Mowing Rates $

[Turf Dancer]

I am trying to stay competitive, be profitable and expand my business. Kind of sounds like what everyone has in mind !
I am seeking information as to what the going rates are all over, here in small town world there are a couple guys that are charging $7-8 for lawns and I can't figure out how they are in business still. Question What Is the going rate in your area ?
Any Information would be appreciated Thanks

[darryl gesner]

Turf Dancer - Those prices are just ridiculous. Those were my prices for lawns 25 years ago! Around here, most lots are 1/4 to 1/2 acre with many 1 acre and up. Prices generally are $25 to $35 for 1/4 acre, $40 to $50 for half acre and $55 to $70 for an acre. I bill by the job, not the hour, but right now my lawns pay me from about $33 to $42 per hour working alone with a 48 Exmark hydro WB, not including travel time between jobs. When the grass is growing slower and I can cut faster, I'll be up in the $50/hr range.

[darryl gesner]

What, no one else knows their rates?

[scottb]

[. Prices generally are $25 to $35 for 1/4 acre, $40 to $50 for half acre and $55 to $70 for an acre. I bill by the job, not the hour,

Those prices are very comparable to here. 7,8$ a lawn I hope ther pulling your leg.

[Jusmowin]

These are my rates ;
1/4 and under $30
1/4 to 1/2acre lot $35 to $45
1/2 to 3/4 acre lot $45 to $55
3/4 to 1acre or more $55 to $75 or MORE
* there are also alot of factors that very my rates such as trimming,gate size to the back yard, travel time and most important CUSTOMER ATTITUDE. Just remember that these prices are the norm in my area and work for me!

[The Lawn Choupique]

Hey, how many lawns are they cutting per hour? They could be cutting two, maybe even three an hour. That $7 a lawn could add up fast at three per hour. Or maybe they are financially adept and are invensting that $7 in a money making propersition.
Why don't you just pass by their house, see how they live, then you will know the real story of how they are staying in business. I know several and I mean several guys that cut grass in my area, when to school with some of them, they only bring in about $500 a week, but guess what. It is all cash and they collect their food stamps and welfare payments. Nothing wrong with that, just the way they choose to live.

[DavidD]

$7-8$ a lawn would Hardly pay for the fuel to get to each of them unless there

all in a row! What are they using? murray riders? I wont even pull up to a lawn for less than 35.00. My hourly for lawns runs about 45.00 Per HR. I bet they have Insurance to. :eek:

[Tony Harrell]

Scottb, I spoke with an LCO last year in Statesville about rates (after convincing him I was not competition). He said he tried to go into Lake Norman with his going rate ($35) and couldn't get any business. Someone told him he was too cheap so he raised it to $45 and got more business than he could handle. Apparently, some in Lake Norman have an idea of where the line of quality is. Superficial as it may be, he's making more money now. Good luck to you, Tony

[scottb]

Originally posted by Tony Harrell
Scottb, I spoke with an LCO last year in Statesville about rates (after convincing him I was not competition). He said he tried to go into Lake Norman with his going rate ($35) and couldn't get any business. Someone told him he was too cheap so he raised it to $45 and got more business than he could handle. Apparently, some in Lake Norman have an idea of where the line of quality is. Superficial as it may be, he's making more money now. Good luck to you, Tony

Yeah thats how it is around here,We have lots of other lcos in the area but little competiton. Also a lot of people around the lake are loyal customers and if you are dependable they will stand by you. ( Suffice to say thought the lake lawns are usually a little higher due to the PITA possibility)

[Doc Pete]

FWIW,
I just lost a job to another Landscaper that is now doing the job at half my price. However, the next day I picked up a lawn that I overbid by $10 (should be be $25 and I said $35), and the customer was happy to have me. Like the rest of us...... Go figure.
Pete

[FrankenScagMachines]

Well, lets see....
A few of my lawns:
1) around 1/4 acre - $25, medium trimming, around 1 hour solo.
2) around 1/2 acre - $20 (kind of a favor for these people in a way they are next door so I can go over anytime without loading up, and they are elderly friends who are not rich.) about 1 hour 15 minutes solo.
3) around 3/4 acre with around 75 trees, small ones - $25 for using owner's equipment, about minimum wage on a per hour rate. With my equipment it would be about $55
4) around 1 3/4 - 2 acre, practically no trimming - $65.

[TGCummings]

$7-$8/cut seems low, but it's hard to say out of context. In Oregon, I'm betting you're not measuring yards in 1/4 acres. Remember, 3 mow-and-go lawns next to each other, under 500 square feet, can be cut in 20 minutes or less. At $8/cut, you're making $72/hour for that stop. I know entire blocks in my area that have single lawns under 500 square feet in their front yard. At 5 minutes to stop and 5 minutes a piece, you can cut 12 lawns in an hour and make about $100/hour. Fill your day with that and you're one happy lowballer, aintcha! :D

Having said that, it's still a little lower than I'd charge (but only because I can get higher rates). I charge them that small at $40/month now, which is quite a bit higher than my 'competition'. Here, we measure in blocks of 500 squares instead of 12,000 squares. Everything here is between 500 and 3000 square feet (with rare exceptions) and my rates are from $40/month to $100/month for mow, blow, and go on those properties. I have some older customers paying as little as $32/month weekly and some newer ones paying almost $200/month for 6500 square feet mow, blow, and go.

