What Does Land Clearing Cost per Acre in Mississippi?

National cost guides put land clearing at about $1,200 to $8,000 per acre. Light brush sits at the bottom of that range. Big timber and thick underbrush sit at the top. Forestry mulching runs lower. National guides list it at about $400 to $800 per acre, and up to $2,000 on thick growth.

These are market numbers, not our price list. Two things move the price a lot: how thick the growth is, and whether stumps and debris leave. We do land clearing in Waynesboro and across southeast Mississippi. Here is how those numbers play out on Piney Woods ground.

What does land clearing cost per acre by density?

Cost guides price land by how thick it is. The table uses one national guide’s three tiers. The middle column shows where each tier turns up in southeast Mississippi.

Another national guide prices lightly forested land at $733 to $2,333 per acre. It puts heavily forested land at $3,395 to $6,155. That guide also notes local prices can land above or below its national figures.

Creek bottoms bring a second problem: water. Bibb is a common creek bottom soil in Wayne County. NRCS puts its water table within 8 inches of the surface 6 to 11 months a year. Placing fill in wetlands takes a permit from the Corps of Engineers.

A cutover tract can look light from the road. The stumps left from the harvest push its price up when they have to come out.

Replanting pine is a different job. In a Southern forestry cost survey summarized by Alabama Extension, mechanical site preparation for planting averaged $172.83 per acre. That work readies a cutover for seedlings. Clearing for a pasture or a pad takes the stumps out, and that costs more.

Does forestry mulching cost less than dozer clearing?

Per acre, national guides price mulching lower. The two methods leave very different ground behind.

Forestry mulching with a mulching head grinds brush and small trees where they stand. The mulch stays on the ground and the roots stay in the soil. An MSU Extension publication on forestry site preparation puts mulching at $200 to $500 per acre, based on Southeastern averages. It also notes that mulching rarely gives long-lasting control of what it cuts. One national guide lists mowing the regrowth with a bush hog as a common next step.

Dozer clearing is the full job. On our jobs, trees are cut or sheared and the root rake pulls the stumps and roots. The debris leaves on our own trucks, and the ground is ready to grade or plant. One guide notes some contractors include disposal in the price and some charge it separately.

A house site needs the stumps and roots out, which is where site prep for the house pad starts. Our guide to mulching versus dozer clearing walks through the choice.

What else moves the price per acre?

National guides also list these line items:

• Stumps. One guide warns that basic clearing may not include stump removal. Ask whether the stumps and roots come out.
• Size. Every job carries the cost of hauling the machines in. So one acre costs more per acre than five.
• Access. A narrow gate or a tract with no road in adds time. If a road has to be cut in first, that adds cost too.
• Wet ground. NOAA’s climate normals put Waynesboro at about 60 inches of rain a year. January and December are the wettest months, and October is the driest. One guide notes rain can delay a job and make a site unsafe for heavy equipment.
• Disposal. Mulching leaves nothing to haul. MDEQ guidance lists land clearing debris among the wastes a permitted Class I rubbish site may take. The haul distance and the site’s fee both land in the price.
• Timber. If the tract holds pine big enough to sell, a timber sale can come first. The Mississippi Forestry Commission points landowners to a registered forester for the sale.
• Permits. Rules vary by city and county, so check before work starts. Construction that disturbs an acre or more falls under MDEQ’s construction stormwater permits. Those call for erosion and sediment controls, which add cost.

Can you burn the debris instead of hauling it?

Mississippi puts firm limits on burning land clearing debris. MDEQ issues no open burning permits, but its rule spells out where burning can happen.

• Open burning is barred within 500 yards of an occupied dwelling. MDEQ puts that at about a quarter mile.
• A forced-draft air system, such as an air curtain burner, can work closer, but never within 50 yards.
• Burning is off during a High Fire Danger Alert or where a local ordinance forbids it.
• The Mississippi Forestry Commission’s burn permits cover forestry and farm fires only. Land clearing fires follow local ordinances and MDEQ’s rule.
• County burn bans, approved by the Forestry Commission, restrict outdoor burning during drought.

In southwest Alabama, ADEM sets its own rules. They include a May to October ban on land clearing burns in Mobile County. On our jobs, the stumps and debris go on our own trucks and off the property. Check with your county before any fire.

What should a written land clearing quote cover?

A written quote should spell out:

• The method for each part of the tract: mulched in place, or cleared to clean ground.
• Which trees stay, marked before the machines start.
• Whether the stumps and roots come out.
• Where the debris goes and who hauls it.
• What the ground looks like when the job is done.
• What comes next, such as grading for a pad, and whether it is in the price.

We look at the site, or you send photos and a pin, and we put the quote in writing.

How do you get a number for your own land?

National ranges are a starting point. Your tract has its own stumps and its own way in. See how we handle clearing land across southeast Mississippi and southwest Alabama, then call or text (601) 410-5339. Send photos and a pin if that is easier.