Land Clearing Cost Per Acre in New Hampshire (2026 Guide)

You own a wooded lot in New Hampshire, or an old hill pasture that has gone back to pine and buckthorn behind its stone walls, and you want a number before you start calling contractors. Our crew clears this kind of stony, wooded New Hampshire ground for $1,500 to $4,500 an acre, the same bands we publish for the Seacoast around Dover. Hedgerows and understory sit at the bottom of that band; a closed stand of woods mulched down to ground level sits at the top.

At a glance:

• Understory, stone wall hedgerows, old pasture filling in: $1,500 to $2,500 an acre
• Buckthorn, barberry or bittersweet ground up where it stands: $1,500 to $4,000 an acre
• Woods cleared to ground level, stumps flush: up to $4,500 an acre
• Smallest job: a minimum charge near $1,500, where small jobs start, not a fee added on top
• Burning: a written permit from the town forest fire warden for any outdoor fire unless the ground is snow covered, and nothing thicker than 5 inches goes on the pile
• Waterfront: within 50 feet of a lake, big river or tidal water, standing trees are scored on a point system and stumps stay unless DES approves

Our crew works New Hampshire from the Seacoast around Dover and from New Ipswich in the southern hills. Request a free quote for land anywhere in the state and we’ll contact you to discuss your property, access and the clearing you need; travel is part of the quote farther from those two markets.

How Much Does Land Clearing Cost Per Acre in New Hampshire?

We price by what is growing and what you want left when the machine drives off. Forestry mulching grinds brush, small trees and stumps into mulch on site, stumps flush and nothing hauled away; full stump removal below grade and hauling very large trees are priced in the quote. Grading and build pads are not part of our price; we clear to the ground so a builder can grade.

What is on the land	Cut Brush price per acre	What it looks like in New Hampshire
Understory, hedgerows, old pasture filling in	$1,500 – $2,500	Stone wall lines and hill farms gone back to brush around Keene, Jaffrey and the Merrimack Valley towns
Thickets mulched in place	$1,500 – $4,000	Glossy buckthorn crowding white pine; bittersweet smothering field margins near Exeter and Dover
Woods cleared to ground level	$1,500 – $4,500	Maple, birch and spruce on stony till uplands
House site, drive and utility path cut from woods	$1,500 – $4,500 per acre equivalent	A building envelope in a family woodlot or a Lakes Region camp lot

Travel and your property set the quote.

Where these numbers come from. They are the four bands on our Dover pricing page. Trailering a tracked carrier up a gravel drive costs the same for an hour as for a day, so every job carries a minimum charge near $1,500: small jobs start there, and access, density and any added work set the final quote.

What Changes the Price of a New Hampshire Clearing Job

Five things decide where a New Hampshire parcel lands in that band.

Stone in the till. Marlow soils hold 5 to 35 percent rock fragments over a dense, very firm layer 20 to 39 inches down. Becket soils around Rindge are stony till on drumlins, and their hayfields are ground somebody once picked clean of stones. In the woods nobody did. Every stump pulled lifts cobbles with it, and a mulching head slows over boulders it cannot see.

Ledge close under the leaf litter. Hollis soils reach bedrock just 10 to 20 inches down on rock-cored hills and ridges. Further north, Tunbridge soils hit it at 20 to 39 inches on slopes as steep as 80 percent. Over rock that shallow we cut stumps flush and leave a mulched floor, usually the cheaper finish anyway.

Frontage on a lake, river or the tide. RSA 483-B:9 covers the first 50 feet back from a lake or pond over 10 acres, tidal water or a fourth-order river. It splits that strip into segments 25 feet wide and 50 deep and scores trees and saplings by diameter at 4.5 feet: 1 point for 1 to 3 inches, 5 for over 3 to 6, 10 for over 6 to 12, and 15 above 12. Every segment keeps at least 25 points, stumps and roots stay unless DES approves otherwise, and ground cover stays apart from a footpath to the water. From 50 to 150 feet back, a quarter of the area remains natural woodland. Picking stems one at a time is slow, so waterfront acres cost more.

Shrubs that come back. Buckthorn, Japanese barberry, Oriental bittersweet and autumn olive are all on New Hampshire’s prohibited invasive list. Cutting mature glossy buckthorn without its roots sets off a flush of root sprouts, and treating the cut stems, a licensed applicator’s work, holds them back. Forestry mulching opens a buckthorn stand in one visit; budget for the follow-up before you sign, not after the second summer.

Logs worth selling. The state taxes cut timber at 10 percent of stumpage value, and the owner files a notice of intent to cut with the town assessors before any cutting starts. When you are converting your own land and the permits for the new use are in hand, up to 15,000 board feet of logs, 30 cords and 300 tons of whole tree chips are exempt. Sawlogs sold off the lot can soften the bill; file first.

Land Clearing Costs Across New Hampshire

Seacoast: Rockingham and Strafford counties. Around Portsmouth, Exeter, Dover and Durham, the Great Bay Estuary and the tidal rivers are public waters, so the 250-foot protected shoreland follows every tidal shore. Scitico soils on the marine terraces are poorly drained silt and clay under red maple, gray birch and alder. Wet ground, not stone, decides when a machine can work here.

