Survey: Homeowners share why they mow themselves or hire a pro

Survey: Homeowners share why they mow themselves or hire a proThe average American spends 384 hours of their life mowing. For many, cutting the grass is no big deal. Some love it. Others despite it. This got us thinking: how many Americans hire a company to mow their lawns? How many handle it themselves? 

We asked 132 homeowners whether they mow their lawns or hire someone and why.

Key Insights: 

Many homeowners believe they save money by mowing their lawn

Several homeowners still choose to mow their lawns. There were several reasons given: 

• Saving money 

• Not trusting anyone else

• Enjoy mowing 

Of the responses, saving money was the number one choice (47 votes). These respondents believe hiring a professional was an unnecessary expense and that they saved money by mowing their lawns. 

But how much does maintaining a lawn cost? We've previously calculated in our national GreenPal lawn vendor survey how much homeowners save by mowing their yards. 

Of course, every homeowner owns a different sized lawn. Not everyone will need a riding lawn mower to cut their grass, but many respondents who participated in the survey mentioned they had more than an acre to mow.

We assumed a homeowner needed a basic riding lawn mower and some essential tools when making our calculations. 

A base-level riding mower might cost $1,500. Add $100 for a weed eater. Tack on $150 for a leaf blower — $ 1,750 total, not including gas and maintenance. 

From our data, the average mowing price is roughly $45 per half acre. 

Let's break it down further by assuming a yard must be cut 30 times yearly.

Take the $1,750, divide it by 30, and it comes out to $36 per cut if the homeowners mow themselves, which totals $1,080 per year. A professional mower cutting the lawn 30 times at $45 per cut equals $1,350. The savings? $270 per year. 

It's worth it for some. But those thinking back to their initial investment realize it would take them almost seven years to recoup their costs. 

Again, these are estimates. Not every state has a seven-month growing season, so many variables exist. Still, every homeowner should ask: are the savings worth the time it takes me to mow myself? If the answer ever becomes no, the GreenPal app can help you find the perfect lawn care company for your yard within 24 hours.

Most homeowners pay a professional to save time

Convenience and time-saving are the main reasons homeowners listed why they hired a professional to mow their lawns. 

As we mentioned earlier, the average homeowner spends 384 hours of their life mowing their lawn. That's 16 days. For some, it's many more hours than that. But 16 days? 

For many, getting 16 days of their life back is worth it. Add in the trips to get gas, the work it takes to maintain equipment, and the stress of keeping up with a lawn, and many say the money spent on hiring a professional to mow their lawn is well worth it.  

For many with larger lawns, the time they spend maintaining them adds up. One respondent noted: 

"I used to spend two hours every weekend just doing the basics, mowing and weed eating. It gets hot out here. I got older, and I realized I'd much rather take that time back, pay someone, and spend the time with my family." 

Those who choose to cut their lawns enjoy it

Some meditate. Others do yoga. Then, there are those who find peace donning their sun hats, cranking up their mower, and breathing in the crisp scent of freshly cut grass. 

Everyone has their own thing. For 27 homeowners, mowing is therapeutic.

Psychology Today documented how mowing can reduce stress: 

1) Exercise. Those with push mowers give their bodies and brains needed exercise. Mowing for 15 minutes can burn more calories than walking briskly for a mile. 

2) Repetition and reflection. Mowing is often simple. Up, down, repeat. This pattern frees up the mind. For those not listening to music or a podcast, the humming sound of a mower engine and the task provide stress relief.

3) Taking in nature. Getting outside comes with multiple health benefits. The sun boosts serotonin in the brain, which gives mowers more energy and a healthy mindset. Research shows our minds and bodies relax outside. 

Those who hire a company say they trust the pros to do it better

While not everyone trusts someone to mow their lawn better, a few said they rely on a professional. One respondent said, "Too much happens with a lawn to keep up with. I rest easy knowing that my yard has a pro tending to it. I'm not a big fan of mowing, and I know if something happens in my lawn that's more than cutting it, I'm going to be paying more to fix the damage I cause. I'll just hire someone who knows what they're doing."

One of the concerns many who don't hire a pro mentioned is that they feel they can't trust anyone to mow their lawns. Several said they received poor service. 

GreenPal eliminates those concerns. 

One of the headaches of hiring someone to mow is vetting endless lawn care providers. With GreenPal, finding and hiring top-notch lawn care companies and landscapers in a homeowner's area is easy. We know how hard it can be to track down a good lawn care business, so we've worked hard to find the best in the industry to make a homeowner's life easier. We've vetted their years of experience, equipment, client satisfaction, dependability, and financial stability. 

We built an app that works like Uber. A homeowner enters their address and has instant access to a handpicked selection of professional lawn maintenance companies ready to serve them on their schedule.

Quick Summary 

Two hundred fifteen homeowners shared their thoughts on why they decided to mow the lawn or hire a professional. 

For those who decided to mow, saving money was their top priority. However, according to our estimations, it would take a homeowner about seven years to recover the costs of investing in lawn care equipment. 

Many also choose to mow because they enjoy it. For those who hired a professional to mow their yard, some of their reasoning was to save time, and they found a professional more trustworthy.