How much does land clearing cost per acre in Louisiana?

Land clearing in Louisiana runs about $1,500 to $5,000 per acre, per contractor-published Gulf South pricing, with light brush at the low end and dense hardwood with big stumps at the high end. National guides agree on the spread: $500 to $2,000 per acre for lightly wooded ground and $3,000 to $6,000 for heavily forested land (Fixr, LawnStarter, Bob Vila).

Those are market ranges, not our prices. We price clearing after walking the tract. Here is what the numbers mean and what moves them.

What does land clearing cost by how thick the growth is?

Density is the first question. A lot with tall grass and a few tallow trees is a different job from an acre of old hardwoods. The table shows how published sources split it.

That last number needs a note. The ProMatcher Louisiana average covers moderate brush and small trees on flat ground only. It excludes stumps, disposal, mature trees, and grading. That is why it sits so far below the national wooded ranges. The number a homeowner finds first is a brush-and-saplings number, and it leaves out the parts that cost the most.

What moves the price on a Louisiana clearing job?

Stumps in or out. Cutting trees off at the ground is fast. Digging the stumps out with the roots is slower, and it is the only way to build, drive, or dig a pond on that spot. Fixr puts stump removal at $200 to $700 each. Our stump removal in New Iberia page explains the dig-out method.

Where the debris goes. Disposal is the hidden half of a clearing bill. Debris either burns on site, gets chipped, or gets hauled. Geaux Pro Outdoors puts hauling at $300 to $800 per load. A wooded acre is many loads. Burning is free, but the law decides whether you can, which we cover below.

Wet ground and access. Acadiana ground holds water. A tract that is soft in spring can stall machines and push a job to a drier month. Poor truck access adds a mobilization cost, and that cost is the same whether the lot is a quarter acre or five.

Lot size. Small lots cost more per acre. The machine has to be hauled in either way, and Homewyse builds a three-hour minimum into its labor figures. A quarter-acre lot in Youngsville is not a quarter of an acre price.

Method. Forestry mulching runs cheaper per acre, $400 to $600 per Fixr and Bob Vila, because the material stays on the ground as mulch and nothing gets hauled. It takes a mulching machine, which is a different tool from an excavator. Mulching leaves the roots in place. When the lot is going to hold a house pad, a driveway, or a pond, the roots have to come out, and that is excavator work.

When can you burn land clearing debris in Louisiana?

Louisiana’s air rule (LAC 33:III.1109) allows burning trees, brush and grass from land clearing under set conditions. The pile has to be at least 1,000 feet from any dwelling other than one on the same property. Burning runs only between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. The material has to be vegetation with as little dirt on it as possible. No tires, no treated lumber, no shingles, no old shed. Wind has to carry the smoke away from any town.

That 1,000 foot rule decides most jobs. On a rural tract in Iberia Parish, a burn pile is often the cheapest disposal there is. On an in-town lot in New Iberia, Broussard or Lafayette, the neighbor’s house is closer than 1,000 feet, and the debris gets hauled.

State law adds a parish wrinkle. In a parish with 90,000 people or fewer, no parish ordinance can flatly ban burning vegetation outside a town’s limits (R.S. 33:1236). Iberia, St. Martin, Vermilion, St. Mary, Acadia and St. Landry parishes are all under that line. Lafayette Parish is over it, so that protection does not apply there. Burn bans from the state forestry office still override everything when fire danger runs high.

One more rule that matters: the moment a fence panel, treated lumber or shingles land on the pile, it is no longer a vegetation burn. LDEQ fines for that. Anything that is not plant growth leaves in a container. Our debris removal across Acadiana page covers that side.

What about wetlands and overgrown lot fines?

Two Louisiana-specific issues come up on clearing jobs, and both are worth knowing before you call anyone.

Wet ground can be federal ground. Under the Clean Water Act rules (33 CFR 323.2), mechanized land clearing that disturbs root systems and moves soil in waters of the United States counts as a discharge that can need a Corps of Engineers permit. Cutting vegetation above the ground does not. The federal rule uses converting a cypress swamp as its own example. If a tract sits low and wet, ask the Corps for a jurisdictional determination before any machine roots it up. We are not permit consultants, so treat that as guidance, not a process we run.

Overgrown lots draw letters. Louisiana law lets a parish cut grass and weeds on a lot outside a municipality after a certified letter and a 15 day window, then bill the owner and record a lien (R.S. 33:1236). Inside a city, the notice window can be as short as five days, and an unpaid bill rides onto the property tax bill (R.S. 33:5062 and 33:5063). Iberia Parish’s own code sets grass limits for unincorporated lots. Clearing a lot before the letter comes is cheaper than clearing it after.

What does clearing a small lot actually cost?

Published half-acre figures run from $250 to $2,500 (Fixr) and $367 to $3,078 (LawnStarter). Read those with the mobilization point in mind. The machine costs the same to bring out. In-town lots rarely qualify for burning, so a half acre of tallow trees and brush becomes several hauled loads. A small lot in St. Martinville or Carencro often lands closer to the top of those ranges than the bottom.

The way to get a real number is a look at the lot. We check the growth, the ground, the access, and whether the debris can burn or has to leave. Then the land clearing estimate for your property covers the whole job, stumps and haul-off included.

Related reading: house demolition cost in Louisiana if there is an old structure on the lot, and gravel driveway cost in Louisiana for what usually comes next.

Get a real number for your land

Every figure above is a published range or a contractor’s posted rate. Your tract depends on the growth, the stumps, the ground, and where the debris goes. We walk it with you, tell you what can burn and what has to haul, and give you a written estimate at no charge. Request a free clearing estimate or call (337) 201-0594.