How Much Does a Lawn Leveling Service Cost in 2025?

This article was created using automation technology and thoroughly fact-checked and edited by HomeAdvisor Editor Ryan Noonan.

On average, a residential lawn leveling service costs $2,176. Depending on the size and scope of your project, you can pay anywhere between $375 and $6,500, but the average range is between $1,022 and $3,335. Resloping a lawn can help redirect water away from a home, increase moisture for gardens and lawns, or improve the curb appeal of your property.

To help you plan your yard leveling project with confidence, we’ll explore key cost factors like yard size, incline, and labor costs. When in doubt, hire a landscaping pro for a smooth, code‑compliant result.

Cost to Level a Yard by Size

Most residential yards run 5,000 to 10,000 square feet, and leveling runs $1 to $2 per square foot. Because few homeowners regrade the entire lawn, focus your budget on only the problem areas. Use the tables below as a quick reference.

Per Acre

While some contractors charge by the square foot, others charge by the acre. The starting cost to level a yard on a 1/5-acre lot is $3,000 and can reach up to $45,000 for one acre. While these prices include labor, material, and equipment, they don’t include additional fill dirt your yard might require.

Cost to Regrade a Yard by Project

Size is just one piece of the puzzle—what you’re regrading also moves the needle on cost.

Driveway

Regrading the driveway helps water drain quickly, slashing the odds of seepage and cracks. The cost to regrade your driveway is $1,500 to $9,500.

Regrade Around the Foundation

Improper sloping around your foundation can lead to poor drainage, excessive bugs around your house, basement leaks, and foundational damage like cracks and spongy soil. On average, the cost to regrade around your entire foundation is $1,000 to $3,000.

Fence

You don’t need to grade your yard to install a fence, but some homeowners prefer the look and security of a sloped fence. If you decide you would like flat land before installing a fence, expect to pay between $900 and $3,000 to grade the area. 

Pool

When calculating the costs to install a pool, it’s important to install it on level ground. If your ground is uneven, it can impact the stability of your pool and cause it to crack. The average cost to grade your yard for a new pool is $200 to $900.

Patio, Deck, or Porch

Resloping around an existing structure can cost more than resloping a fresh, untouched area. One of the most notable benefits of grading your yard to install a patio, deck, or porch is saving money on installation because you won’t need to build a raised deck and pay for the material required. Homeowners pay an average of $500 to $4,500 to reslope for a patio or deck.

Removing a Hill

For some homeowners, hills add depth to their yard, while others prefer more usable space to make yard chores like mowing the lawn more convenient. Homeowners pay between $1,000 and $5,000 to remove a hill in their yard.

Labor Cost for Pros

Regrading a yard often requires professional tools and equipment, particularly for steep or challenging spaces. Pros charge between $50 and $100 per hour to reslope a yard, depending on their experience level, the difficulty of the job, and labor costs in your area.

Additional Yard Leveling Cost Factors

Several additional cost factors affect the cost of leveling your lawn. Here’s a closer look at how your total cost breaks down.

Site Prep Work

The amount of landscape prep work your landscaping pro needs to do before starting on your lawn also influences the cost to level your lawn. If you need to excavate your property entirely, the cost of excavation averages $3,800. Additionally, if your pro needs to remove bushes and trees, expect to pay an average of $1,300 to $5,700 for this service.

Call your local utility locator before anyone breaks ground so the crew can mark underground lines and avoid costly damage.

Land Survey

Get a land survey first to ensure every shovel of dirt stays on your side of the property line—especially if the work runs close to a boundary. On average, land surveys cost $530, with most homeowners spending between $375 and $750. The final cost depends on your property's size and topography, location, and the type of survey you want.

Additional Fill Dirt

Fill dirt rarely tops the budget, but you’ll still need enough on-site to fill pockets and finish the job right. Plan on spending $5 to $30 per cubic yard on the cost of fill dirt. 

If the soil being relocated from one area of your yard to the newly created slope isn’t enough to fill the space, you might need additional fill dirt.

Topsoil

The topsoil is the dirt placed on top of the fill dirt. It contains nutrients that allow for a well-nourished garden and lawn. Depending on the type and quality, topsoil can cost between $12 and $55 per cubic yard.

Erosion Control

When you dig up the ground and move the soil, you can potentially face erosion problems. Without erosion control measures in place, groundwater, wind, and rain can shift the soil and undo your resloping work.

Plan for erosion control—skipping it isn’t an option. You can anchor fresh soil with deep-rooting plants or install edging that keeps everything in place when the first heavy rain hits.

Different erosion control measures have varying price points:

• Building a retaining wall costs $3,200 to $9,200

• Sod pallets cost $1,050 to $2,800

French Drain

A French drain sits under your exterior landscape to control groundwater and prevent puddling, pooling, and yard flooding. Installing a French drain costs between $500 and $18,000. Factors influencing the cost of a French drain include the size, drain style, and condition of your property.

Permits

Before you break ground on a grading project, it’s crucial to get the proper permits and inspections. Skipping this step could put water lines, electrical cables, or other buried utilities at risk—and accidentally knocking one out could leave your entire block without service. Permit costs can range from $100 to $500, depending on local regulations. 

Does Leveling a Yard Increase Home Value?

Leveling a yard can increase the value of your home by boosting curb appeal and improving drainage. Some homeowners choose to reslope portions of their yard for aesthetic purposes, which can add appeal, depending on the taste of home buyers in your area.

Yard leveling may improve safety and drainage by directing rainwater away from foundations and driveways. This can improve the longevity of your home and may reduce flood risks and insurance premiums.

Budgeting for Leveling a Yard

Leveling calls for pro-grade equipment, but there are still plenty of ways to keep costs in check:

• Schedule early: Pros fill up fast in spring and summer. Lock in a date now—or during the slower off-season—to avoid last-minute premiums and head off potential water damage. 

• Shop for soil deals: If you’re regrading a large section of your yard, look for bulk deals on fill and topsoil. Your landscaper may also have access to special discounts, so it’s worth talking to your pros and shopping around.

• Prepare your yard in advance: Many landscapers charge by the hour, so save time and money by clearing away vehicles, shrubbery, and furniture from the work site before they arrive.

• Do your own landscaping finishing: If you’re an avid gardener or handy DIYer, this is a step you can manage yourself. Rooting plants are key to preventing erosion, so look for grasses, mosses, flowers, and other plants with a wide reach. Consider contacting your local native plant society for free seeds and other resources on native plants.

• Contact multiple pros: Reach out to several professional landscapers in your area to ask about quotes and compare prices.

DIY Land Leveling vs. Hiring a Pro

Tackling a one-off low spot—say, the dip around a mailbox—is a doable DIY project if you have basic landscaping tools. Anything larger demands heavy equipment, a keen eye for drainage, and solid experience. A professional crew handles the precision cuts, soil compaction, and slope checks that keep water flowing away from your foundation.

You can save yourself a lot of manual labor by hiring a landscaping company for your lawn leveling project. Hiring a pro protects your home, saves time, and costs less than fixing a DIY mistake later.

How HomeAdvisor Gets Its Cost Data

No place is more important than your home, which is why HomeAdvisor connects homeowners with local pros to transform their houses into homes they love. To help homeowners prepare for their next project, HomeAdvisor provides readers with accurate cost data and follows strict editorial guidelines. We surveyed thousands of real customers about their project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects.