Land Clearing and Grading Cost in Michigan (2026 Guide)

In Michigan the clearing date and the dig date are often set by the spring frost laws as much as by the builder, because loaded fill trucks wait on the roads to firm up. Clearing a Michigan homesite runs $1,500 to $4,500 an acre with Cut Brush, and the grading after it is a separate bill from your dirt contractor. Our crews clear house sites, drives and utility runs across Kent, Ottawa, Allegan, Barry, Ionia and Montcalm counties.

At a glance:

• Our price: $1,500 to $4,500 an acre equivalent to clear the house site, drive and service lines. Small lots carry a floor near $1,500.
• What we hand over: trees down, stumps out of the pad and drive. Grading, fill, septic and permits belong to the trades after us.
• Part 91 soil erosion permit: one acre of earth change, or any earth change within 500 feet of a lake or stream.
• MISS DIG: Michigan law counts grading as excavation, so your excavator files a dig notice 72 hours to 14 days ahead.
• Frost laws: March through May, axle loads drop 25 percent on concrete roads and 35 percent on others, which can hold up fill trucks.

Our Michigan crews work out of Grand Rapids, from Cascade and Byron Center to the farm ground past Hastings, Ionia and Greenville. Elsewhere in the state, our clearing band is a fair budget for the same lot.

How Much Does Land Clearing and Grading Cost in Michigan?

A homesite goes in by phases, and each phase has its own trade and its own bill. Here is who does what, and what we charge for our part:

Phase	Who does it	Price
1. Clearing the house site, drive and utility run, stumps out	Cut Brush	$1,500 – $4,500 / acre equivalent
2. Mulching the tree line that frames the yard	Cut Brush	$1,500 – $4,000 / acre
3. Soil erosion permit and silt fence	Owner, builder or excavator	Set by the county or city agency
4. Rough grading the pad and drive	Your excavator	By the hour or by the job
5. Fill sand and road base	Excavator and pit	Quoted delivered to the lot
6. Keeping the permit open until grass is in	Owner	Renewal fees until closed

Where these numbers come from. Our two rows are the lot and homesite prep and forestry mulching bands on our Grand Rapids pricing page. That page says plainly that foundation excavation, finish grading and other structural work are not part of our scope. Michigan State’s 2026 custom work report carries no dozer row, so ask your excavator for an hourly rate and an estimate of hours. Price fill on its own line, delivered from the nearest pit, since the haul moves that number as much as the sand does.

For clearing priced by what is growing, with no house planned, see the Michigan land clearing cost per acre guide.

What Changes Grading Costs on a Michigan Lot

How far the pad sits from water. Part 91 catches a small lot near a lake or stream long before it catches an acre. Near water, Part 303 may also apply: EGLE regulates wetlands connected to or within 500 feet of an inland lake, pond, river or stream, within 1,000 feet of a Great Lake, or larger than 5 acres, and a permit is needed to fill or drain one. A wet corner in the footprint can move the house before it moves the price.

One acre and five acres. Under one acre and away from water, the local agency may still want a permit, since some counties and cities set tighter rules. From one to five acres the site also falls under permit by rule: a certified stormwater operator inspects weekly and within 24 hours of any rain that runs off the site, until the ground is stable. Over five acres, the permit holder files a Notice of Coverage with EGLE through MiEnviro, with the approved plan and a fee.

The water table under the footprint. Blount soils, mapped on Michigan’s till plains and old shore zones, hold a perched water table 6 to 24 inches down over dense till at 30 to 60 inches. A pad there is usually raised on fill and crowned rather than dug in. On Kalamazoo soils in southern Michigan, loam gives way to sand and gravel 25 to 40 inches down, which digs easily and drains well.

Spring road limits. Under MCL 257.722, from March through May axle loads drop 25 percent on concrete pavement and 35 percent on other roads, and each road agency posts its own dates. Loaded fill trucks and equipment trailers are exactly what those limits slow. A pad booked for April on a gravel county road can sit and wait.

