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How much do excavation services cost?

Based on real quotes from businesses in United States.

$99

TYPICAL 

$125

$150

Yelp calculates estimated costs by gathering and analyzing real quotes provided to consumers by businesses on Yelp. Actual costs may vary.

Key takeaways

  • Land excavation costs depend on the task, qualities of the soil, and where you live

  • Free quotes for large jobs usually include all labor, materials, and equipment costs

  • Some small excavation projects are charged by hourly rates

Excavation is the service of digging, grading, and preparing land for development. It’s done for installation of landscaping like a patio, drainage, foundations, driveways, swimming pools, septic tanks, and similar construction projects that require digging. In some cases, excavation involves land clearing, removing trees, compacting or removing soil, or moving dirt from one place to another. 

DIY homeowners can handle small excavation projects with shovels and wheelbarrows, but digging is hard work! Serious excavation is major construction work that should not be tackled by home improvement enthusiasts—it calls for professional excavation services that operate heavy equipment. 

This guide looks at the average costs of professional land excavation work. An excavation contractor will visit the job site, discuss your plans, and provide a free cost estimate. Find professional excavation services near you.

Total excavation costs

The national average cost of hiring an excavation service is $825–6,500, inclusive of materials and labor costs. This average range is broad because of the many types of excavation projects. Actual excavation costs can run higher or lower than these averages.

Here are typical excavation costs for a few types of project:

  • Excavation for a basement and new foundation: $2,500–7,300

  • Excavation for an in-ground pool: $1,200–5,500, depending upon site conditions.

  • Trench digging for the installation of a French drain foundation waterproofing (in which a drainage pipe is placed in a shallow trench and covered with gravel): $400–1,600 or $4–16 per linear foot. For more, see Cost of drain installation

  • Leveling an area for a patio: $550–2,300

  • Leveling or resloping a 1,600 square foot lawn: $2,000–6,400

Small projects requiring common excavation equipment—like a mini-excavator plus an operator—might be priced by hourly rates of $90–140 per hour. 

Cost factors

In addition to the type of excavation, the following variables can impact the overall cost.

  • Project size. The larger the area requiring excavation services, the greater the cost. Moving or removing earth is measured in cubic yards. Roughly, the cost of soil removal is $50–180 per cubic yard of dirt, depending on your location and the worksite conditions.

  • Equipment needed. In most cases, excavation companies use heavy equipment such as a backhoe loader, trencher, skid steer loader (also called a bobcat), and dump trucks. The type of equipment needed (and the greater its value) directly affects the cost to excavate land. 

  • Accessibility. Hard to reach spaces might hinder access for excavation equipment or dump trucks in residential excavation, slowing the progress and increasing labor costs.

  • Slope. Steeply sloped areas can cost 75–200% more to excavate or regrade than low-slope ones because more soil needs to be displaced or moved in order to level them. 

  • Soil quality. To excavate land that is rocky, excavation contractors might charge an extra 10–30% for the extra time and equipment needed. 

  • Location. Total costs will also be affected by a home’s geographic location, with higher labor and rental costs being more common in large, metropolitan areas. 

How to save money

The cost of excavation is closely related to local labor costs, but you often can save money by planning ahead. 

  • Shop around. Be sure to interview several excavation companies to get the best pricing for your project. Plan to get 2–3 free quotes.  

  • Dial 811. This will connect you to the “Call Before You Dig” clearinghouse. It’s a way to notify local utilities to come to your home to mark the locations of buried electrical, gas, and water lines. Damaging buried utilities can add a huge headache and expense to your project. 

Faqs

Why is excavation so expensive?

The need for heavy machinery and plain old manual labor cause quotes for many excavation jobs to come in higher than homeowners expect. Larger projects—like excavating a new swimming pool in rocky ground—can cost more than $10,000, depending on the project details and conditions. 

How long does it take to excavate 1 cubic yard?

This depends on the crew or equipment involved. A cubic yard of soft soil can be manually dug out by an experienced crew in under 30 minutes, while the same cubic yard of soil can easily be displaced by a mini-excavator or backhoe in a single scoop. With the first method, the time and labor cost is higher; with the second method, heavy equipment must be employed. 

How do you calculate excavation jobs?

An excavation contractor figures the time, labor, and equipment involved but you can roughly figure the cost of soil removal at $50–180 per cubic yard of dirt, depending on your location and the worksite conditions.

Find professional excavation services in your area.

How are Yelp’s cost estimates calculated?

Every year, millions of consumers request quotes on Yelp from top-rated local professionals. We combine these real-life project quotes with data from the millions of people who interact with businesses on Yelp today. We use our years of expertise to create handy local cost guides that you can trust. Get accurate estimates on projects in your area, from roofing to moving.

How are Yelp’s cost estimates calculated?

Every year, millions of consumers request quotes on Yelp from top-rated local professionals. We combine these real-life project quotes with data from the millions of people who interact with businesses on Yelp today. We use our years of expertise to create handy local cost guides that you can trust. Get accurate estimates on projects in your area, from roofing to moving.

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