So it really depends on the area. I can drop my trailer for far less than $35/stop and be profitable and I can get $50/cut for lawns 1/4 the size of those East of me. It's all relative... ;)

[Blake Gaston]

What would you price one that’s 2.5 acre. No trees, just a lot of trimming around the house. Thanks

[Turf Dancer]

The Lady to whom this thread was written about called me today and left a message stating that she will keep me but she thinks the increase from $20 to $30 a week is extreme. She says she is kind of stuck due to the fact that she does not own a mower and she does not want to buy one.

Also as to the last reply on here from Blake Gaston . I have a friend of mine who is in the window washing business here and he told me he could get me a very large customer that lives outside of a small town about 25-30 minutes from here. The catch is that this lawn has to be bagged and it is about 2.2 acres with about 45 minutes of trimming and I don't own any machines larger than a 21" Honda Commercial. He said that he told the people about me and they understood it would be a 1 hour travel charge for me to come each time if I were to take it on. The problem is that I cannot see buying a Walker or ZTR to do one property nor can I afford it without taking out a loan to get one.

If I were to bid this lawn doing it with a 21" and bagging it I would say in the area of $285 which would be crazy to even suggest a bid as such and that is a $45 per hour with an extra charge for the grass dumping fee. Even at $35 per hour it would be around $225

If I had, say a 48" deck machine and were to bid it I would say in the area of $ 185 per week with the travel charge of 1 hour and extra for the grass and bagging it , that is at a $45 per hour rate.

If there were ten or twelve of these properties like this I would go out and finance a ZTR with a bagging system and mow 12 of these in 3 days and do all my smaller ones in a day and only work 4 days and take it easy but they are few and far between around here. Most lawns around here that are hired out are in the area of 40-50 minutes start to finish with a 21", I would say 80% of them. There are also another 15% that are in the area of 1 hour to 1.5 hours start to finish. The remaining 5% are the ones that are huge as we call the 3/4 of an acre and up lawns around here. There are a couple I know of that are 3+ acres but they are 1 in 1000 around here.

So I am kind of stuck when it comes to buying larger machines because I am not sure if buying a ZTR with bagging system is worth th expense. And most wb's would take all day bagging due to the small bags on them. So what do I do ?

To make matters even more difficult most people in this area apperently have never heard of a gate larger than 36" because I only have one customer with a larger gate than a 36"



Depends on the machine you have and how bad you want to take on the lawn. There are so many things to consider when bidding a property. You want to be competitive yet still make $
Good Luck

[Grasshog]

I have a hard time making set rates. No to lawns are the same.
One could be 1/4 ac with only one tree and two nature beds. Another could have 6 trees and ten landscape beds. I go with 35.00 a hour min one hour. Now if a couple of lawns can be hit in one stop its $30.00 a hour.

Commerial is a little higher. More insurance is needed.


RTC
James

[eftob]

see how long it will take you to do the job and charge a dollar a min

[rodfather]

$65 per hour per machine...done deal...we use 52's, 61's and 72's

[Doc Pete]

Originally posted by rodfather
$65 per hour per machine...done deal...we use 52's, 61's and 72's


That's pretty much what I try to do. Actually, I shoot for $1 per minute and add $5 to the total for driving time for each job. Jeeper's though, I didn't think Clinton had that kind of money. I thought you had to come down to Basking Ridge or Far Hills to charge those rates.;)
Pete

[maple city]

I charge 25.00 - 30.00 for what I call a city lot. They are usually around 1/4 acre or less. I have a really easy acre that I charge 60.00 for. I try to keep it at 40.00/hr. I have one 30.00 lawn that takes 15 minutes, another 30.00 lawn takes 45 minutes. I guess it all comes out in the wash.

I have outfits in my area that are doing lawns for 7-8 dollars as well.

When customers have a problem with my rates, I tell them that I carry insurance, which the people that are cutting for 7-8 dollars probably don't. I also point out that I use top of the line equipment which makes a difference in the finished product.

Also, I have found that the real cheap customers are a pain anyway, and usually not the ones you want to work for.

[rodfather]

Pete

I may live in Clinton, but alot of my work is in Tewksbury, Lamington, Pottersville, and Far Hills.

Plus, the people in the Clinton area aren't exactly "poor" either...LOL

r

[Holloway Lawns]

I gave an estamate last week to a lady for 50.00 and I was thinking it's rely worth 40.00 but she tells me that's not enough Ill pay you 90.00 Why can't they all be like this?

[Doc Pete]

Originally posted by rodfather
Pete

I may live in Clinton, but alot of my work is in Tewksbury, Lamington, Pottersville, and Far Hills.

r

You sly Devil:D We've got Landscapers coming from the the shore and Pennsylvania to cut in Basking Ridge. Have they invaded you yet?
Pete

[rodfather]

Pete

See 'em all the time...they don't phase me a bit. The drive will kill 'em after a while. LOL

[scottb]

We have someone around here went into a neighborhood and left flyers that he would do the entire job for 13.00$ a lawn. He took a lot of work from a lot of guy's. Wish I could catch him mowing just to see if he's total scrub or just crazy.