Landscaping costs depend on your project and location. Check with a local pro for your specific job.
The size of your project and the severity of the slope you’re flattening will affect your costs more than any other factor.
Expect to pay between $1 and $2 per square foot of yard you need leveled.
Dallas has a predominantly flat landscape, so while property sizes are moderate, leveling costs are average.
Excavating to remove a slope will be more expensive than adding soil due to the heavy clay soil that’s common in the area.
The average yard leveling cost in Dallas, Texas, is $2,146, and most projects total between $1,104 and $3,279. Your cost will depend mainly on the size of the area you’re leveling and the severity of the slope you’re correcting. You could pay as little as $400 if you just need 100 to 200 square feet adjusted slightly or as much as $6,250 if you need severe changes or adjustments to a large portion of your yard.
Yard leveling costs in Dallas, Texas, vary so widely because there are a few key factors at play that have an effect on your total.
On average, you’ll pay between $1 and $2 per square foot to level your yard in Dallas. The soil in the city is heavy due to a high clay content, which increases the labor costs involved in removing or relocating it. However, the city as a whole is relatively flat, so the actual changes you make to topography will be minimal, meaning per-square-foot costs that are about average.
| Size (Sq. Ft.) | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| 200 | $200–$400 |
| 500 | $500–$1,000 |
| 1,000 | $1,000–$2,000 |
| 1,500 | $1,500–$3,000 |
| 2,000 | $2,000–$4,000 |
| 2,500 | $2,500–$5,000 |
| 3,000 | $3,000–$6,000 |
For bigger projects, it may be helpful to estimate costs based on the acreage you need to level. The average property in Dallas is 0.189 acres, which is larger than you’ll see in most major cities. Bigger properties mean a greater chance of needing wide-scale leveling, although, again, the flatness of the city helps keep leveling costs down.
| Size (Acres) | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| 0.05 | $2,200–$4,400 |
| 0.1 | $4,400–$8,600 |
| 0.15 | $6,500–$13,000 |
| 0.19 | $8,200–$16,400 |
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 you’ll spend on yard leveling.
| Reason for Leveling | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Adding a deck/patio | $1,500–$9,500 |
| Adding a driveway | $1,500–$9,500 |
| Adding a fence | $900–$3,000 |
| Adding a pool | $200–$900 |
| Flattening a hill | $1,000–$5,000 |
| General landscaping | $1,000–$3,000 |
| Make mowing easier | $500–$4,500 |
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.
Dallas is a relatively flat city, so it’s uncommon for severe slopes to be an issue on your property. If you do have an unusually sloped property, your costs could be significantly higher than the average in the area.
You can create just about any landscape design on a hill, but if you have a severe slope, a professional landscaper can help install new drainage. Pooling water can lead to damaged plants and yards.
When it’s time to regrade your yard, you may first require land clearing, which can add between $100 and $500 to your total, depending on the size of the area and what you need removed. Hauling away minor debris and removing small shrubs will tend to cost toward the lower end of that range, while removing small trees can push the cost up to $500 or more.
Dallas has a tree canopy that covers just 29% of the city, so extensive clearing of larger trees isn’t often an issue for residents. If you do have large trees or multiple trees you need removed, expect your costs to climb much higher.
A good question to ask before land leveling is whether or not you need to survey the area for excavation. In densely populated areas like Dallas, there’s a maze of underground utility lines, including water and sewer lines, as well as gas lines that serve most of the city.
Any serious excavation work may require a land survey to determine the location of these lines to prevent damage and injury. Even hitting a shallow sprinkler line can cause property damage, and a land survey may be necessary first to prevent an issue.
A land survey is quite expensive and can add between $800 and $5,500 to your total. This may also be necessary to confirm property lines if you’re carrying out major leveling projects close to neighboring properties.
Fill dirt is a rocky material 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 leveling project and how much soil you can 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.
Soil is inexpensive, but leveling a yard is a time-intensive job, so you can expect between 90% and 95% of your total to go toward labor when you hire a landscaping company in Dallas, Texas. That means labor costs alone account for between $1,900 and $2,100. The cost of living in Dallas is 7% higher than the national average, and since labor costs scale with the cost of living, you can expect labor to cost a bit more than it would in most other areas.
While labor is expensive, leveling a yard is hard work that can potentially be dangerous if you’re excavating near underground utility lines. Hiring a professional will help you avoid a sore back and potential property damage.
The City of Dallas doesn’t require permits for leveling your yard, so you won’t need to allocate any money for permit fees. However, if you’re removing trees as a part of your leveling project, you’ll face permit fees of 0.0095% of the total removal cost with a minimum charge of $60. Depending on why you're leveling your land, you may also need to account for permit fees for things like installing a deck, patio, pool, or fence.
Leveling a yard may have a minor positive impact on your home value, but since the topography in Dallas is relatively flat, you’re unlikely to make a big difference in your yard’s usability, which means a minimal bump in value. You’ll often see a greater return on value (ROI) from any project you’re completing after releveling. For example, if you’re leveling your yard to install a patio, your ROI will sit close to 70%, while leveling for a pool will provide an ROI of around 50%.
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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Jose and crew were very professional. They came promptly on time removed 20-year-old landscape from previous owner refreshed it with Landscape Lighting, new plants, & stone curbing. We will definitely use them again for future projects as we soon will start Back Yard. Reasonable priced....
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