Mowing your lawn serves the dual purpose of keeping your grass healthy while keeping your yard crisp and clean for outdoor enjoyment. Mowing can be a source of income for young adults, a stabilizing force during a stressful week, or a chore we dread as the weekend draws closer. But how long do we really spend on our lawn care regimen on a weekly or yearly basis—let alone throughout our lives?

We reviewed data for the 300 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas and calculated how long an average resident spends mowing. We considered hours of sun exposure, spring and summer temperature, and mowing frequency per year. Our full ranking breaks down the top 10 cities that spend the most and least time mowing every year.

    Our Interesting Findings: 

    • On average, Americans will spend over 384 hours of their lifetime mowing their lawn—that’s 16 days!
    • The Southern United States’ sod stole the show for time investment, requiring an average of 510 lifetime hours, only 20 hours less than the Northeastern and Western U.S. averages combined.
    • Residents of Augusta, GA spend an average of 27.2 hours mowing their lawns each year—the most time of any other city in the country.
    • Residents of Cambridge, MA spend the least amount of time on lawn maintenance among our reviewed cities. They’ll only spend an average of 30.7 hours mowing their lawns in their lifetimes. 
    • While Augusta, GA claimed the most time spent mowing, Chesapeake, VA residents will mow more frequently than any other U.S. city, given its ideal temperatures and sun exposure for growing grass.

    Top 10 Cities For Most Days Spent Mowing

    Among our top cities for the most time spent mowing, we found that they were primarily concentrated in the Western and Southern United States. They all had ideal sunlight exposure, spring and summer temperature, and their average yard sizes fell between roughly a half acre and one acre.

    Top 10 Cities For Least Days Spent Mowing

    If you’re hunting for a home where the lawn is the last thing you’ll have to worry about, these cities are the right place to look. In our research, we found that residents in Cambridge, Massachusetts will spend an average of only 1.28 days of their lifetimes mowing their lawns. Northeast cities dominated our list for places that require less time tending landscapes. Both reduced sunlight and lower spring and summer temperatures help keep yard work obligations to a minimum.

    Conclusion

    No matter where you live, lawn maintenance is important for your home’s overall appearance and upkeep. Consider hiring professional services if you want to take your lawn to the next level. The Today’s Homeowner reviews team has compiled a list of our best lawn service companies to help you choose the best one for you.

    We recommend checking out our review of TruGreen lawn care to make your life a little easier. TruGreen partners with you to provide personalized mowing tips and keep your yard healthy. Mowing the yard may be time-consuming, but it makes relaxing outdoors much more enjoyable. 

    Methodology

    To determine which cities were host to the longest and shortest mowing times, we looked at data for the 300 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States. After removing some outliers (e.g., New York City, N.Y., and Anchorage, Alaska), we calculated our national and city averages using the following variables:

    • Average hours of sunlight per year by state (to determine mowing frequency)
    • Average spring and summer temperature by state (to determine mowing frequency)
    • Average lawn acres (calculated by subtracting the city’s median home size from its average yard size.)
    • Mower size (for lawn acres less than .5, we assumed the use of a small push mower with a mower deck size width of 21 inches, for lawn acres equal to or greater than .5 acres, we assumed the use of a large push mower with a mower deck size of 28 inches.)

    With this data, we calculated the time it takes to mow a single acre based on the mower deck size and miles per hour potential using the following formula from Encore Equipment:

    • 9 / (3.1 mph x 0.9 x mower deck width in inches) x = Hours to mow one acre
      • “0.9” refers to the minimal overlap seen when mowing each swathe of lawn.
      • “108.9” refers to the dimensions of the acres per hour.
    • (Hours to mow one acre) x Lawn Acre Size = Hours to Mow Average Yard by City

    Sources

    Editorial Contributors
    avatar for Elisabeth Beauchamp

    Elisabeth Beauchamp

    Senior Staff Writer

    Elisabeth Beauchamp is a content producer for Today’s Homeowner’s Lawn and Windows categories. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with degrees in Journalism and Linguistics. When Elisabeth isn’t writing about flowers, foliage, and fertilizer, she’s researching landscaping trends and current events in the agricultural space. Elisabeth aims to educate and equip readers with the tools they need to create a home they love.

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    photo of Lora Novak

    Lora Novak

    Senior Editor

    Lora Novak meticulously proofreads and edits all commercial content for Today’s Homeowner to guarantee that it contains the most up-to-date information. Lora brings over 12 years of writing, editing, and digital marketing expertise. She’s worked on thousands of articles related to heating, air conditioning, ventilation, roofing, plumbing, lawn/garden, pest control, insurance, and other general homeownership topics.

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