Land Clearing in Marion Oaks, FL
Full land clearing takes land down to bare, workable ground: trees, brush, roots, and stumps out in one scope. In Marion County, most jobs run $1,200 to $7,600 per acre across the density bands — light brush at the low end, dense woods at the top. What grows on the land rules the price. Thin brush on sand is fast work. Big oaks and palmetto root masses are slow work, and the quote says so line by line.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does land clearing cost per acre?
$1,200 to $2,375 an acre for light brush, $2,500 to $4,275 for moderate growth, and $4,500 to $7,600 for dense woods in this county. Haul-off sits on top as its own line.
How long does an acre take?
Most acres take one to two days. Thick tree cover can take three. The quote names the time range before you book.
Can you clear next to a home?
Yes. The crew sets a work area and keeps machines and loads inside it. Tell us about fences, wells, and lines at the site visit.
Do the stumps come out too?
If the quote has the line. Stump work is priced apart, so you can take it now or book it later.
What is left when you are done?
Bare, raked ground you can walk and mark out. If the quote has a grade line, the ground is leveled to that plan too.
Is the site visit free?
Yes. The visit and the written price cost nothing.
What Does My Land Clearing Project Cost?
Land clearing around Marion Oaks is priced by the acre, and what is growing on the acre sets the band — thin brush, thicker growth with medium trees, or dense woods. Lot work for a build carries stump grubbing and haul-off in its band, stumps grind by the inch, and pads price by the square foot. Here are the ranges we work from, and a calculator built on the same numbers.
Land Clearing
One acre of moderate growth — thicker brush and medium trees — runs $2,500–$4,275 around Marion Oaks. Light brush starts at $1,200–$2,375 an acre and dense woods run $4,500–$7,600. The price covers felling and mulching or pushing out the growth, with stumps cut flush; grubbing stumps out and hauling debris off price as their own lines.
Forestry Mulching
One acre mulched selective — growth cleared, marked trees kept — runs $1,200–$1,900. Brush-only work runs $1,000–$1,700 an acre and a complete mulch of everything on the acre runs $1,500–$2,375. Nothing leaves the land: the cut growth stays as a mulch mat that holds the soil and slows regrowth.
Lot Clearing
A half-acre lot with moderate growth, taken to build-ready, runs $1,600–$2,600. The band carries more than plain clearing: stumps grubbed out in the build area and the debris hauled off, so a builder can stake the lot when we leave. A standard quarter-acre Marion Oaks lot usually lands on the job minimum, $1,200–$1,800.
Stump Grinding
Stumps grind at $3–$6 per inch of diameter across the widest point at ground level. One 24-inch stump figures under the job minimum, so it prices at the floor: $150–$250. A run of stumps on one visit adds up fast — fourteen stumps averaging about 22 inches figure $924–$1,848 at the same rate.
Grading & Building Pads
A 40 by 60 ft pad — 2,400 sq ft — cut, filled, and packed runs $2,040–$3,240. Grading the soil that's already there runs $0.55–$1.05 per sq ft; cut-and-fill work with imported fill runs $0.85–$1.35. Marion County limestone sits close to the surface on many lots, and pad work that hits rock is named at the visit, not buried in the band.
What Moves the Price
- Density. What is growing on the acre is the price. Each density step up roughly doubles the work — palmetto root mats are the local trap, and a light-looking lot in thick palmetto prices like moderate growth.
- Haul-off. Mulching in place is the low-cost finish. Hauling debris off instead adds about a third to a clearing job — trucks, loads, and dump time.
- Ground. Wet, steep, or rocky ground slows every machine on the job. Marion and Lake county lots hold water, and soft ground can rule out haul trucks entirely — which is why mulching wins on wet land.
- Stumps. A mulcher cuts growth flush; it does not take stumps below grade. Grinding is its own per-inch line, and grubbing stumps out of a build area belongs to lot work.
