How Much Do Excavation and Grading Cost in Oregon?
One national cost guide puts excavation at $2.50 to $15 per cubic yard. The same guide prices an excavator with an operator at $100 to $300 an hour. Oregon’s own road bids show how much size matters. On state contracts with 1,000 cubic yards of excavation or more, the middle low bid was $29 a yard. On smaller contracts, it was $80.
These are market numbers, not our price list. We do grading and earthwork for builders, developers, farms and nurseries from our yard in Dallas, Oregon. On every site, the price follows the cubic yards that move and how far they travel. Wet ground and rock push it higher.
What do national cost guides say excavation and grading cost?
Guides price dirt work by the cubic yard, the hour, the acre or the whole job. A cubic yard is a cube of dirt 3 feet on each side. These guides lean on residential jobs. One bases its averages on a 1,200-square-foot lot.
| Line item | National guide range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Excavation, per cubic yard | $2.50 to $15 | Soil type, depth, terrain and obstructions set the price |
| Heavy or wet soil, or loose rock, per cubic yard | $10 to $15 | Light soil runs $2.50 to $6 in the same guide |
| Rock that needs a breaker, per cubic yard | $50 to $200 or more | $220 to $250 when the rock is hauled off |
| Excavator with an operator, per hour | $100 to $300 | Most charge a one-day minimum |
| Cut and fill on the site, per cubic yard | $1 to $15 | Dirt moved from high ground to low ground |
| Fill dirt, per cubic yard | $5 to $25 | The dirt alone; trucking and spreading are extra |
| Land grading, per acre | $15,800 to $44,535 | A second guide says $17,400 to $43,600 |
| Excavation for a new home site | $1,500 to $10,000 | $20,000 or more with rock or heavy clay |
| Basement dig for new construction | $10,000 to $30,000 | More where access is tight or the soil is rocky |
Read the per-acre figures with care. The second guide’s range is its finish grading rate, 40 cents to $1 a square foot, multiplied across an acre. On a field or a subdivision, the price follows the cubic yards moved on each acre. Trimming a flat field moves far less dirt than cutting down a hillside.
Clearing comes before grading, and the guides list it as its own line. One puts it at $810 to $5,870 per acre, more for heavy forest. We cover that step under site preparation and land clearing. A new subdivision lot also carries streets and utilities on top of the grading. For that math, see what subdivision site work costs in Oregon.
What do Oregon road contracts pay for excavation?
The Oregon Department of Transportation posts the bids on its road contracts. Its records show 41 contracts with a low bid for general excavation from January 2025 to August 2026. The state pays no separate price for hauling, so the trucking sits inside that bid. The table shows the middle low bid: half came in higher, half lower.
| State road contract item | Middle low bid | Contracts |
|---|---|---|
| General excavation, contracts under 1,000 cubic yards | $80 per cubic yard | 24 |
| General excavation, contracts of 1,000 cubic yards or more | $29 per cubic yard | 17 |
| Subgrade stabilization, 12 inches deep | $40 per square yard | 5 |
| Subgrade stabilization, 18 inches deep | $48 per square yard | 11 |
| Aggregate base (base rock) | $57.50 per ton | 66 |
Size shows up plainly in the excavation lines. The bigger contracts came in at less than half the small-contract price per yard. Subgrade stabilization means digging out soft ground and replacing it with rock over fabric. It is the fix when wet ground will not firm up.
Road contracts are public works. Oregon requires prevailing wage rates on public works, and the work follows state specifications. Treat these bids as a check on scale. A private site gets its own price.
What makes excavation cost more in the Willamette Valley?
The wet season. NOAA’s 1991 to 2020 normals give a station just outside Dallas about 48 inches of rain a year. About 92 percent of it falls from October through May. July and August together average under an inch.
Wet clay. Federal soil surveys list the Dayton soils as extensive across the Willamette Valley. They are poorly drained, with a subsoil of 40 to 50 percent clay. Their perched water table sits at its highest from November to April. Saturated clay will not compact to the density a pad or a road needs. Soft spots then get dug out and rebuilt with rock.
Rock in the foothills. Nekia soils on the valley’s foothills sit on fractured bedrock 20 to 40 inches down. One national guide prices rock that needs a breaker at $50 to $200 or more per cubic yard. A deep cut in that ground costs more per yard than a cut in valley silt.
Haul distance. Dirt that leaves the site costs more than dirt moved within it, one guide notes. Exported soil needs trucks and a place to go. A plan that balances cut and fill keeps more dirt on the site.
Depth. Oregon OSHA requires cave-in protection for workers in an excavation 5 feet deep or deeper. Deep cuts get sloped back or shored. Both add digging or equipment to the job.
Erosion control. Construction that disturbs one acre or more needs coverage under DEQ’s 1200-C construction stormwater permit. Its erosion and sediment control plan must account for wet weather. Those controls are part of the cost of the earthwork.
What should a written excavation quote spell out?
A written quote lets you compare bids line by line. Look for these items:
- The cubic yards to cut, to fill, to import and to export.
- Where exported dirt goes and where imported fill comes from.
- Unit prices or one price for the job, and what changes it.
- What happens if the dig hits rock.
- The wet-weather plan, and who pays for rock under soft spots.
- Compaction testing, and who orders it.
- The erosion controls the site needs.
- The finished grade, and how the site drains when the machines leave.
How do you get a price for your own site?
National ranges and state bids give you a starting point. Your site has its own soil and its own haul. See how we handle cut and fill work on your site across the Willamette Valley. For the dig and the pad under a building, see foundation excavation and building pads.
We look at the plans and the site, then put a free estimate in writing. Call or text (503) 507-2919.