Dover and the Seacoast. For land in Strafford and Rockingham counties, or over the line in York County, Maine, see land clearing around Dover and the Dover pricing page. This is our crew’s Dover market, so travel takes the smallest share of a quote here.

Merrimack Valley: Hillsborough and Merrimack counties. From Nashua through Manchester to Concord, Hinckley sand and gravel covers the outwash terraces, kames and eskers under oak, white pine, pitch pine and gray birch. It drains fast, so rain costs fewer working days than on till. Hollis ledge sits in the hills between, and on house lots the 100,000 square foot Alteration of Terrain line matters.

Monadnock region: Cheshire County. Keene, Rindge and Jaffrey sit on Becket and Marlow till, where stone and slope rather than wet clay slow the work.

New Ipswich and the Massachusetts line. For land in Hillsborough County from New Ipswich to Nashua, Merrimack and Manchester, around Keene or Londonderry, or across the border near Fitchburg, Leominster and Lowell, Massachusetts, see land clearing around New Ipswich and the New Ipswich pricing page. The same four bands apply there. New Ipswich zones ground steeper than 15 percent as a Steep Slopes Overlay District and keeps a 25-foot natural woodland buffer beside larger wetlands, so slope, stone and wet edges decide where an acre lands.

Lakes Region: Belknap and Carroll counties. Around Laconia, Meredith and Wolfeboro, frontage on Winnipesaukee and the smaller lakes puts a lot inside the protected shoreland. Construction, excavation or filling there needs a DES shoreland permit and the Alteration of Terrain trigger drops to 50,000 square feet.

White Mountains and North Country: Grafton and Coos counties. Littleton, Lancaster, Berlin and Colebrook sit on Marlow and Tunbridge ground, where NRCS gives Marlow a frost-free season of only 90 to 160 days. Distance is the biggest number on any quote this far north.

Permits and Burning Rules in New Hampshire

Fire permits. RSA 227-L:17 requires a written permit from the town forest fire warden for any outdoor burning, except when the ground is covered with snow. The online system reads that as snow across a 100-foot radius from the fire’s edge, charges a $5.50 fee, and some towns issue permits in person only.

What can go on the pile. DES rule Env-A 1001 defines brush as tops, limbs and saplings 5 inches across or less, and lets a landowner burn brush grown on the property, under whichever of the state and town rules is stricter. Trunks and stumps bigger than that have to be mulched, sold, chipped or hauled.

Alteration of Terrain. Under DES rules readopted in January 2026, earth moving over 100,000 square feet within ten years needs a permit, or 50,000 if any of it lies in the protected shoreland, and stump removal counts as earth moving. Leaving stumps in the soil under a mulched floor is a different job from grubbing, so your quote should say which one it covers.

Wetlands. RSA 482-A:3 bars excavating, removing, filling or dredging in any bank, flat, marsh or swamp without a DES permit. The application goes through the town clerk. We clear land; filing permits stays with the owner or builder.

Pro tip: On a lake lot, pace off the waterfront buffer in 25-foot segments before you collect quotes and tally the points standing in each one. A segment barely above 25 points has nothing to give, and knowing that keeps every bidder pricing the same, smaller job.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to clear an acre of land in New Hampshire?

Plan on $1,500 to $4,500 an acre. Understory work sits near the bottom; a closed stand on stony till cleared to ground level sits near the top, and full stump removal below grade is priced in the quote.

Do I need a permit to clear land in NH?

Cutting trees is not on the state’s list of earth moving, but pulling stumps is, and over 100,000 square feet in ten years needs an Alteration of Terrain permit. Within 250 feet of protected water that drops to 50,000, and digging or filling there needs a shoreland permit. Any work in a bank, marsh or swamp needs a DES wetlands permit.

Can I burn brush after clearing land in New Hampshire?

Brush up to 5 inches across, yes, with a permit from your town warden or the state’s online system, unless the ground is snow covered. Stumps and bigger wood fall outside the definition, so plan to mulch, sell or haul them.

How many trees can I cut on my waterfront lot in NH?

Within 50 feet of the water, each 25-foot segment has to keep at least 25 points of trees and saplings, scored by diameter, and the stumps stay. From 50 to 150 feet back, a quarter of the area stays natural woodland.

Will clearing take my land out of current use?

It can. When current use land changes to a use that no longer qualifies, including when construction starts physically changing the earth, the town assesses a land use change tax of 10 percent of full and true value. Ask the assessors before the machine arrives.

Get a Land Clearing Quote for Your New Hampshire Land

Request a free quote and we’ll contact you to discuss your property, access and the clearing you need. It helps to know, before we talk, whether the work comes within 250 feet of protected water, whether the land is in current use, and whether timber will be sold.

Sources

• New Hampshire statutes, RSA 227-L:17, fire permits
• New Hampshire statutes, RSA 483-B:9, shoreland standards
• UNH Cooperative Extension, Mechanical Controls of Glossy Buckthorn
• NRCS official series description, Scitico soils