Land Clearing and Grading Cost in Minnesota (2026 Guide)

Your builder has staked the house, the drive and the septic area, and the lot is still trees and brush. Before the excavator can cut a pad, someone has to clear it. Clearing a Minnesota homesite runs $1,500 to $4,500 an acre with Cut Brush, across Hennepin, Anoka, Washington, Dakota, Scott and Carver counties, and the grading that follows is a separate bill from your excavator. Our job ends where theirs begins, so here is how the two fit.

At a glance:

• Clearing: $1,500 to $4,500 per acre equivalent for the house pad, drive and utility run, with a floor near $1,500.
• Grading: priced by your excavator, by the hour or the project. Grading, compaction and stone are separate line items on our pricing.
• State stormwater permit: needed from one acre of disturbed soil, with a $400 application fee.
• Frost depth: the state building code puts footings 3.5 feet down in the southern zone, including the Twin Cities, and 5 feet down in the northern counties.
• Lake lots: moving more than 10 cubic yards in a shore impact zone, or 50 elsewhere in shoreland, needs a permit from local zoning.

We clear to ground your excavator can work and stop there. Cut Brush does not grade, build pads, install septic or file permits. Our crew works from Minneapolis, so tell us where your lot is and we will contact you about the site and access.

What Clearing and Grading Cost in Minnesota, Phase by Phase

A homesite is built in phases, and each one has its own trade and its own way of pricing:

Phase	Who does it	Price
Clearing the house pad, drive and utility run	Cut Brush	$1,500 – $4,500 per acre equivalent
Mulching the wooded edges you keep	Cut Brush	$1,500 – $4,000 an acre
State stormwater coverage, one acre and up	Owner or site operator	$400 application fee
Cut, fill, pad, compaction and stone	Your excavator	Quoted by the hour or the project
Footings dug below frost, 42 or 60 inches	Excavation or foundation contractor	Quoted with the foundation

Where these numbers come from. Our two rows are copied from the Minneapolis pricing page: lot and homesite prep at $1,500 to $4,500 per acre equivalent, measured by the building envelope rather than the whole parcel, and forestry mulching at $1,500 to $4,000. The page also names a floor near $1,500 per project and lists grading, compaction and stone as separate line items. The $400 is set in Minnesota Rules 7002.0254. Base, fill and topsoil come from the nearest yard, quoted delivered.

Clearing with no building planned? The Minnesota land clearing cost per acre guide prices that by what is growing.

What Changes a Minnesota Grading Bill

How deep the footings go. Minnesota Rules 1303.1600 sets frost footings at 3.5 feet in Zone II, which takes in the metro counties along with Stearns, Olmsted, Blue Earth and the rest of the south, and at 5 feet in Zone I, which includes St. Louis, Lake, Cook, Itasca, Crow Wing, Clay and Polk. A northern cabin footing goes 18 inches deeper than a Lakeville one, all the way around the footprint.

Clay that holds water. In the Red River Valley the Fargo soil is 40 to 60 percent clay with very low permeability, and it cracks up to 12 centimeters wide when it dries. Across south central Minnesota the Canisteo soil sits in flats and hollows with water at the surface in wet periods, and most of it has been drained for crops. On either one, your excavator will price drainage and imported fill before the pad itself.

Sand that drains fast. The Zimmerman soil north of the metro is very deep fine sand, excessively drained, on slopes from level to 60 percent on dunes. Water moves through it quickly, so grading seldom waits on rain; the steep dune faces are the exception.

Till with hills in it. The Hayden soil of the Big Woods is loamy glacial till on slopes of 2 to 40 percent. Toward the steep end, cut and fill volumes, not the clearing, set the bill.

Spring road limits. MnDOT starts spring load restrictions by frost zone each year and ends them when roads recover their strength, so the dates move. In 2026 the May 7 notice ended them in the north central zone on May 13 and the north zone on May 15, and told haulers to check local roads, which can stay restricted longer. Loaded dump trucks bringing fill in are what those limits govern.

Pro tip: Have us clear in late winter, while the ground is firm, and book your excavator for after the spring load limits lift. The site is open and ready when the heavy trucks can roll, and neither trade waits on the other.

Clearing and Grading Costs Across Minnesota

Twin Cities metro. Footings at 42 inches, sandy ground in Anoka County, rolling till west into Carver and Scott, and a lake or wetland near many lots. Inside Minneapolis the city’s erosion permit starts at 500 square feet of disturbance; our Minneapolis permit guide lays out the thresholds, and the Minneapolis land clearing page covers the six metro counties.

South and southwest farm country. Hayden till in the old Big Woods and wet Canisteo flats farther south and west. Drainage, tile and fill set the grading price here more than rock does.

Red River Valley. Clay and Polk counties and the rest of the valley sit in frost Zone I on Fargo clay. Footings go 60 inches into slow-draining clay, so ask your excavator how the hole will be kept dry.

Arrowhead and North Shore. Zone I footings again, and the DNR describes thin glacial drift with bedrock exposed or near the surface over large parts of the North Shore. Where rock sits shallow, ask early whether a 60 inch footing can be reached without rock work.

Permits Before the Excavator Arrives

The state stormwater permit. The MPCA construction stormwater permit covers projects disturbing one acre or more of soil, or less when the lot is part of a larger common plan of development or sale over one acre. The current general permit, MNR100001, was issued August 1, 2023. Coverage starts one business day after a complete online application, and sites within one mile of special or impaired waters carry extra conditions.

Shoreland grading. Within 1,000 feet of a lake or 300 feet of a river, the DNR’s shoreland guidance says moving more than 10 cubic yards on steep slopes or in the shore and bluff impact zones, or more than 50 cubic yards elsewhere in shoreland, needs a permit. Local zoning issues it, not the DNR.

Burning the stumps. A brush and stump pile over 3 feet by 3 feet needs a DNR burning permit unless 3 inches of continuous snow covers the ground, and piles over 20 by 20 by 20 feet need a variance. Mulching or hauling avoids both.

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Clearing with Cut Brush runs $1,500 to $4,500 per acre equivalent, measured by the house pad, drive and utility run rather than the whole parcel. Grading is a separate quote from your excavator, and most homesites grade the pad, drive and septic area, not the whole acre.

Do you grade or build pads?

No. We clear the footprint, drive and utility run, with stumps out where the excavator needs them, and leave grading, compaction, stone and septic to your excavator and builder.

Do I need an MPCA permit for my homesite?

If the project disturbs one acre or more of soil, or is part of a larger common plan of development that does, yes. The application fee is $400, and coverage begins one business day after a complete application.

How deep do footings have to go in Minnesota?

The state building code requires 42 inches in the southern zone, including the Twin Cities, and 60 inches in the northern counties, from St. Louis and Cook to Clay and Polk.

When is the best time to clear and grade in Minnesota?

Clear on firm late winter ground. Heavy grading and hauling usually wait until spring load limits lift, which in 2026 was mid-May in the north. If only the brush should go, see our Minnesota underbrush removal cost guide.

Get Your Minnesota Homesite Cleared for the Excavator

Pick the Minneapolis area below and request a free quote for a written clearing number. Our crew will contact you to talk through the lot, the entrance from the road, the footprint your builder staked for the house, drive and septic, and whether a lake, river or wetland is near, so the handoff to your excavator lands in the same week; the Minnesota forestry mulching cost guide covers the edges you keep.

Sources

• Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: construction stormwater
• Minnesota Rules 7002.0254, permit fees