Lawn Mowing & Maintenance Cost Factors
Lawn care professionals offer a range of packages and services, from one-time mowing jobs to four-season lawn maintenance plans. The larger cost contributors are labor and the size of your lawn, but details such as lawn terrain, your local climate, and maintenance packages will affect your final bill.
Labor
Landscapers charge an average of $25 to $60 an hour for a range of lawn care services. Common jobs like mowing and watering your lawn each week will land on the lower end, while higher rates apply to complex or expedited jobs that take more than one team member.
While many companies offer an hourly rate in their estimates, flat fees to cover labor, materials, and overhead are also common. These will incorporate the cost to travel to your home, equipment upkeep, and caring for unique features in your lawn.
If your pro offers a flat-fee per visit, you can expect an average of:
Lawn Size
Lawn size plays more of a role in determining price when your property is larger than an acre. Many lawn care pros charge a per-acre price of $150 to $200. Lawn care companies may offer discounts for expansive lawns over a set number of acres, charging as little as $50 an acre for 10 acres or more.
Lawn companies rarely charge by the square foot for simple lawn care unless they're treating a very small space. You'll likely see prices broken down this way for services such as the cost to reseed a lawn or the cost to install sod. In most cases, the size of your lawn will simply dictate the number of hours it takes to mow it.
Layout
If you live on a flat, rectangular property with few trees, boulders, or sprinkler heads, expect to pay the lower end of the price range.
A lawn care team will assess the layout and features of your lawn to determine your estimate, considering things like:
Lawn care pros will have to spend more time trimming around the edges or avoiding these areas when mowing. Overall, the trickier the landscape, the longer it takes.
Grass and Climate
The type of grass in your lawn is an often-overlooked factor in lawn mowing and maintenance prices. Cool-season and warm-season grasses grow at different rates during different times of the year. And since you should only remove the top third of a blade of grass to keep it healthy, you may require more frequent visits from a lawn care team in high-growth periods.
Packages and Discounts
Coupons, packages, and promotions for ongoing services are very common in lawn care. While a company may break down the initial cost by the hour or the size of your lawn, they may list a flat discounted fee for services to attract long-term customers.
Many lawn care companies will offer year-round or seasonal rates that include weekly or monthly mowing as well as occasional aeration and pest of weed treatments.