Lawn mowing is not priced per square foot, even though every guide prints a per-square-foot figure. The rate falls by a factor of five between a small lawn and an acre, because a small lawn is priced by the trip. The calculator above uses the brackets the market actually sells, and treats the schedule as something that raises the price per visit rather than discounting it.
How the calculator works
- Lawn size picks the bracket. Four brackets, and the numbers behind them are per-visit prices published by lawn size — not a rate multiplied out.
- Schedule raises the price. Weekly is the base; every two weeks is about 1.34 times it and every four weeks about 1.61. It raises the hours by the same factor, because that is where the extra money goes.
- Overgrown adds about 40% on top, as its own line.
- Your state. Prices are adjusted by a state labor-cost index.
- Your economics. “Your costs and margin” works in person-hours, which is the unit the published hourly rates are in.
Typical US mowing prices in 2026
| Lawn size | Weekly | Every two weeks | Every four weeks |
|---|---|---|---|
| To 5,400 sq ft (⅛ acre) | $30–$40 | $40–$50 | $50–$60 |
| 5,400–11,000 sq ft (¼ acre) | $45–$65 | $60–$85 | $70–$100 |
| 11,000–22,000 sq ft (½ acre) | $50–$75 | $65–$100 | $80–$120 |
| An acre and up | $60–$100 | $80–$150 | $95–$180 |
Crews bill $30–$68 per person-hour, about $49 typical. Minimum charge around $30. The national average visit is $50 on a lawn of 5,000–10,000 square feet.
Person-hours, not hours
This is the number that makes the rest of the page consistent. A quarter-acre visit takes about half an hour on site, and a per-visit price of $55 over half an hour looks like $110 an hour — which is nothing like the $30–$68 the same guides publish. The gap is the crew: two people for half an hour is one person-hour, and $55 over one person-hour is $55, inside the band.
Price your own work the same way. If you mow alone, the hours in this calculator are your hours. If you run a crew of two, they are half your clock time.
Where the American numbers are thin, said plainly
Lawn or yard is unresolved. The reference guide labels its size tables “yard size” and its national average “lawn size” — two words for one table, on one page. Nobody publishes what share of a property is lawn, and the readings that exist span 40–75%. This calculator asks for the mown area, and if you enter a whole property you will be quoted high.
No trade association publishes rates. The national landscape professionals’ association was read directly and publishes none. Its one useful figure is not a rate: median revenue per client of $14,682 a year, against $1,650 for weekly mowing of a quarter acre. Its members are not selling residential mowing, which is why it is silent on the price of it.
The acre price split into two groups rather than resolving. Eight sources fall into 60–115 per acre, which measures the property, and 150–200, which measures the area actually serviced. The ratio between the groups matches the inverse of the lawn share, so both are probably right about different things.
Worked example
A large lawn on a fortnightly round, first cut of the season. The fortnightly step puts the visit above the weekly price rather than below it, and the overgrown first cut adds 40% on top. The typical quote lands at $115 (range $100–$125) for about 2.4 person-hours. At the federal median wage of $18.82 plus fuel and a route’s short travel leg your cost is near $68, leaving $47 a visit, a 41% margin. The “Fill with sample data” button loads this exact job.
What this calculator does not price
Landscape construction — planting, turf laying, hard landscaping — which bills $65–$120 per person-hour against $30–$68 for maintenance. They do not overlap in the middle, and one calculator cannot serve both. Fertilising, aeration, dethatching and leaf clearance, all sold as their own lines. Seasonal contracts, because season length is a climate figure and not a price.
The calculator gives you the number. For typical rates and how to build a quote, read our lawn care pricing guide.