What Does It Cost to Clear an Acre of Land in North Carolina?
National cost guides put land clearing at about $500 to $8,000 per acre. Light brush and small trees sit at the low end. Thick woods with big trees and heavy stumps sit at the top. These are market numbers, not our price list.
The spread comes from what grows on the land and where it goes once it is down. North Carolina adds its own line items, such as a state review fee for jobs over one acre. Around Fayetteville and Raeford, our land clearing service starts with a look at the land and a written quote.
What do national cost guides say an acre costs?
Three national cost guides publish per-acre ranges, and they sort the work by how thick the growth is. The table pulls their figures together.
| How thick the growth is | What the land looks like | Published range per acre |
|---|---|---|
| Light | Underbrush and small trees | $500 to $2,500 |
| Moderate | Thicker underbrush and medium trees | $2,500 to $4,500 |
| Heavy | Dense woods and large trees | $3,000 to $8,000 |
Two of the guides agree on $500 to $2,000 for a lightly wooded acre. One puts a typical acre with moderate growth near $3,000. The heavy row is where they split the most, and the top comes from one guide’s $4,500 to $8,000 figure.
One guide finds that per-acre prices drop a little on bigger tracts once the machines are on site. The per-acre number is only part of the bill, though. One guide’s per-acre prices leave out grading and excavation, for example.
| Line item | Published figure | Kind of source |
|---|---|---|
| Stump removal | $100 to $150 per stump | National cost guide |
| Grading and leveling after clearing | $1,000 to $5,000 | National cost guides |
| State erosion plan review, over one acre | $119 per acre of disturbance | NC Department of Environmental Quality |
| Clearing debris with no soil, Cumberland County compost facility | $22.50 per ton | County fee schedule |
| Clean tree logs at the same facility | $11.25 per ton | County fee schedule |
Why do thick woods cost more than light brush?
Big trees take more machine time, and their stumps and roots have to come out too. Per one guide, heavy woods cost more because the stump and debris work adds labor. Another notes that hardwoods such as oak take longer to cut and remove than pine.
Access counts too. The same guide says land with road access and a flat way in costs less to clear.
On our jobs, stumps come out by machine with the excavator or the dozer. Pulled stumps leave holes, so the ground gets filled and rough-leveled. That part is dozer work.
Stumps also mean digging, so the NC 811 ticket comes first. State law calls for that notice at least three full working days before excavation starts.
Where does the cleared material go?
Once the growth is down, it has to go somewhere. Some contractors include disposal in the base price and some charge separately, one national guide notes.
- Hauled off. Trucks carry the material to a disposal site. Cumberland County’s compost facility charges $22.50 per ton for clearing debris with no soil. Its fees can change once a year.
- Piled on site. The dozer pushes the material into piles at the edge of the land. That skips the trucking and the disposal fee, though the piles take up ground.
- Ground into chips. A grinder turns brush and stumps into chips that stay on the land. It takes a separate machine.
- Burned. State air rules put a clearing fire at least 500 feet from occupied buildings on other property, with narrow exceptions. Only plant growth may burn, and no fire may start during a burn ban or a Code Orange day. Near woodland, state law also requires an NC Forest Service burn permit between midnight and 4 p.m. On a small tract with homes close by, the 500-foot rule can take burning off the table.
- Buried. State law treats a stump burial pit as a small on-site debris landfill. It must sit more than 50 feet from the next property. A survey showing the pit goes on record with the register of deeds. No building may go within 50 feet of it.
On our jobs, the cleared material is piled on site or hauled off. The written quote says which, so you see the plan before work starts.
When is the best time of year to clear land here?
Wet ground slows heavy machines. One national guide notes that rain and frozen ground can delay clearing and make a site unsafe for equipment.
Around Fayetteville, the soil sets the pace. Sandhills sands such as Candor are rated somewhat excessively drained, so rain soaks in fast. Creek bottoms with soils such as Johnston are rated very poorly drained. There, the federal soil survey puts the seasonal water table within a foot of the surface from November to May.
Summer and fall bring storms. The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 to November 30, with its peak around September 10. A tropical storm can put a low, wet tract on hold.
Bare ground needs cover after clearing in every month. State law gives exposed slopes 21 calendar days after each phase of grading to be planted or covered. Time the clearing to the next step on the land.
Do you need a permit to clear more than an acre?
North Carolina draws the line at one acre. Under state law, disturbing more than one acre on a tract takes an approved erosion and sedimentation control plan. The plan must be filed at least 30 days ahead and approved before work begins. Civil penalties for violations can reach $5,000 per day.
Around Fayetteville and Raeford, the state reviews the plan, and the fee is $119 per acre of disturbance. That rate took effect July 1, 2025, and part of an acre counts as a full acre. By simple math, a 3-acre clearing carries a $357 review fee.
In this area, the Town of Southern Pines and the Village of Whispering Pines run their own programs. Southern Pines requires a plan once more than 30,000 square feet will be uncovered. Those offices set their own fees. Any town or county can add rules, so ask the local office about your land.
Smaller jobs still need erosion control, since the state says it applies regardless of the size of the disturbance. Farm work and timber harvests that follow forestry guidelines fall under exemptions, so ask before you assume a clearing qualifies.
How do you get a firm price for your land?
A table gives a range, and a look at the land gives a number. Hollingsworth and Son clears land an acre and up, about 50 miles around Fayetteville. That reaches from Cumberland County and Hoke County into the Sandhills.
We look at the growth and the ground, then put the quote in writing. The quote spells out where the cleared material goes. If the job tops one acre, the erosion plan approval comes before any machine starts.
A single lot in town is a lot clearing job. A single tree is work for a tree service company. Ditches and dirt work after the clearing fall under excavation. See how our land clearing works, or call or text (910) 527-1108 to set up a look at your land.