What Lot Clearing Costs in Lehigh Acres
What lot clearing costs in Lehigh Acres depends on the lot more than the zip code: how thick the pepper and palmetto are, how many pines and stumps come out, where the debris goes, and whether burrows, a canal or fill are part of the job. No one publishes a Lehigh price list, so this page gathers the national cost guides with their sources and dates, works them through for quarter- and half-acre lots, and lists the government fees that can come with building on a lot.
Read these as national figures
Every price below comes from a national cost guide, not from Lehigh contractors, and none of them is a quote. The figure that counts is the one a contractor writes down after walking your lot.
Published clearing prices
| Source and date | What it says |
|---|---|
| HomeAdvisor, 2025 guide | Around $3,799 typical, normal range $1,404 to $6,205. Quarter acre: $125 to $500 lightly wooded, $750 to $1,400 heavily forested. Half acre: $250 to $1,000 lightly wooded, $1,800 to $2,800 heavily forested. Lightly wooded acre $500 to $2,000; heavily forested acre $3,600 to $5,600. Stump removal $100 to $150 a stump. Prep and excavation $40 to $150 an hour. |
| Fixr, updated Jan. 31, 2025 | $2,500 to $5,000 to clear land to build; $500 to $5,000 an acre; $125 to $1,250 for a quarter-acre lot. |
| Bob Vila, updated Feb. 28, 2023 (older) | $1,359 to $5,572, average $3,374. Quarter acre $125 to $500 lightly or $750 to $1,400 heavily wooded. Labor $110 to $245 an hour. Stump removal about $345. |
Forestry mulching and stump grinding
| Source and date | What it says |
|---|---|
| Angi forestry mulching ("2024 Data") | About $800 an acre on average for U.S. homeowners; normal range $400 to $1,500; $125 to $400 an hour for residential work. |
| HomeAdvisor forestry mulching, 2025 | $500 an acre average; $400 to $1,500 an acre. Hourly: $125 to $200 for underbrush and small trees, $150 to $300 with grading, $200 to $400 for heavy, dense brush. |
| HomeAdvisor stump grinding, 2025 | $250 average; $120 to $500 normal; $2 to $5 per inch of diameter; $100 to $150 minimum; $40 to $75 for each extra stump. |
Worked through for a Lehigh lot
Lee County describes Lehigh as mostly quarter-acre and half-acre lots, so here are the national figures at those sizes:
- Quarter acre, light growth: $125 to $500 (HomeAdvisor, Fixr and Bob Vila agree at the low end; Fixr runs to $1,250).
- Quarter acre, heavily wooded: $750 to $1,400 (HomeAdvisor and Bob Vila).
- Half acre: $250 to $1,000 lightly wooded, $1,800 to $2,800 heavily forested (HomeAdvisor).
- Mulching only, quarter acre: $400 to $1,500 an acre works out to $100 to $375 on paper, before any minimum or move-in charge.
- Ten stumps pulled during clearing: $1,000 to $1,500 at HomeAdvisor's $100 to $150 a stump.
Straight arithmetic from national ranges. A real lot can land outside them in either direction.
Government fees that can come with a lot
These are set by the agencies, not the contractor, and they're separate from the clearing price:
| Fee | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Lee County DOT driveway permit | $95 single, $120 double | Any new driveway onto a county road |
| LA-MSID culvert-only permit | $1,000 for up to 120 linear feet; $1,250 beyond | Culverts on District facilities |
| LA-MSID temporary construction permit | $300 per 6 months | Temporary work on District facilities |
| Health Department septic permit | $390 base, plus $115 if a site evaluation is needed | New septic system |
| FWC gopher tortoise mitigation | $280 (10 or Fewer Burrows, 2026) | Burrows that can't be avoided by 25 feet |
| FWC burrowing owl contribution | $850 per burrow cluster, with 2 on-site starter burrows (one option in the 2018 guidelines) | Most residential permits under the owl guidelines |
| Lee County vegetation removal permit | $30 plus $1 a tree, up to $25 an acre | Single-family parcels of 5 acres or more |
Sources: Lee County DOT, LA-MSID permitting policy (rev. Aug. 30, 2022), the Health Department in Lee County, FWC's 2026 mitigation table and 2018 burrowing owl guidelines, and Lee County's vegetation removal application. LA-MSID fees double when work starts without a permit.
What moves the price on a Lehigh lot
- Pepper and palmetto
- A thick understory of Brazilian pepper takes longer than open pine and grass
- Trees and stumps
- Big pines to drop in pieces, and stumps pulled from the pad rather than ground
- Rock near the surface
- Shallow limestone in parts of Lee County flatwoods can slow grinding and digging
- Debris
- Trucked away, mulched in place, or burned on a tract big enough to meet the setbacks
- Burrows
- Staking buffers, working around them, or waiting on an FWC permit and an agent
- Wet season
- A high water table from May to October can change access and scheduling
- Canal frontage
- LA-MSID berm rules and any culvert work
- Fill and grade
- A fill grading plan if the lot rises more than 18 inches above the road crown
- Access
- A narrow lot between houses, or a long route onto a bigger tract
Comparing quotes
Ask every contractor to put the same things in writing, so the quotes line up:
- Exactly what area is cleared, and which trees stay.
- Whether stumps are pulled, ground, or left, and where.
- Where debris goes: hauled, mulched or burned.
- Who checks for tortoise and owl burrows, and what happens if one turns up.
- Who files the Sunshine 811 ticket.
- Whether grading, fill or swale work is included.
- Which permits the contractor pulls, if any, and whose name is on them.
- Cleanup, payment schedule and any follow-up visit for regrowth.
Cost questions
Why is there no Lehigh average price?
None of the cost guides checked for this site publishes one for Lehigh Acres. National figures are useful for a sanity check; a written quote after a site visit is the real number.
Is mulching cheaper than full clearing?
Compare the published per-acre ranges and you'll see overlap. Mulching skips hauling and stump pulling, but it isn't right for a house pad. Get both priced for the same area if you're unsure.
Are permit fees in the clearing quote?
Not necessarily. Agency fees are set by the agencies, so ask the contractor which ones, if any, the quote includes.
Do I pay for the referral?
No. The referral is free to property owners.
Getting a price for your lot
Call or send the form with the lot's location, size and what you want done. Your request goes to one independent local contractor, who can walk it and give you a written quote. The referral is free.
Got a lot in Lehigh Acres that needs clearing?
Call or send the short form. Your request goes to one independent local contractor who can walk the lot and put a price in writing. There's no charge for the referral.