Cost guide
Land Clearing Springfield MO: Land Clearing Cost in Springfield
Every typical price on this site in one place, by acre, lot, hour, load and stump, and what moves a job from the bottom of a range to the top.
- Springfield and 10 nearby townsGreene and Christian County, all within 20 miles
- Licensed, insured local contractorsWe work with them; ask for proof before work starts
- Written price firstPer-acre ranges published on every service page
- Calls answeredMonday to Saturday, 7am to 6pm
Land Clearing Springfield MO publishes this cost guide for property owners around Springfield who want to know what clearing costs before they call anyone. The figures come from HomeGuide's national cost guides for land clearing (November 2025), forestry mulching (September 2023) and brush removal (January 2026), plus the City of Springfield's published burn permit fee. They are typical ranges, not quotes, and the last section explains what decides where your job falls.
Land clearing by the acre
The average cost to clear land is $1,200 to $8,000 an acre. HomeGuide breaks that into three bands by what is growing:
- Light clearing, shrubs, underbrush and small trees: $1,200 to $2,500 an acre
- Moderate clearing, thicker underbrush and medium-sized trees: $2,500 to $4,500 an acre
- Heavy clearing, dense vegetation, thick underbrush and large trees: $4,500 to $8,000 an acre
Pasture reclamation usually lands between light and moderate, $1,200 to $4,500 an acre. Cedar stands that have closed in are typically moderate, $2,500 to $4,500 an acre. Underbrush clearing that keeps the canopy is light clearing, $1,200 to $2,500 an acre, done slowly around the trees that stay.
By lot size
Smaller lots cost more per acre, because the machine still has to be hauled in and city lots have houses and fences close by. HomeGuide's figures by size:
- Quarter acre: $800 to $3,000
- Half acre: $1,000 to $5,000, the usual range for a home site pad
- One acre: $1,200 to $8,000
- Five acres: $4,500 to $35,000
The five-acre range is wide because it runs from a brushy field to solid mature woods. Per acre, larger jobs usually come in a little lower once the machine is on site.
Tell us the acreage and what is growing on it, and hear a typical price range before anyone drives out.
Call (417) 759-5914Forestry mulching
Forestry mulching averages $400 to $800 an acre, and up to $2,000 an acre for dense overgrowth. Bush honeysuckle thickets sit at that dense end, so $400 to $2,000 an acre is the realistic span for honeysuckle work. By time, mulching runs $125 to $300 an hour, and $1,000 to $2,500 a day with an operator. A skid steer mulcher covers roughly 1 to 3 acres a day; a mulching tractor up to 15 on open ground. Minimum charges of $400 to $600 and a mobilization fee of $150 to $300 are common.
Fence line work is usually priced at the hourly rate, $125 to $300 an hour, and trail work by the day, $1,000 to $2,500 a day, because both are measured in distance rather than area.
Brush removal and debris
HomeGuide's brush removal guide gives light brush at $800 to $1,800 an acre, heavy brush with some trees at $1,600 to $3,000, and wooded brush at $2,500 to $5,000, with minimum fees of $250 to $600 a visit. Hauling it away:
- Brush pile removal: $150 to $200 a pickup-truck load of 2 to 4 cubic yards
- Hauling labor: $50 to $80 an hour
- Dump fees: $30 to $100 a ton
- On-site chipping: $100 to $150 an hour
- Springfield open burning permit, inside city limits: $84
Stumps, grubbing and grading
- Stump grinding: $100 to $400 a stump, or about $100 to $250 for the first and $30 to $60 for each additional
- Tree removal, single large trees: $400 to $1,200 a tree
- Dozer or excavator with operator for grubbing: $1,200 to $2,500 a day
- Leveling a small, mostly level home site: $2,000 to $5,000, far more with rock
- Land survey to find lost corners: $500 to $1,500
- Geotechnical report for a foundation: $1,000 to $5,000
Not sure whether you need mulching, grubbing or a full clear? Most people are not. Call and describe the ground.
Call (417) 759-5914What moves a quote up or down
Density and tree size are the biggest factors, because they decide how long the machine spends on each acre. Hardwoods take longer than cedar. Slope slows everything and may need specialized equipment. Rock matters more here than in many places: the gravelly, chert-laden soils mapped around Ozark and Sparta wear cutting teeth and slow grubbing. Access decides whether a full-size machine can reach the work.
Debris is the line people forget. Mulching in place is cheapest; hauling a wooded lot's worth of logs and brush can cost as much as the clearing. Permits add cost and time when the job disturbs the root zone, typically $100 to $500 for a land clearing or land disturbance permit by HomeGuide's estimate, plus erosion control.
The cheapest way to cut a quote is to change the method: forestry mulching instead of full clearing wherever nothing will be built, keeping the best trees rather than removing them, and mulching the debris instead of hauling it.
Why prices here look different from the national figures
These are national averages. Around Springfield, mobilization for jobs far from a contractor's base, the amount of chert in the ground and the season all shift the real number. Ask two or three contractors for written quotes on the same scope, and ask each what is not included.
Questions people ask
How much does it cost to clear an acre of land in Springfield?
Most land clearing runs $1,200 to $8,000 an acre: $1,200 to $2,500 for light brush and small trees, $2,500 to $4,500 for moderate growth, and $4,500 to $8,000 for dense woods (HomeGuide, November 2025).
How much is forestry mulching per acre?
Forestry mulching averages $400 to $800 an acre and up to $2,000 for dense overgrowth, or $125 to $300 an hour (HomeGuide, September 2023).
How much does it cost to clear a lot for a house?
A half-acre home site typically runs $1,000 to $5,000 to clear, plus $2,000 to $5,000 to level a small, mostly level pad.
How much does stump grinding cost?
Stump grinding runs $100 to $400 a stump, and less each when several are done together (HomeGuide).
Is it cheaper to mulch or haul debris?
Usually mulch. Hauling brush runs $150 to $200 a pickup-truck load plus dump fees of $30 to $100 a ton.
Do permits add to the cost?
They can. HomeGuide estimates land clearing or land disturbance permits at $100 to $500, and Springfield's open burning permit is $84. Erosion control adds more on sites that need it.
Tell us what is growing and how much of it
Say roughly how many acres, what has taken over (cedar, honeysuckle, brush, saplings, a grown-in fence row) and what you want the ground to become. You will hear which method usually fits and what it tends to cost per acre before anyone drives out.
Call (417) 759-5914