What excavation costs in Jacksonville, FL
No excavation company in this market publishes prices. Here are ours. Every quote we give traces back to a row on this page plus the site factors we explain to your face, and if the table changes, it changes here first.
| Job | Published range | What moves it inside the range |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency call-out (weekday) | $450 + $185 to $285/hr | Machine size, hours on site |
| Emergency call-out (night/weekend) | $650 + $225 to $325/hr | Machine size, hours on site |
| Land clearing, light brush | $2,500 to $4,500 per acre | Mulch in place vs haul, wet ground |
| Land clearing, wooded with grubbing | $7,500 to $12,000 per acre | Tree density, stump size, haul distance |
| Building pad, residential | $9,000 to $28,000 | Pad size, imported fill, compaction spec |
| Building pad / mass grading, commercial | $25,000 to $120,000+ | Quantities from civil drawings |
| Pond, new, up to 1/4 acre | $5,000 to $15,000 | Depth, spoil placement, access |
| Pond, new, 1/4 to 1/2 acre | $12,000 to $25,000 | Depth, spoil placement, access |
| Pond cleanout | $4,000 to $14,000 | Muck volume, season, pump time |
| Utility or drainage trench | $2,500 to $9,000 | Depth, length, water table |
| French drain / yard drainage | $3,500 to $14,000 | Run length, discharge point |
| Driveway cut and base | $4,000 to $15,000 | Length, base material, culvert |
| Small demolition with haul-off | $4,500 to $18,000 | Structure size, disposal fees |
| Dewatering, when a job needs it | $1,200 to $4,500 | Pump days, water volume |
| Debris or spoil haul-off | $150 to $350 per truckload | Haul distance, material weight |
How to read this table
The ranges are real quoting ranges, not bait. A job lands low in its range when the site is dry, the access is open and the spoil can stay on the property. It climbs when water, tight access or trucking enter the picture. At the walk-through we point at the row, name the factors that apply to your site and write the number down. You can check our math against our own website, which is the point of publishing it.
The one factor that surprises everyone
Water. Jacksonville soil digs fast, so machine time here is cheaper than the national guides suggest. But a high water table or a wet season converts an easy dig into a pumping project. If your quote includes a dewatering line, that line is why the job works. If a competitor’s quote is cheaper and doesn’t mention water on a site that holds it, ask them where that cost went. It went to the change order.
Want the range for your specific job first? The instant estimate runs on this exact table.