per worker-hour, 2 hours of one person’s mowing is about $117 and 3 hours about $175. In Mississippi the same work comes to $94 and $141; in Massachusetts, $145 and $217. A 3-hour job is usually acreage, where per-acre pricing (median $90 per visit for a 1-acre lot in our sample) can come out lower, because a wide mower covers ground faster than the hourly math assumes.
How long a mower takes: manufacturers’ acres-per-hour ratings
Mower makers publish productivity in acres per hour, and they use the same formula. Ferris’s mowing productivity chart and Exmark’s productivity comparison both work from ground speed times cutting width.
Engine makers publish service intervals the same way, and a mower logging 900 hours a season on a 100-hour schedule needs 9 oil changes, as our lawn mower oil type guide works out.
The same manuals list the no-start checks, which we compiled in our guide to what to do when a lawn mower won’t start.
Formula: acres per hour = mph × cutting width in inches ÷ 99 at 100 percent efficiency. Exmark uses ÷ 124, which is the same thing at 80 percent efficiency (overlaps and turns). Worked example: a 61-inch deck at 5 mph = 5 × 61 ÷ 99 = 3.08 acres per hour flat out, or 2.46 at 80 percent. A 10,000 sq ft lawn is 0.23 acre, so it takes 0.23 ÷ 2.46 × 60 = about 5.6 minutes of seat time.
| Mower | Ground speed | Acres per hour (80% efficiency unless noted) | 5,000 sq ft | 10,000 sq ft | 1 acre (43,560 sq ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30-inch commercial walk-behind (Toro TurfMaster HDX) | 4.0 mph | 1.1 (90% efficiency) | 6.3 min | 12.5 min | 54.5 min |
| 36-inch deck | 4 mph | 1.16 | 5.9 min | 11.9 min | 51.7 min |
| 48-inch deck | 5 mph | 1.94 | 3.6 min | 7.1 min | 30.9 min |
| 52-inch deck | 5 mph | 2.10 | 3.3 min | 6.6 min | 28.6 min |
| 61-inch deck | 5 mph | 2.46 | 2.8 min | 5.6 min | 24.4 min |
| 72-inch deck | 6 mph | 3.49 | 2.0 min | 3.9 min | 17.2 min |
| 60-inch Exmark Lazer Z E-Series, top speed | 11 mph | 5.32 (rated) | 1.3 min | 2.6 min | 11.3 min |
The table shows why mowing prices barely double when the lawn quadruples. On a 5,000 to 10,000 sq ft lawn, a commercial rider spends about 3 to 7 minutes cutting. Unloading, string trimming, edging, blowing off hard surfaces and driving to the next stop take longer than the mowing itself, and those costs are about the same for a small lawn as for a medium one. That fixed chunk is what a minimum charge pays for.
Setting a minimum charge
Every stop costs you the drive, the unload and the cleanup before a blade turns. At 20 to 25 minutes of fixed time, that is $19 to $24 at the $58 benchmark before the first square foot is cut, which is why the smallest posted weekly prices for a single-family lawn bottom out at $30 to $45. Published minimums in the sample are $40 (Central Ohio, and one-time cuts in Erie, Pa.), $70 (Randolph, Mass.) and $75 for a one-time mow in Colorado Springs.
How do you quote a lawn mowing job?
- Measure the mowable area (satellite tools or county parcel data plus a site look). Price lawn area, not lot size, unless your price list is built on lot size.
- Pick your tier from a published price list, like the ones in this guide: a base charge plus a rate per 1,000 sq ft, or flat size bands.
- Add for frequency (biweekly visits 15 to 50 percent more), terrain and gates (5 to 50 percent), and extras: edging, bagging, an overgrown first cut.
- Check the result against your floor: (minutes on site + driving) ÷ 60 × your hourly rate.
- Put the inclusions in writing: cut height, trimming, edging, blow-off, clippings. Most disputes start with what a visit includes.
Our guide to bidding landscaping jobs covers overhead recovery and markups in more detail, and the software guides compare tools that measure lawns from satellite images and send quotes.
How much should a teenager charge for mowing lawns?
Start from the professional prices in this guide (median $50 for a 4,000 sq ft lawn) and subtract the costs you don’t carry. A teen using the homeowner’s mower has no truck, trailer, mower or fuel cost; in the cost build-up above those run about $11 to $17 of every $58 hour, and insurance comes out of what is left. Tax rules apply to young workers too: Iowa states that “persons who mow lawns are providing a taxable service regardless of their ages.”
