Leaf Removal Cost Calculator (2026)
Updated October 2026 · DIY bagging, curbside pickup, and full-service compared
Falling leaves are free. Removing them is not. This calculator estimates how many bags your yard actually produces, then prices all three common ways to deal with them: bag it yourself, have a crew pick up a curb pile, or hire full service. Every default is editable — replace them with quotes from your area.
1. Your yard
A typical suburban lot is a quarter acre (10,890 sq ft); a wooded acre is 43,560 sq ft.
Typical suburban lot — roughly 1 in of loose leaves
2. Price each option
Bag it yourself
Municipal bag sticker or dump fee
Optional blower/vacuum rental
Curbside pickup
One-time cleanup = 1 pickup
You rake or blow leaves into a curb pile; the crew loads and hauls them.
Full service
Typical fall schedule: 2–4 visits
Crew clears the entire yard, not just the curb pile.
Estimated volume
Cost comparison
| Method | Season total | Per visit | Per bag | Per acre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bag it yourself | $469 | $469 | $3.75 | $1,875 |
| Curbside pile pickup | $240 | $80 | $1.92 | $960 |
| Full-service cleanup | $510 | $170 | $4.08 | $2,040 |
Cheapest here: Curbside pile pickup at $240 — $229 less than the next option.
Cheapest is not always the right pick: DIY costs weekends, curbside only works if your municipality allows piles, and full service is the only option that clears beds, gutters, and backyards too.
Estimates only. Winter wet leaves weigh more and hauling costs more; minimum service fees (commonly $70–$80) apply to small jobs.
How the bag estimate works
Leaves are sold by volume, and the calculation is not secret — it is area × depth, adjusted for how much leaves pack down in a bag:
bags = area_sqft × (leaf_depth_inches ÷ 12) × 0.55 ÷ bag_volume_cu_ft
- Leaf depth is estimated from canopy coverage: 0.5" (light) to 3.5" (wooded).
- The 0.55 packing factor assumes leaves are packed down as you bag them — not shredded. Shredding with a mower can cut the bag count by half or more.
- A 30-gallon bag holds about 4.0 cu ft; a 39-gallon bag about 5.2 cu ft.
This is a planning estimate, not a measurement. If you already know how many bags your yard produced last year, type the bag count directly by adjusting the density until it matches — or just treat the number as a starting point for comparing methods.
What each method includes
| Task | Bag it yourself | Curbside pickup | Full service |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rake / blow leaves to one place | You | You | Crew |
| Bag or load leaves | You | Crew (loader) | Crew |
| Haul away / disposal | You | Crew | Crew |
| Backyard and beds cleared | You | No | Yes |
| Gutters, walkways, debris | You | No | Usually |
| Equipment provided | No | Yes | Yes |
Published price examples (region + date)
There is no single national leaf-removal price — guides disagree by 2–3× on the same lot. These are dated, published examples to anchor your expectations, not quotes for your address. Click any source to verify.
| Basis | Published price | Source |
|---|---|---|
One-time full-service cleanup, 1/4 acre Typical job average around $170; most pros carry an $80 minimum. | $160–$290 | National consumer guide as of 2026-09 |
One-time full-service cleanup, 1 acre Tree density and access move this more than lot size. | $410–$925 | National consumer guide as of 2026-09 |
Full-service cleanup, 1/4 acre Contractor-reported pricing, national sample. | $188–$397 (avg $292.74) | Contractor-reported, national as of 2026 |
Per-bag pickup or disposal | $2.50–$8.00 per bag | National cost guide as of 2026-01 |
Disposal fee per bag at a facility | $5–$10 per bag | National consumer guide as of 2026 |
Full-service crew rate Crews come every other week October through mid/late December; curbside pile pickup $75–$90. | $60 per man-hour ($180/hr for a 3-man crew) + dump fee | Tulsa, OK as of 2026-10 |
Municipal vacuum collection (opt-in) Bagged collection on normal trash day is free in Richmond, VA. | $30 per request | Richmond, VA as of 2026-09 |
Municipal loose-pile collection Weekly cart collection available; carts cost $75–$100. | $125 per truckload | Chapel Hill, NC as of 2026 |
DIY or hire it out?
Bagging a quarter acre of heavy leaves is a 3–5 hour job for one person, done several weekends in a row — and that is before hauling. Full-service crews run leaf loaders that compact a pile that would take you 30 bags into one trailer pass. The break-even is personal: if a fall weekend is worth more to you than the service price, hire it out; if you enjoy the work and have somewhere to compost, DIY is genuinely cheap.
One middle path many homeowners miss: pay only for pickup. You rake and pile, the crew loads and disposes. It typically costs half of full service and eliminates the worst part of the job — hauling wet bags.
What moves the price
- Tree density, not lot size. A quarter acre with six mature maples costs more than an acre of open lawn with two trees.
- Wet leaves. Rain-soaked leaves weigh two to three times more, slow the crew, and raise disposal fees.
- Access. Fenced backyards, steep slopes, and long drags add labor; some crews price these as a separate line item.
- Disposal rules. Where bagged leaves are banned from trash, hauling costs rise — several cities now require specific carts or paid vacuum service.
- Timing. Peak November scheduling is the most expensive window; shoulder-season bookings sometimes get 10–25% off.
Crew wages behind these prices come from BLS OEWS 37-3011 — Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers: BLS OEWS data. Contractors bill above raw wages to cover equipment, insurance, fuel, and margin.
Frequently asked questions
How much does leaf removal cost per bag?
Published per-bag rates run about $2.50–$8 for pickup with the bag included; DIY bagging costs only the bag ($0.50–$2.50) plus a disposal fee ($1–$5 per bag at a facility). Full-service jobs price by the visit or lot, which usually works out to $3–$10 per bag of leaves removed.
How much does leaf removal cost per acre?
Published one-time cleanup prices for a full acre run roughly $400–$1,000, depending on tree density and access. A heavily wooded acre with wet leaves and limited access can land at the top of that band or above it.
Is it cheaper to bag leaves myself?
On cash cost, yes — materials and disposal for 100 bags might run $150–$400, versus $400–$1,000 for a crew on the same yard. On time cost, no: expect 4–10 hours of weekend work across the season, more if leaves stay wet. You are trading money for weekends.
How often should leaves be removed in fall?
Every other week during peak drop keeps the lawn breathing and the pile manageable. Most crews schedule 2–4 fall visits, starting in October in the Midwest and Northeast and running through mid-December. Waiting until all leaves are down means one big expensive job — and smothered turf underneath.
Does my city pick up leaves for free?
Some do: Richmond, VA collects bagged leaves on trash days and charges $30 only for optional vacuum service; Chapel Hill, NC collects up to five containers weekly with cart fees of $75–$100. Check your municipality's yard-waste page before paying for pickup — it is the most common way to cut this cost to nearly zero.
When is the best time to schedule a fall cleanup?
Book two to three weeks before your area's leaves peak. Crews fill up first in late October and November, and prices are firmest then. A single cleanup scheduled after the last trees drop (mid-to-late November in most of the U.S.) is the cheapest way to hire the job out once.