Lawn care by the dollar

By Emma Peterson. 

How climate, competition, lot size and local market conditions influence pricing from coast to coast. 

Between 2024 and 2025, there was an increase in both annual lawn care spending and lawn care prices. But this increase, +$407/year and +6.6% respectively, weren’t necessarily felt the same across the country. In this article, we wanted to take a deep dive into LawnStarter’s 2025 data. To compile this data, the LawnStarter team looked at more than two million mowing jobs across over two thousand U.S. cities. The results were interesting.  

Overall, geography was the biggest factor in determining the cost of work. The highest cost came from the Northeast region, where Connecticut residents paid $63.74 per mow, New Hampshire residents paid $63.22, Massachusetts residents paid $61.91 and New Jersey residents paid $60.04. Overall, the Northeast numbers came together for an average cost of $58.17 per mow. This was a stark 14% higher than the Western region’s average of $50.90. 

Why is it so much more expensive to get a lawn mowed in the Northeast? LawnStarter dove into the data from the two most opposite states – Vermont and Arizona – to find the answer to this question.  

On average, Vermont residents paid $78.15 per mow in 2025. This is a whopping 75% more than those living in Arizona, who paid $45.08. The high prices in Vermont reflect “large rural properties with expansive yards, limited contractor competition in a sparse market and a compressed 6-month season that pushes pros to charge premium rates to cover annual overhead” while the low costs of Arizona are tied to “a major shift away from traditional grass lawns [due to] water restrictions and xeriscaping trends.” 

Using this as an example, we can extrapolate that the different costs between the Western states and those in the Northeast are likely also tied to climate/growing season, community wealth and labor costs. But this general cost difference is not the whole story. The LawnStarter team explained:  

Per-square foot pricing reveals true market cost differences that the headline mow price obscures...A $55 mow in Chicago covers a tiny 3,400 sq ft lot — that’s $15.70/1,000 sq ft. The same $55 in Nashville covers a 9,500 sq ft yard — just $5.80/1,000 sq ft.  

So, the per-square-foot pricing showcase in 2025 Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Dallas and Houston — all major metro areas in the South — showed that they are the most affordable with prices that consistently come in below the national average of $6.30 per 1,000 square feet. Alternatively, the Philadelphia, Chicago and Washington D.C. markets in the Northeast remain at the top of expenses with costs per square feet that are upwards of 3x the national average. 

What does all this data reveal for outdoor lawn care professionals? Not only does it give pros a window into whether they are priced competitively for their market, but it also showcases where the best markets are.  

Want to learn more about your market? Visit www.lawnstarter.com/blog/statistics/lawnstarter-industry-report.