- Job size. Small lots price off a job minimum, not the per-acre math — no crew mobilizes a mulcher, a truck, and a trailer for a few hundred dollars. The minimums are printed in every band here.
Where these numbers come from. Published national cost guides — Angi's 2026 land-clearing and forestry-mulching project data and HomeGuide's per-acre density tiers — trimmed to Central Florida labor levels (Ocala and Orlando metro wages run below the national mean; the machines and fuel do not). They are planning ranges, not a quote.
What these prices do not carry. County land-clearing and land-disturbance permits, gopher tortoise surveys on sandy upland, and wetland-buffer work are pass-through or owner-side items and sit outside every band. Removing a mature oak is a tree-removal price set at the visit, never a per-acre line. Fill dirt beyond a pad band's allowance prices at market. Every final price is confirmed at the free in-person visit, in writing, before work starts.
Estimate Your Project
A standard Marion Oaks home lot is about a quarter acre; acreage jobs run one to ten acres.
Stumps are cut flush at this price. Grubbing stumps out and grinding below grade are separate lines, priced at the visit.
One pass cuts the growth and lays it down as a mulch mat — nothing is hauled off.
Palmetto root mats run slow — a light-looking lot in thick palmetto prices like the next scope up. The visit confirms which scope your land is.
Most Marion Oaks platted lots are a quarter acre. Two half-lots side by side figure as one half-acre job.
Lot bands carry the full build-ready scope: clearing, stumps grubbed out in the build area, and debris hauled off.
Measure across the widest point at ground level, root flare included.
Every stump on the same visit prices on the same per-inch rate.
Stumps are ground 6 inches below grade and the chips raked level into the hole.
A 40 by 60 ft barn or shop pad is 2,400 sq ft; a 30 by 40 ft pad is 1,200.
Fill dirt beyond the pad band's allowance is priced at market at the visit and named as its own line.
Free — no obligation. Your calculator numbers ride along with the request.
Send Your Project to Marion Oaks Land Clearing
Your estimate is attached automatically. Add your info and — if you can — a few photos of the land. Photos help us price the job before we ever set foot on it. Prefer to talk? Call (129) 828-7534.
A representative job
REPRESENTATIVE PROJECT — researched from local market ranges, not a specific past job.
A one-acre parcel of pines and palmetto thicket was cleared in two days. Stumps in the build area were ground, and the owner walked the lines with the lead.
- Sample price
- $1,200 to $7,600 per acre by density
- Sample turnaround
- Two days on site, after the free site visit.
- Service performed
- Land Clearing
- Scope of work
- Clear one acre of pines and palmetto thicket; stumps in the build area ground
- Materials / products used
- Excavator, mulcher, stump grinder; logs hauled, brush mulched
- Size
- 1 acre
- Final price
- $2,700 (representative)
- Cost per sq ft
- Priced per acre, not per sq ft: $2,700 per acre (representative)
- Turnaround / duration
- 2 days on site
- Payment terms / financing
- Deposit and balance on completion, per bid
- Problem found
- Growth hid two stumps and an old debris pile in the build area
- Solution delivered
- Full clear in passes; debris pile hauled as a named line; build area ground clean
- Homeowner first name
- Brian (representative)
- Homeowner city / neighborhood
- Ocala, FL
- Homeowner situation (in their own terms)
- Wanted the acre open for a barn and a paddock fence
- Outcome and homeowner reaction
- Fence run started the next week (representative)
What the job takes
- Day one: the crew marks keep trees and sets the work area.
- Day two: trees and brush come out in passes, back line to road.
- Day three: roots are raked, stumps are ground per the quote, and debris is hauled or mulched.
- Final walk: the lead walks the land with you and checks the lines.
What moves the price
Size is one part. Tree count and tree size are a bigger part. Palmetto roots slow the grub work. Limestone near the surface can slow it more. Access counts too: the Marion Oaks grid gives most lots clean road front, which keeps prices at the low end for lot work.