How long the permit stays open. The Kent County Road Commission closes a soil erosion permit only when 90 percent of the disturbed ground carries growth at least an inch tall, and bills renewals in three-month blocks until then. Grading that misses the fall seeding window can carry the permit through winter.

Pro tip: Book the clearing for late summer and the grading straight after, so seed or sod goes down before frost. In Kent County, a permit closed in October avoids two or three renewal periods on a site left bare until May.

Land Clearing and Grading Across Michigan

Grand Rapids and West Michigan. This is where our crews clear. Inside Kent County, the Road Commission runs Part 91 everywhere except Grand Rapids, Kentwood, Rockford and Walker, which run their own programs; our Grand Rapids permit guide covers that split. The Grand, Rogue, Thornapple and Flat rivers, plus Barry County’s lakes, put many rural lots inside the 500-foot line.

The southern farm belt. On Kalamazoo ground, pads cut cleanly and drain well. The grading bill tends to ride on drive length and on how much topsoil is stripped and stockpiled, more than on water.

The southeast lake plain. Blount ground stays wet into late spring and sheds water slowly, so expect fill, crowned pads and more silt fence. Plan fill deliveries for after the spring road limits lift.

Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. On Grayling sand, drainage is fast and runoff low, which makes for easy digging. Slopes on that series run up to 45 percent, though, and a lakefront lot brings the 500-foot and 1,000-foot lines into play. The building season is short, too.

Permits and Dig Notices in Michigan

Soil erosion. The EGLE soil erosion program sets the statewide floor, and the county or city agency issues the permit. In Kent County, a buyer of a new home signs a Permit Transfer Information Form and carries the permit until permanent vegetation is in. Silt fence is trenched 6 inches deep, and the Road Commission can fine $2,500 to $25,000 a day for controls left unmaintained. Logging and crop tillage need no Part 91 permit, but their access roads do.

MISS DIG. Michigan’s dig law defines excavation to include grading, trenching and scraping with power equipment. The excavator must give notice at least 72 hours and no more than 14 calendar days before starting, and the ticket runs 21 days.

None of these filings is ours. We leave the footprint stump-free for the excavator; the permits and tickets sit with you, your builder or your engineer.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to clear and grade a lot in Michigan?

Our part, clearing, runs $1,500 to $4,500 an acre equivalent. The excavator’s share depends on how much ground is cut, filled or crowned, plus fill delivered from the nearest pit. A house lot usually needs only the pad and drive shaped.

Does Cut Brush grade or build pads in Michigan?

No. We stop once the stumps are out of the pad and drive. The excavator shapes the ground, and you or your builder hold the permits.

Do I need a soil erosion permit to build on one acre in Michigan?

Yes once the earth change reaches one acre, and at any size within 500 feet of a lake or stream. Some counties and cities ask for less. Check with the agency where the lot sits.

Can I grade in spring?

Often, but the March to May road limits can hold up fill trucks on posted roads, and wet lake plain soil ruts easily. Late summer usually costs less and lets the seed take before frost.

Who calls MISS DIG before grading?

The excavator doing the work. Michigan law counts grading as excavation, so the notice goes in 72 hours to 14 days before the dozer starts.

Get a Land Clearing Quote for Your Michigan Homesite

Pick the nearest area below and request a free quote. Our crew will contact you to discuss the lot, the approach from the road, your builder’s staked plan for the house, drive and septic, and the distance to the nearest lake, pond or stream, since it sets the permit. We will plan to finish the week before your excavator starts. Opening up woods without building is priced in the Michigan underbrush removal cost guide, and the tree line you keep in the Michigan forestry mulching cost guide.

Building across the state line? See our Ohio and Indiana grading guides.

Sources

• EGLE: soil erosion and construction stormwater
• MSU Extension: 2026 MSU Custom Work Rates Report