The short answer: Most landscaping businesses sell for $200,000, $1.3M, with an established maintenance-led shop commonly around $550,000 and prices up ~20% in 2025. Price = SDE × the ~2.56× multiple. With an SBA 7(a) loan you need a 10% equity injection, about $55K on a $550K shop, and up to half can be a seller note on standby, so your own cash can be as low as ~$27,500 plus closing costs and a winter working-capital reserve. Run it in the valuation calculator.
What landscaping businesses actually cost
Price scales with earnings and contract quality, not with how many mowers are on the trailer. Here's the 2026 range by size:
| Business | Revenue | SDE | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo route / mow-and-blow | $150K, $400K | $50K, $110K | $110K, $275K |
| Established maintenance shop (typical deal) | ~$850K | ~$215K | ~$550K |
| Commercial-contract / full-service company | $1.5M, $4M | $350K, $800K | $1M, $3M+ |
Median landscaping sale prices rose about 20% in 2025, with essential-service businesses frequently selling at or above asking as buyer demand, including private equity, pushed multiples up. The single biggest price driver within a size band is the share of revenue under recurring commercial maintenance contracts. (BizBuySell)
How the price is set: the multiple
Main Street landscaping deals price off SDE × a multiple. The typical multiple is ~2.56×, ranging from about 2.0× for owner-heavy, seasonal residential routes to 4.0× for service-heavy, contract-anchored companies that run on crews and systems.
| Multiple | Implied price | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| 2.0× (low) | $430,000 | Residential, seasonal, owner-dependent, verbal accounts |
| 2.56× (typical) | $550,000 | Mixed residential/commercial maintenance shop |
| 4.0× (high) | $860,000 | Commercial-contract heavy, runs on crews, low churn |
Same earnings, a $430,000 swing in price, driven entirely by contract quality and owner-dependence. See the live figure on landscaping multiples and learn the mechanics in valuation.
You don't negotiate the price. You negotiate the multiple, and you earn a lower one by fixing the things that scare a lender.
The down payment and the full capital stack
Under SBA 7(a) rules, a change of ownership needs a minimum 10% equity injection, and up to half of that can be a seller note on full standby. Here's the worked stack on a $550,000 landscaping business:
| Source / use | Amount | % of price |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) bank loan | $495,000 | 90% |
| Your cash injection | $27,500 | 5% |
| Seller note (full standby) | $27,500 | 5% |
| Purchase price | $550,000 | 100% |
| + Est. closing costs & fees (financed) | ~$22,000 | |
| + Winter working-capital reserve | $25K, $45K |
So the honest "cash to close" on this deal is your ~$27,500 injection plus a working-capital cushion for the slow winter months, not the full $550K. The loan is then sized so cash flow covers debt at a DSCR of ~1.15×, 1.25×.
Does this deal cash-flow?
At $215K SDE and ~$80K annual debt service, DSCR is about 2.7× before any owner salary, comfortably bankable. After reserving a $75K market salary, it's still ~1.75×. Verify in the DSCR guide.
Costs buyers forget
- SBA guarantee & packaging fees, a percentage of the guaranteed loan amount, usually financed.
- Legal & closing, purchase agreement, entity setup, lien searches.
- Quality-of-earnings / valuation review, money well spent to verify the add-backs behind that SDE and confirm which contracts actually transfer.
- License & pesticide-applicator continuity, retaining the seller's certified applicator or irrigator, or securing your own (see the playbook).
- Fleet & equipment capex, aging mowers, trucks, and trailers are a near-term cash need, not part of the price.
- Winter working capital, the off-season buffer that keeps a profitable shop from going broke.
Model your landscaping deal end to end
Price, down payment, loan payment, and take-home in one place.
Frequently asked questions
Most sell between $200K and $1.3M, with an established maintenance shop commonly around $550K. Price is SDE × the ~2.56× multiple, so a shop with $215K of SDE prices around $550K. See landscaping multiples.
An SBA 7(a) loan needs a 10% equity injection, $55K on a $550K shop, and up to half can be a seller note on full standby, so your own cash can be as little as ~$27,500 plus closing costs and winter working capital.
Not fully, SBA requires a minimum 10% injection. But up to half can be a standby seller note, cutting your own cash to ~5%. True zero-down deals are rare and usually rely on seller financing outside SBA.
Budget for SBA fees, legal/closing, a quality-of-earnings review, license and applicator continuity, and winter working capital. On a $550K deal these add tens of thousands, much of which can be rolled into the loan.
Sources
- Price ranges, median price & SDE, 2025 price growth, BizBuySell Landscaping & Yard Service benchmarks (2021 to 2025).
- Multiples, Acquisition Ace landscaping multiples; BizBuySell industry valuation multiples.
- Financing structure & equity injection, SBA 7(a) program; SOP 50 10 8. See our SBA loan guide.
