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Leaf removal price calculator

MJR Landscape in Grand Rapids charges $110 per worker-hour plus $150 for disposal, with a $375 minimum, checked October 15, 2026. Give disposal its own line: $150 of that $375 minimum, 40%, is getting rid of the leaves. Agree up front how the leaves leave the property (hauled away, bagged for town pickup or mulched in), because each one costs you something different.

Price a fall cleanup

Starting point: $110.00 per hour. Cleanup labor; Grand Rapids, MI: $110.00 per worker-hour. Published rate, rounded to cents. Yard-cleanup labor per worker; disposal charged separately. MJR Landscape: Grand Rapids leaf services, checked 2026-10-15.

Extras, travel and minimum

Choose a rate for the leaf depth and condition. Wet, packed leaves need a different allowance from a light dry cover. State whether this covers one visit or a later return after more leaves fall.

Job price before tax—

Enter labor-hours.

Should you price leaf removal by the hour or by the yard?

Hourly protects you when you can’t judge the job: heavy tree cover, wet leaves, beds packed full, long fence lines. MJR in Grand Rapids prices that way. A flat price per property works once you know a yard, which is how David’s Landscaping in Farmington sells it, from $250 for a typical cleanup and from $750 for large or heavily wooded lots.

Count hours across the whole crew, so three people for two hours reads as six worker-hours on the bill. Then look past the open lawn when you estimate. Leaves drift against fences, pile into beds and gather under shrubs, and raking those out by hand takes far longer than blowing the lawn into rows for the vacuum or the tarp.

How much more for wet or matted leaves?

More, and it shows up as hours rather than a set percentage. Wet leaves weigh more, pack down onto the grass, clog vacuums and stick in rakes, so the same yard takes noticeably longer after a rainy week, and the load to the dump gets heavier. If you quote by the hour, the rate covers it. If you quote flat, write the condition into the price.

One way to keep a flat price fair is to agree a window instead of a date. “Cleanup during the week of the 10th, on a dry day” lets you move the crew around the weather. A customer who insists on Saturday right after a storm gets the wet-leaf price, and you both know that before the crew arrives.

Should a fall cleanup include a second visit?

Only if you price two visits. Trees drop over weeks and oaks hang on late, so one early cleanup can’t clear a whole season’s leaves. Sell either a single cleanup timed after most leaves are down, or a package with a set number of visits and a price for each. Never sell “all fall” without a visit count written next to the price.

The second visit is usually lighter, and that’s where owners give it away. It still needs the drive, the setup, the blowers, the trailer and a dump trip, so price it at no less than your minimum. If the customer wants the last leaves gone before the first snow, put that date on the quote and schedule it now.

Example: a six-worker-hour cleanup

Two people for three hours is six worker-hours. At $25 an hour in wages and equipment, that’s $150. Add $40 to tip the leaves at the compost site and $20 to get there: $210. At a 30% margin, $210 ÷ 0.70 = $300, above David’s Landscaping’s $250 starting price in Farmington.

Now check it against MJR’s posted rates for the same work: 6 × $110 + $150 = $810. If your price lands that far below a local hourly card, test the $25. BLS puts national mean pay for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $19.66 an hour (May 2024), which leaves little for payroll taxes, fuel and the trailer.

Frequently asked questions

What should I charge for leaves left until spring?

Price it as a heavy, wet job. Leaves left over winter come out matted and soaked, stuck to the grass and packed into the beds, often with snow mold underneath. Quote by the hour or after a look, and tell fall customers who skip the cleanup what spring will cost, so the choice is theirs.

Should I clean the gutters during a leaf cleanup?

Sell it as its own line. David’s Landscaping leaves gutters out of its fall cleanup, and that’s the safer default: ladder work is a different job with different risk, and gutters fill again after the last leaves drop. Offer it at your gutter price on the same visit, which saves the customer a separate trip.

Can I mulch the leaves into the lawn instead of hauling them?

On a light to moderate layer, yes, and it’s often the cheapest service for the customer: no bags, no trailer, no dump fee. Price it like a mowing visit plus the extra passes. On a thick layer, mulching leaves a mat that smothers the grass, so rake and haul the heavy areas and mulch the rest.

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