Will Kelly breaks down lawn-mowing rates by experience level. Start at $60 an hour if you're new and slow, work up to $100-$120 once you're efficient. A 30-minute cut at $80 an hour is $40, but raise your prices once you know your actual costs and speed.
Down here in Texas, the standard rate is $90 an hour. When you are brand new, $60 an hour is a fair starting point because you're not efficient yet. You haven't done 1,000 lawns. You're allowed to be a little behind on the price for your first few jobs so you can start to build some momentum and confidence that this stuff works. But once the data comes in, you move it up. A lot of experienced operators here are pulling $100 to $120 per hour. If you're in a smaller market, $70 to $80 an hour is still fair. At $80 an hour on a 30-minute lawn, that's $40 per cut. Do not shortchange yourself once you actually have the number and the data in front of you.