Sales tax on lawn mowing: states that charge it
In some states a mowing bill carries sales tax. Ask whether a quote is before or after tax, and if you run a mowing business, register before your first invoice.
| State | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | Lawn care services are taxable and include “fertilizing; mowing; dethatching” and raking. The state rate is 6 percent, plus local tax where imposed. | Pa. Department of Revenue, REV-717 |
| South Dakota | “Mowing and trimming” is listed as a sales-taxable service. State rate 4.2 percent plus 1 to 2 percent municipal tax. | S.D. Department of Revenue, Landscaping fact sheet (June 2024) |
| Iowa | Lawn care, including mowing, is taxable. “Persons who mow lawns are providing a taxable service regardless of their ages.” | Iowa Department of Revenue |
Other states exempt residential lawn care or tax it only in certain cases. Check your state revenue department before relying on any pre-tax price in this guide.
Red flags in a lawn mowing quote
- No size on the quote. Every company in our sample prices by lawn area or lot size. A price with no size attached can’t be compared.
- A price far below the floor. A weekly price under $30 for a full-service visit (mow, trim, edge, blow) on a single-family lawn is below every posted list in the sample. Ask what is left out.
- Vague inclusions. Edging, bagging and long-grass charges are where bills grow. Get them priced up front.
- Unclear frequency rules. Ask whether the company switches you to biweekly in slow months and what that costs per visit.
- No proof of insurance. Ask for a certificate. Licensing rules differ by state, especially for pesticide and fertilizer work; see how to check a landscaper’s license.
Mowing is only one line in a yard budget. For the rest of the season, see our guides to lawn aeration cost, leaf removal cost and the broader landscaping cost guide, or browse all cost guides.
Lawn mowing price questions
Is $50 for lawn mowing good?
Yes, for a typical lawn. $50 is exactly the median weekly price for a 4,000 sq ft lawn across the 23 price lists in this guide, and it is below the $60 median for 8,000 sq ft. It is high for a townhouse strip and low for anything near half an acre.
What is the average price to have someone mow your lawn?
About $50 to $60 a visit for weekly service on a suburban lawn: $50 median at 4,000 sq ft and $60 at 8,000 sq ft. Biweekly visits run about $67 to $79, and a 1-acre lot about $90 a visit.
What is a reasonable price for mowing a lawn?
Anything inside the middle half of posted prices: $45 to $53 a week for 4,000 sq ft, $58 to $67 for 8,000 sq ft and $70 to $111 for 15,000 sq ft. Prices outside that band can still be fair if the visit includes more, or the yard is harder, than usual.
How do you calculate the price for lawn mowing?
Most companies use a base charge plus a rate for size. A formula that matches the middle of the posted market is $35 plus $2.50 to $4.00 per 1,000 sq ft for weekly visits, or $5.00 to $7.00 per 1,000 sq ft biweekly. Operators should check the result against (minutes on site + driving) ÷ 60 × their hourly rate.
How much should I charge to mow a lawn?
Charge at least the local market rate and never less than your cost floor. The market: a median $50 a week for 4,000 sq ft and $60 for 8,000 sq ft in the posted lists. The floor: (minutes on site + driving) ÷ 60 × an hourly rate of $47 to $72 per worker-hour, depending on your state’s wage.
How much for 2 hours of yard work?
About $117 for one worker at $58.25 an hour, the industry-average revenue per paid hour at the U.S. median landscaping wage. By state it ranges from about $94 (Mississippi) to $145 (Massachusetts).
What is the 1/3 rule for mowing?
Never cut off more than one-third of the grass blade in one mowing, according to University of California IPM and Cornell. For a lawn kept at 2 inches, mow when it reaches 3. It is the reason weekly service is cheaper per visit: stretch to two weeks in peak growth and the crew must cut more, slower.
Blade condition matters as much as height, since UC IPM says dull blades leave torn tips that turn brown, and our step-by-step guide covers sharpening a mower blade at the original angle.
How we built these numbers
Prices: we searched for U.S. lawn companies that publish their own residential mowing prices with a lawn or lot size attached and kept 23 price lists from 20 states, checked on Oct. 18, 2026. We excluded cost-guide sites, marketplaces and booking apps, company blog posts that describe area-wide “typical” prices rather than the company’s own, companies outside the United States and pages whose prices could not be read. One page renders its prices with JavaScript; we read it in a browser.
Standard sizes: we priced every lawn-area list at 2,000, 4,000, 8,000 and 15,000 sq ft of grass and every lot-size list at 6,000 sq ft, 10,000 sq ft, 20,000 sq ft and 1 acre, using the company’s own tier for that size. Where a company posts a range, we used its midpoint for the median and its ends for the range. Open-ended top tiers (for example, “10,001+ sq ft”) were applied up to 15,000 sq ft only. The Bluepeak per-acre rate was applied above 1/4 acre. Seattle’s prices include sales tax; all others are pre-tax.
