Cost to Level a Yard in Columbus [2025 Data]

Yard level costs in Columbus, Ohio, average $1,774, and most projects total between $932 and $2,617. Your total will depend mostly on the size of the area you’re leveling, but the grade of the area will also play an important role in your costs. Most of Columbus features flat topography carved out by glaciers, so yard leveling projects are often fairly small and cost less than the national average.

Yard Leveling Cost Factors

You could pay as little as $510 to level your yard in Columbus, Ohio, while some projects cost as much as $4,000. The actual price you’ll pay within that range will depend on a few important factors.

Size

Most landscapers in Columbus charge between $1 and $2 per square foot for yard leveling services, so your total will vary widely based on the size of the area you’re regrading. Leveling small sections of your property for a fence or landscaping around your foundation should cost closer to $932, while regrading for a driveway or new patio will cost closer to $2,617 due to the larger area you need to regrade.

If you’re looking to level your entire property to fix depressions or small divots in your lawn, you may need to base your cost on acreage instead. The average property in Columbus is 0.152 acres, which can average between $6,600 and $13,100 to level in its entirety. This is much larger than the average property size in most other metropolitan areas, but since the city’s topography is mostly flat, most homeowners won’t need large-scale regrading.

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 to expect.

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.

Columbus has a relatively flat topography with minimal variation, so it’s unlikely that you’ll need to pay to correct a severe slope on your property. Most residents pay to regrade minor slopes, which is a big reason why the average cost to level a yard in Columbus is well below the national average.

Land Clearing

Sometimes, you’ll need to clear your land before leveling it. Land clearing will add between $500 and $1,000 to your total in most cases. You can expect to pay closer to the lower end of that range if you just need your pro to remove light brush or debris, and costs can climb higher than $1,000 if you need to remove trees, too. Only 22% of the city is covered by tree canopy, so it’s unlikely that land clearing will significantly add to your total.

Land Surveying

On the other hand, any excavation in the city will likely require a land survey before you begin leveling, which can add between $800 and $5,500 to your total. Columbus has much of its electrical lines and all of its water and sewer lines buried, and most of the city has gas service that involves underground gas lines. Hitting any of these utility lines can be costly and dangerous, and a land survey can help avoid them during your leveling project.

If you’re regrading around the perimeter of your property for a fence, you may also need a land survey to ensure you’re not encroaching on your neighbors’ properties.

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 size of your project, whether you’re excavating or bringing in new soil, and 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

Labor accounts for most of your yard leveling costs, or between 90% and 95% of your total. In Columbus, that means paying an average of between $1,600 and $1,700 on labor alone. The cost of living in Columbus is just below the national average, which means labor costs, at least on a per-hour basis, will be slightly below what most U.S. residents pay.

Labor for yard releveling is expensive in Columbus, but it’s still worth hiring a pro. A landscape grading company in Columbus will ensure your property is perfectly flat but still has proper drainage to handle the above-average rainfall in the city, and that no utility lines rupture and cause property damage. Land leveling also involves labor-intensive work, so hiring a professional will save you time and prevent potential injury.

The City of Columbus doesn’t require permits for land leveling, but you may need to consider other permit costs, depending on why you’re regrading your property. You’ll need to pay permit fees to install a fence, patio, driveway, or walkway, so be sure to ask your yard leveling contractor what permits are necessary, given your vision.

Does Leveling a Yard Increase Home Value?

Leveling your yard often won’t improve home value unless the initial grade made the space unusable. Since Columbus’s topography is mostly flat, regrading projects are unlikely to make a difference regarding property value.

However, if you’re leveling your property to install new landscaping features or install a deck or patio, you’ll likely see a return on investment (ROI) on the related projects. For example, grading around your foundation to add in flower beds can deliver up to 200% of the landscaping cost in terms of added home value.

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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