Cost to lay sod
Contractors laid sod for a typical $0.92 a square foot on public jobs in 2025, and $0.61 to $1.25 for most. A 1,000 sq ft lawn comes to about $917 at that price; small patches cost several times as much per foot.
What public jobs paid
Sod is a common item on public contracts: state highway departments lay it on new road shoulders, and counties and cities use it to restore lawns after sidewalk and street work. Each buyer below counts once, at the middle of its bids where it had several. The figures are for sod delivered and laid; whether the ground was prepared first depends on the contract.
| Buyer | Item | Per sq ft |
|---|---|---|
| Florida DOT | Performance turf, sod: $4.51 a sq yd, 259 contracts | $0.50 |
| South Dakota DOT | Sodding: $4.62 a sq yd, 4 contracts | $0.51 |
| Wisconsin DOT | Sod lawn: $8.18 a sq yd, FY 2025 | $0.91 |
| West Branch, IA | Sodding: four bids of $60 to $110 a square (100 sq ft) | $0.93 |
| Hillsborough County, FL | Sodding in kind: six bids of $4.00 to $47.00 a sq yd | $1.36 |
| Charlotte County, FL | Sod delivered and installed, 100 to 2,400 sq ft: $0.64 to $1.90 a sq ft by grass | $1.44 |
| Lawn | Low | Typical | High | Sod alone, by the pallet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 sq ft | $122 | $183 | $250 | $153 |
| 500 sq ft | $306 | $458 | $624 | $383 |
| 1,000 sq ft | $612 | $917 | $1,248 | $767 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $1,224 | $1,834 | $2,496 | $1,533 |
| 5,000 sq ft | $3,061 | $4,585 | $6,240 | $3,833 |
Job size and grass
Charlotte County, Florida, priced its 2025 sod contract by the size of each job and the grass, which shows how both change the price. A patch under 100 sq ft cost several dollars a square foot, while a big area cost well under a dollar. Bahia was the cheapest, St. Augustine cost about twice as much, and zoysia more again.
| Grass | Under 100 sq ft | 100 to 2,400 sq ft | 2,400 to 7,200 sq ft | Over 7,200 sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bahia | $2.50 to $8.00 | $0.64 and $0.90 | $0.49 and $0.50 | $0.34 and $0.40 |
| St. Augustine (Floratam) | $3.75 to $5.75 | $1.29 and $1.60 | $0.59 and $0.90 | $0.50 and $0.56 |
| Empire zoysia | $4.75 and $5.50 | $1.59 and $1.90 | $1.20 and $1.44 | $0.70 and $1.04 |
Most home lawns fall in the 100 to 2,400 sq ft band. These are Florida grasses; the Iowa and Wisconsin prices above are for northern lawns.
The sod alone
Sod farms and garden centers sell it by the pallet, often 450 to 500 sq ft. In November 2026 online listings that gave the pallet size, it ran $0.56 to $1.34 a square foot, depending on the grass. Charlotte County's bidders quoted $160 to $270 a pallet for pickup or delivery. The sod calculator counts the pieces and pallets for your lawn.
| Item | Typical | Range | Stores |
|---|---|---|---|
| square foot of sod, bought by the pallet | $0.73 | $0.56 to $1.34 | 8 |
What adds to the price
Removing the old lawn, bringing in topsoil and grading are often separate items. Fairfield, Ohio, paid $31.50 to $82.00 a cubic yard for 4 in of topsoil in its 2025 sidewalk contract; the topsoil calculator gives the yards for your lawn. Seeding costs far less than sod: the same contract paid $3.15 to $8.00 a square yard to seed and mulch, though a seeded lawn takes a season to fill in. See the grass seed calculator for the seed.
What you'll need
- A sod cutter strips the old lawn in neat rolls; most people rent a powered one for the day.
- A lawn roller presses new sod onto the soil so the roots make contact.
- A long sharp knife trims pieces to fit around edges, beds and curves.
Sources
- Historical item average costs, statewide, 2025, Florida Department of Transportation, 2025 lettings. Rubble riprap, furnished and installed: ditch lining $123.96 a ton, bank and shore $143.61 a ton; underdrain Type II $57.12 a foot; borrow excavation $36.23 a cubic yard; performance turf, sod $4.51 a square yard; retaining wall system, permanent, $63.81 a sq ft of face.
- 2025 bid item price report, South Dakota Department of Transportation, 2025 lettings. Average low bid for Class A, B and C riprap: $43.93, $70.54 and $83.00 a ton; 4 in underdrain pipe $38.17 a foot; base course $22.00 and gravel surfacing $43.77 a ton; contractor-furnished borrow $13.69 a cubic yard; sodding $4.62 a square yard; 4 in shredded bark mulch $5.78 a square yard.
- Average unit price list, FY 2023 to FY 2025, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, FY 2025. FY 2025: riprap light, medium and heavy $134.48, $112.90 and $67.23 a cubic yard; 6 in pipe underdrain $16.00 a foot; base aggregate dense ¾ in $22.56 a ton; borrow $7.39 and select borrow $16.47 a cubic yard; sod lawn $8.18 a square yard.
- Cedar Johnson Road reconstruction, bid tabulation, City of West Branch, Iowa, April 2025. Sodding: four bids of $60 to $110 a square (100 sq ft); modular block retaining wall, 42 sq ft: $50 a square foot.
- Sidewalk repair program (north), bid tabulation, Hillsborough County, Florida (via PinPoint Analytics), 27 June 2025. Sodding in kind, 28,234 sq yd: six bids of $4.00 to $47.00 a square yard.
- Sod and hydroseeding annual contract, bid tabulation, Charlotte County Board of Commissioners (Florida), 14 May 2025. Sod delivered and installed, 100 to 2,400 sq ft: Bahia $0.64 and $0.90, St. Augustine $1.29 and $1.60, Empire zoysia $1.59 and $1.90 a sq ft; under 100 sq ft $2.50 to $8.00; pallets $160 to $270.
- 2025 CDBG sidewalk project, bid tabulation, City of Fairfield, Ohio, 24 February 2025. 4 in topsoil $31.50 to $82.00 a cubic yard; seeding and mulching $3.15 to $8.00 a square yard.
- Online store listings for bagged concrete, mortar, grout, block, rebar, mesh, gravel, sand, soil, mulch and pavers, Google Shopping results (Home Depot, Lowe's, Menards, Ace Hardware, Walmart and others), November 2026. Single-item prices by store; the calculators use the median as the default and show the range.