Can I afford landscaping?

A lush residential garden with blooming purple salvia and orange flowers in the foreground and a manicured lawn beyond; no faces or text.

Landscaping costs swing more than almost any other home project depending on choices that are entirely up to you, starting with plant size: a mature tree or shrub can cost several times more than a young starter plant of the same species, simply because someone had to grow it that long before you bought it. Since this is a one-time cost rather than a monthly bill, the calculator sizes the price against roughly three months of your budget instead of your regular income.

These key factors affect landscaping costs

Income and expenses

What's left after your regular bills and debt is the more useful number here than income by itself, since that's what actually has to absorb a landscaping bill.

Scope and design complexity

A basic refresh, fresh mulch, a few new plants, a bed cleaned up and re-edged, costs a fraction of a full redesign involving regrading, hardscaping like a patio or retaining wall, and a new irrigation system. In-ground sprinkler systems in particular tend to be one of the priciest single add-ons in a landscaping project, so it's worth pricing one separately if you're deciding whether to include it. If you hire a landscape architect for a full design, that design fee is usually billed apart from installation and worth asking about upfront.

Plant selection and maturity

Bigger, older plants cost more than small starter versions of the same species for the simple reason that someone already paid to grow them for a few years. The same trade-off shows up in lawns: sod delivers an instant, established lawn for a much higher price than seed, which costs far less but takes a season or more to fill in and can't be walked on right away. Choosing drought-tolerant or native plants over higher-maintenance varieties won't show up in the upfront quote, but it can meaningfully lower water bills for as long as you live there.

How to use your results

Get a quote for your specific design and scope rather than a generic average.
Compare smaller starter plants against mature ones for the same layout.

Ways to make landscaping more affordable

Phase the project - do the highest-impact areas now and expand later.
Choose smaller, younger plants and let them grow in rather than paying for instant maturity.
Get quotes from multiple landscapers, since bids for the same scope can vary substantially.

More home improvement calculators

Peer comparison data

Bureau of Labor Statistics (median income by age), Experian (credit score by age)

Used by the “how you compare” figures in the sidebar, not by the costs on this page.

Every figure on this site, with its source and the date it was last verified