Cost to Level a Yard in Houston [2025 Data]

The average cost to level a yard in Houston is $2,301, and most residents pay between $1,128 and $3,494. A pro will base your total mostly on the square footage of land you need to level and the slope of the area you’re grading. On average, you’ll pay between $1 and $2 per square foot for leveling services in Houston.

Yard Leveling Cost Factors

Yard leveling costs in Houston, Texas, can sit as low as $500 or reach as high as $6,500. There’s such a wide range because there are a few important factors that affect your total.

Size

On average, you’ll pay between $1 and $2 per square foot for yard leveling in Houston, which means bigger projects will always cost more. You can get a rough estimate for your total by measuring the area you need flattened and then multiplying by the average cost per square foot.

For larger projects, especially those involving your entire property, it may be more helpful to consider the acreage you’re leveling. The average property in Houston is 0.15 acres, which is larger than you’d find in most major cities. This is one reason the cost to level land in Houston is above the national average.

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 where your project costs will fall.

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.

Houston is one of the flattest major metropolitan areas in the entire country, so severe slopes that drive up leveling costs are rare. More often, your cost will increase due to a larger area needing minor adjustments than to small areas needing major leveling.

Land Clearing

When it’s time to level your yard, you may first need to hire a pro to clear the land you’re altering. Removing light brush or debris can add as little as $100 to your total while removing larger shrubs can add $500 or more to your price. Land clearing costs can climb into the thousands if the project involves removing trees, but since only 18% of Houston is covered by the tree canopy, higher clearing costs are rare in the city.

Land Surveying

While trees may not be a major concern when leveling land in Houston, underground utility lines sometimes can be. Water, sewer, and gas lines run under much of the area, and a large part of the city has underground electrical systems. Heavy excavation may not be common, but if you are excavating, you may need to pay an additional $800 to $5,500 for a survey.

Surveys can show you the locations of underground utilities to prevent injury and property damage, and you may also need one if you’re leveling land near neighboring properties to ensure you’re only altering land you own. This is especially common if you’re leveling land to install a fence.

Fill and Topsoil

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 scope of your project and how much is 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 alone will account for between 90% and 95% of your total, or an average of between $2,100 and $2,200. The cost of living in Houston is around 5% lower than the national average, which helps reduce labor costs that scale accordingly. Still, labor is costly because yard leveling takes a lot of time and effort, especially if you’re excavating Houston’s famously clayey—and heavy—soil.

Regardless, it’s worthwhile to hire a landscape grading pro in Houston. It’s an expensive project to outsource to a professional, but you’ll end up with a perfectly level yard and a lower risk of property damage from hitting underground utility lines. Plus, you’ll save yourself time and an immense amount of effort.

The City of Houston doesn’t require permits for yard leveling or grading, so you won’t need to account for permit costs in your total. However, if you’re leveling your yard to prep for a new patio, driveway, pool, or another landscaping feature, you’ll likely need permits for the installation. The minimum permit fee is $89.81, but it can increase from there depending on the total cost of the work.

Does Leveling a Yard Increase Home Value?

Leveling a yard in Houston normally won’t have much of an impact on home value. This is because the city is already relatively flat, so regrading is unlikely to add utility to your property or make a major difference in curb appeal. More often, you’ll just be fixing small depressions in your lawn.

However, you should consider the reason you’re leveling your property, as other work can add to your home value. For example, installing a new patio or deck can boost home value by thousands of dollars, and leveling followed by landscaping improvements can boost home value by up to 200% of the cost of landscaping.

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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