How Much Does Land Clearing Cost Per Acre in Tennessee?

National cost guides put land clearing at about $500 to $8,000 per acre. Light brush and small trees land near the low end. Thick woods with large trees land near the top. One guide puts the average Tennessee job at $3,100.

These are market numbers, not our price list. Phillips Land Services handles land clearing in Pleasant View and the towns around it. We look at the land first and put the quote in writing.

What Do National Cost Guides Say Land Clearing Costs Per Acre?

The guides sort land by how thick the growth is. Their ranges overlap.

The second guide puts the average acre at $3,050. The fourth guide’s state table puts the average Tennessee job at $3,100, against $2,900 nationally.

Size changes the math. The first guide prices one acre at $1,200 to $8,000 and five acres at $4,500 to $35,000. Once machines are on site, bigger areas clear more efficiently, that guide explains.

Some contractors price by the hour instead. The second guide lists clearing labor at $110 to $250 an hour.

How Does the Clearing Method Change the Price?

The method decides where the brush and stumps end up. That choice moves the price.

Forestry mulching. A mulcher head grinds brush and small trees where they stand. The mulch stays on the ground, so there are no debris removal costs, the third guide notes. Stumps stay at ground level, and the roots keep holding the soil.

The first guide lists forestry mulching at $500 to $1,000 or more per acre. The third puts the average near $400 an acre. Our forestry mulching cost guide covers mulching prices in more detail.

Full clearing. Dozers and excavators remove everything above and below ground, the first guide says. They also disturb the soil a great deal. The trunks and stumps then get hauled off or burned in piles.

Mulching does not suit every goal. The first guide rates it well for trails and pasture, but not for building sites. Where a house will sit, the ground also needs grading for a level pad and drainage. That is site preparation work.

Some costs can sit outside the per-acre price. The figures below come from the same national guides.

What Does a Land Clearing Quote Look At?

Each quote follows the ground. These are the things that move the number.

• Trees. Hardwoods like oak and maple take longer to cut and remove than pine, the first guide notes. The NRCS describes the woods on the area’s main upland soil as oak-hickory forest. Our mulcher head takes trees up to about 6 to 7 inches across. Bigger trees go to a tree service.
• Brush. Thick privet and honeysuckle take more machine time than open woods. Density decides how much work the contractor must do, the first guide says.
• Slope and ground. Machines move slower on hills, the first guide says. NRCS soil data shows cherty silt loam as the most common ground around Pleasant View. Its slopes run from 2 to 60 percent. Rain or frozen ground can delay work and make a site unsafe for heavy machines.
• Access. A lot with road access and a flat way in costs less to clear, the first guide says. Tight access can mean smaller machines or extra trips.
• Haul-off or mulch in place. Some contractors include disposal in the base price, and others charge for it separately. Cheatham County says none of its solid waste sites can accept brush. On a Pleasant View building lot, the town’s subdivision rules say cut trees and debris may not be buried.
• Stumps. Ask whether the quote covers them, since stump grinding is another trade’s work.

Do You Need a Permit to Clear Land in Tennessee?

It depends on the work and the place. The codes office for your address answers the permit question, and we point you there. These are the rules to check around Pleasant View.

• Tennessee 811. Grading counts as excavation under Tennessee’s one-call law. Whoever does the grading must notify Tennessee 811 at least three working days ahead. Utility companies may not mark private lines, such as a power line out to a barn.
• Burn permits. From October 15 through May 15, debris pile fires need a burn permit from the Tennessee Division of Forestry. Each permit is good for one day, and the state pauses permits when fire danger runs high. Some counties and towns set stricter rules.
• Stormwater. A build site that disturbs one acre or more needs a stormwater construction permit from TDEC, the state environment department. Clearing and grading both count toward that acre. A smaller site can need one too if it is part of a larger plan of development or sale. State water law treats farm and forestry work differently, so ask TDEC how it applies to your land.
• Creeks and wet ground. Reshaping a creek bank or filling a wetland needs a state water quality permit first, called an ARAP.
• County and town permits. Outside town limits, Cheatham County requires a grading permit for some fill and dig work. It applies when the work changes how much water runs onto or off a neighbor’s land. The application fee is $50 plus a $5 archive fee. Inside Pleasant View, the town’s fee schedule lists a grading and fill permit at $100.
• Nearby cities. Some set a smaller trigger than the state’s one acre. White House requires a land disturbance permit at 5,000 square feet. Springfield says most land disturbance work in the city needs a permit. Metro Nashville’s and Ashland City’s grading codes treat tree cutting at ground level differently from stripping the ground.

How Do You Get a Written Land Clearing Quote?

Have these answers ready before the visit:

• Where your property lines run, from a survey or a plat
• What the cleared ground is for, such as pasture or a house site
• Which trees stay, marked with ribbon
• How a machine gets in, including gate width and soft spots
• Whether the brush stays as mulch or leaves the property

Phillips Land Services clears brush and small trees with a compact track loader and a forestry mulcher head. We take on jobs from a few hours of machine time up to full-property clearing. Pleasant View sits at the center of our service area.

We look at the job and put the quote in writing. Read more about our land clearing work around Pleasant View, or call or text (931) 265-1151.