How Much Does Land Clearing Cost Per Acre in Tennessee?

In 2026, published cost guides put land clearing in Tennessee at roughly $1,300 to $4,500 per acre. Light brush sits near the bottom of that range. Heavy timber with the stumps pulled sits at the top. National guides push past $6,000 per acre for the heaviest work.

Those are market numbers from cost guides, not our price list. What you pay near Clarksville or Nashville depends on the lot. The timber on it moves the number. So does the debris plan and how well a machine can get in.

What does an acre of land clearing cost in Tennessee in 2026?

Here are the published ranges side by side. The Tennessee column comes from a 2026 state cost guide. The national column comes from national home cost guides for the same year.

Two national guides put the average clearing job at about $2,581 and about $2,900 per acre. Both list a typical range of roughly $1,300 to $4,500. Southeast states tend to run 10 to 20 percent under the national numbers. That is why the Tennessee column sits lower.

Why does heavy timber cost so much more than light brush?

Time on the ground. A skid steer with a mulcher head moves through saplings and undergrowth fast. Middle Tennessee hardwood is a different job.

Big oaks and hickories have to come down one at a time. Then the trunks get cut, moved, and stacked out of the way. More passes, bigger machines, and more hours all land in the price.

Tree size is the line that matters most. Stems under about 6 inches usually get handled in place. Once you are into 12 inch and larger timber, the work slows down and the per acre number climbs.

Do stumps cost extra?

Almost always. National cost guides list $150 to $500 per stump for grinding. Pulling a stump out whole runs $250 to $800. One guide averages $326 for the first stump plus $40 to $83 for each one after that.

Grinding only chews the top down, so the roots stay in the ground. We pull stumps with an excavator and a thumb, which brings the root ball up with the stump. If you are putting a house or a barn on that spot, that is the version you want.

Clearing an acre and grubbing the roots out runs $2,600 to $4,160 per acre in the Tennessee guide. That is the highest line on the table for a reason.

Is it cheaper to burn the debris or haul it off?

Burning is cheaper where it is allowed. National guides put controlled burning at $200 to $800 per acre. Hauling the debris off runs $500 to $2,000 or more per acre. Dump fees and truck time stack up fast.

A third option skips the pile completely. Forestry mulching grinds the brush where it stands and leaves the chips on the ground as cover. That takes the debris line out of the job.

On a tight lot inside a subdivision, burning is often off the table anyway. Out on farm ground west of Clarksville it is usually the practical choice.

Do you need a burn permit in Montgomery County?

Yes, for most of the year. The Tennessee Division of Forestry requires a burn permit from October 15 through May 15. It covers debris pile fires and prescribed fires. Montgomery County applies that rule to any open air fire within 500 feet of a forest, grassland, or woodland.

Permits come from the state at BurnSafeTN.org, open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. You can also call 877-350-BURN (2876) on weekdays. The Division stops issuing permits when wind or drought makes burning unsafe, so the dates alone do not settle it.

Cities with their own fire ordinances set their own rules instead. Inside Clarksville city limits, open burning goes through the city. A permit is required there for a pile bigger than five feet across, and the number is (931) 645-7454. Outside the October to May window the state burn permit is not required, but local rules still apply.

Does a bigger job lower the price per acre?

It usually does. National guides show a 10 to 20 percent drop per acre once a job reaches about five acres. Moving equipment to the site costs the same whether you clear half an acre or ten.

A small infill lot in Nashville can price higher per acre than a large tract near Dover. The same equipment move gets spread over less ground.

What else drives land clearing prices around Clarksville and Nashville?

Ground conditions do a lot of the work here. Middle Tennessee gets about 50 inches of rain a year, and the clay under it holds water. Wet clay turns to mud and slows every machine on the lot.

Limestone sits close to the surface in places across the Highland Rim. Rock changes how stumps come out and how deep anything can be cut. Slope matters too, since a hillside above a creek bottom takes more care than flat pasture.

Access is the other one. A narrow driveway, a soft field, or a creek between the road and the work all add hours.

Are permits and erosion control part of the price?

They can be. In Tennessee, disturbing one acre or more puts a site under the state construction stormwater permit. TDEC runs that program. A smaller site still counts when it belongs to a larger development.

That permit brings erosion control measures with it. Silt fence, rock check dams, riprap at outlets, and a stabilized entrance are the standard ones. Builders usually plan for this. Landowners clearing a few acres often do not know it applies.

What is not in a per acre clearing number?

Clearing gets the trees and brush off. It does not shape the ground. Grading a lot runs $800 to $4,000 in national guides, and that is a separate line.

If you are building, the next step is site prep and grading for the pad and the drainage. Fill dirt and a driveway cut also sit outside a clearing quote. Ask what is included before you compare two bids.

How do you get a real number for your lot?

Every range on this page is a starting point. The only way to price your ground is to look at it in person. Timber size, slope, access, and the finished result all change the number.

We give free estimates on site for land clearing work across Middle Tennessee. We are based in Woodlawn, just west of Clarksville, and we cover the area out toward Nashville. Call or text (931) 572-8673 and we will come look at it.