Calculator: the $35 base and per-1,000 sq ft rates were chosen so the formula reproduces the middle half of the posted weekly and biweekly prices at 4,000, 8,000 and 15,000 sq ft; the acreage rates reproduce the $75 to $165 range for 1-acre lots. Terrain factors follow TotalGuard’s posted 5 to 50 percent adjustments; add-on ranges are the posted charges in the inclusions table.
Lot sizes: we tabulated the Census Bureau’s 2023 American Housing Survey national public-use file (v1.1, household records), restricted to occupied one-family detached homes (BLD = 02, INTSTATUS = 1) with a reported LOTSIZE, weighted by WEIGHT. New-home lot sizes are from the Census Characteristics of New Housing table for 2025.
Operator costs: wages are BLS OEWS May 2025 medians for SOC 37-3011; the 70.0 percent wage share is BLS ECEC for private industry, June 2026; the 32.3 percent payroll share is 2022 Economic Census payroll divided by revenue for NAICS 561730. Mower life, fuel burn, cutting minutes and miles per route hour are our assumptions and are labeled as such. Mowing times use the manufacturers’ acres-per-hour ratings and formula.
Limits: posted prices are what companies advertise, not what every customer pays; the sample over-represents companies that publish prices, and several lists are “from” prices. Treat every range here as an estimate and get a written quote.
Sources
- A1 Lawn Care, Lawn mowing prices (New Britain, CT), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Augusta Lawn Care (Bloomingdale franchise), Lawn mowing prices (Bloomingdale, NJ), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Augusta Lawn Care (Bloomington franchise), Lawn mowing prices (Bloomington, IL), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Augusta Lawn Care (Boise franchise), Lawn mowing prices (Boise, ID), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Augusta Lawn Care (Westbury franchise), Lawn mowing prices (Westbury, NY), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Bluepeak Landscaping, Lawn mowing prices (Randolph, MA), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Brian’s Lawn Service, Lawn mowing prices (Ocala, FL), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Clean Peak Landscaping, Lawn mowing prices (West Chester, PA), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- GC Signature Outdoors, Lawn mowing prices (Smithville, MO), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Green Again Lawn Care, Lawn mowing prices (Colorado Springs, CO), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Green Lawn Washington, Lawn mowing prices (Seattle, WA), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- GreenLine Lawn Co, Lawn mowing prices (North Atlanta, GA), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Ironclad Property Service, Lawn mowing prices (Manhattan, KS), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Just Mowing, Lawn mowing prices (Erie, PA), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Just Right Lawns, Lawn mowing prices (Austin, San Antonio and Dallas-Fort Worth, TX), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Lawn Care Reliable, Lawn mowing prices (Warrenton, VA), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Lawn Harmony Landscaping, Lawn mowing prices (Columbus area, OH), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Lawn Panther, Lawn mowing prices (Raleigh suburbs, NC), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Lawnade, Lawn mowing prices (Metro Detroit, MI), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Mow Time, Lawn mowing prices (Denver metro, CO), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Serene Scenes Lawn and Landscape, Lawn mowing prices (Collierville, TN), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Spokane Bros Lawn Care, Lawn mowing prices (Spokane Valley, WA), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- TotalGuard Yard Care, Lawn mowing prices (Madison, WI), Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey 2023, public-use file, 2023 survey; PUF v1.1. Accessed October 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Characteristics of New Housing: lot size of new single-family houses sold, 2025 annual. Accessed October 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U, Gardening and lawncare services (CUUR0000SEHP02), July 2019 to Aug. 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U, All items (CUUR0000SA0), July 2019 to Aug. 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 37-3011, May 2025. Accessed October 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census, EC2256BASIC (NAICS 561730), 2022. Accessed October 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census, product lines by industry (grass cutting and grooming services), 2022. Accessed October 2026.
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, Week of Oct. 12, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service, Standard mileage rates, 2026 (July 1 to Dec. 31). Accessed October 2026.
- Ferris, Mowing productivity chart, Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Exmark, Zero-turn vs. lawn tractor productivity comparison, Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Exmark, Lazer Z E-Series, model LRE730GKA604A3, Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- Toro, 30 in TurfMaster HDX, model 22225, Checked Oct. 18, 2026. Accessed October 2026.
- University of California IPM, Cutting off one-third of the grass blade, Current. Accessed October 2026.
- Cornell CALS, Mowing your lawn, Current. Accessed October 2026.
- Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, REV-717, Retailer’s Information, Current edition. Accessed October 2026.
- South Dakota Department of Revenue, Landscaping and Lawn Care (tax facts), June 2024. Accessed October 2026.
- Iowa Department of Revenue, Landscaping, Lawn Care, Snow Removal & Tree Services, Current. Accessed October 2026.
