Cost to Level a Yard in Baltimore [2025 Data]

Yard leveling in Baltimore costs an average of $2,536, and most residents pay somewhere between $1,627 and $3,634. Your cost will depend mostly on the size of the area you’re regrading and the slope you need to fix. The average plot in Baltimore is much smaller than the national average, so most projects are relatively small and don’t involve major regrading.

Yard Leveling Cost Factors

Yard leveling in Baltimore, Maryland, can cost as little as $728, and some homeowners pay as much as $5,000. There’s such a wide range because there are a handful of factors at play that can affect your pricing.

Size

On average, you can expect to pay between $1 and $2 per square foot to level land in Baltimore. Since projects are based primarily on square footage, the size of the area you’re looking to flatten will play the biggest role in your total costs.

Many homeowners in Baltimore level their entire yard to flatten out depressions and divots, and for projects on a bigger scale, you may be better off estimating your price based on acreage. The average property size in Baltimore is 0.037 acres. To carry out minor leveling on a property of this size, you can expect to pay an average of between $1,600 and $3,200.

Type of Project

The part of the outdoor space you’re regrading and why plays a big role in calculating the final cost to level your yard. Check out these common regrading projects below to get a better idea of what your regrading will total.

Severity of Slope

The slope of your existing lawn will help dictate the overall price tag for this project. If you have a very steep slope on one side of your yard that you need to level, that will cost you more than a slight slope. Contractors typically charge based on the elevation change; the more significant the change, the bigger the price tag.

Given its location on the coast, Baltimore is almost entirely flat with minimal elevation change. As a result, most homeowners will only need to fix minor slopes on their properties, which helps keep prices down.

Land Clearing

When it’s time to regrade your yard, the section that you plan to level needs to be clear before your landscapers can begin, and you may incur additional fees if you need them to clear away shrubs, debris, or trees. Costs can be as low as $100 for minimal brush, while removing trees can add thousands to your total. Just under 30% of the entire city is covered by tree canopy, so there’s a decent chance you’ll need to consider the costs of tree removal on top of yard leveling costs.

Land Surveying

You may also need to consider the cost of a land survey, which averages between $800 and $5,500, to ensure it’s safe and legal to begin your regrading project.

This may be necessary if you’re excavating, as many homes in Maryland have buried gas lines that are extremely dangerous if ruptured. Virtually all of them have underground water and sewer lines that can cause problems if you don’t know where they’re located before you dig. You may also need a land survey if you’re releveling your yard to install a fence near your property boundary.

Fill and Topsoil

Fill dirt is a rocky material that’s ideal for packing in pockets during a regrade. It costs between $5 and $30 per cubic yard. How much you need depends on the scope and size of your project, as well as what’s available to relocate from elsewhere in your yard.

Topsoil goes down over the fill dirt. You’ll pay between $12 and $55 per cubic yard. Topsoil costs more than fill dirt because it’s full of nutrients to help nurture a lush landscape.

Yard Leveling Pro Costs

When you hire a landscaping pro in Baltimore, between 90% and 95% of your costs will go toward labor alone, which means a total of between $2,300 and $2,400. The cost of living in Baltimore is more than 12% higher than the national average. Since this drives labor costs, this is a key reason why the average cost of yard leveling in the city is above the national average. The heavy, clay-dominant soil in the area also makes slope adjustments take longer, further pushing up labor costs.

Hiring a pro for this work is costly but worth it. An expert will ensure a flat yard that still has a slight slope for proper drainage, which is crucial in Baltimore, given the city's above-average rainfall. A professional is also less likely to make mistakes, leading to underground utility line ruptures and costly property repairs.

The City of Baltimore doesn’t mandate permits for yard leveling, so you won’t need to account for the added cost of building permits. However, you should ask your leveling professional if you’ll need permits for other projects you may be completing after the work, like installing a driveway, patio, pool, or fence.

Does Leveling a Yard Increase Home Value?

Leveling a yard likely won’t add to your property value unless you’re adding utility by correcting a major slope. Since Baltimore is a very flat city, it’s unlikely that you’ll have a big enough slope to remove to make a difference in home value. However, you may see an increase in home value if you’re leveling your yard for other projects, like adding landscaping features.

How Angi Gets Its Cost Data

Home is the most important place on earth, which is why Angi has helped more than 150 million homeowners transform their houses into homes they adore. To help homeowners with their next project, Angi provides readers with the most accurate cost data and upholds strict editorial standards. We survey real Angi customers about their project costs to develop the pricing data you see, so you can make the best decisions for you and your home. We pair this data with research from reputable sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, academic journals, market studies, and interviews with industry experts—all to ensure our prices reflect real-world projects. 

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