If you have shopped a lawn care quote in Fairfax or Loudoun County in 2026, you have probably noticed the same thing we have: monthly prices for "full-service maintenance" range from $89 to $340 for what looks like the same scope on paper. The honest answer for why is that "full service" is one of the loosest terms in landscaping, and what is bundled into the monthly price varies wildly between contractors.
This is the Kaeler 2026 breakdown of what monthly lawn care actually costs in Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and the surrounding ZIPs — what you should be paying, what each line item buys, and which add-ons are usually padded.
The short answer: monthly lawn care cost in NoVA
For a typical NoVA suburban lot (¼ acre, 8,000–11,000 sq ft of turf), 2026 monthly pricing breaks down roughly as follows:
| Service tier | Fairfax County / month | Loudoun County / month | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mow only (weekly) | $40 – $65 | $42 – $70 | Cut, edge, blow off hardscape |
| Mow + basics | $85 – $135 | $90 – $145 | Mow, edge, fertilize 4–6×/yr, weed |
| Standard maintenance | $135 – $220 | $145 – $235 | Mow + fert + aeration + overseed + spring/fall cleanup |
| Full-service (Kaeler standard) | $215 – $340 | $225 – $360 | Standard + pruning + bed maintenance + mulch refresh + monitoring |
| Estate / multi-acre | $480 – $1,400+ | $520 – $1,500+ | Full service + irrigation oversight + crew weekly |
Loudoun County prices run roughly 5–10% higher than Fairfax for the same scope, mostly because crews travel longer between jobs in Loudoun's lower-density lot pattern.
Cost breakdown by line item (annualized)
Monthly pricing obscures what you are really buying. Here is what a 12-month bundle looks like when broken out by service.
| Service | Frequency | 2026 NoVA cost (annual) |
|---|---|---|
| Mowing + edging + blow-off | Weekly (Apr–Nov, 32–36 visits) | $1,440 – $2,200 |
| Spring cleanup (debris, bed edge, mulch top-up) | 1× March | $450 – $1,100 |
| Fall cleanup (leaves, bed prep, final cut) | 1× November | $400 – $950 |
| Fertilization program | 5–6× per year | $360 – $720 |
| Pre-emergent crabgrass + broadleaf weed control | 2–3× per year | $180 – $380 |
| Grub control | 1× early summer | $120 – $240 |
| Core aeration | 1× September | $180 – $340 |
| Overseeding (tall fescue) | 1× September | $220 – $480 |
| Lime application (soil pH correction) | 1× per year if needed | $90 – $180 |
| Mulch refresh (beds and trees) | 1× spring | $480 – $1,400 |
| Shrub and ornamental pruning | 2× per year | $260 – $720 |
A typical Kaeler standard-maintenance client in Fairfax County lands around $2,400 – $3,200 per year, billed at $200 – $267 / month flat across 12 months.
For a deeper dive on aeration and overseeding specifically, see our Fairfax County aeration + overseeding 2026 guide.
Cost by city: Fairfax vs Burke vs Reston
Same scope, same crew, same materials — different ZIP, different price.
Fairfax (22030, 22031, 22033)
- Standard maintenance monthly: $135 – $210
- Full-service monthly: $215 – $320
- Driver: Higher density of jobs means more efficient route density. Smaller average lot keeps mow time down. HOA-managed neighborhoods (Country Club View, Mantua) often have minimum bed-maintenance requirements that push to full-service.
Burke (22015)
- Standard maintenance monthly: $140 – $215
- Full-service monthly: $225 – $330
- Driver: Burke Centre and Cherry Run HOAs have strict bed and pruning standards. Many lawns are tall fescue + zoysia mixes, which need different mow heights through the season.
Reston / Herndon (20190, 20194, 20170)
- Standard maintenance monthly: $148 – $230
- Full-service monthly: $245 – $355
- Driver: Reston Association common standards push every lawn toward full-service. Larger lots in Lake Anne and South Lakes drive scope up.
Sterling / Ashburn (Loudoun County, 20164, 20148)
- Standard maintenance monthly: $150 – $235
- Full-service monthly: $245 – $360
- Driver: Lot density is lower in Loudoun, so crew travel time adds 5–10% to pricing. Newer construction means newer turf — many lawns need establishment-year care that pushes scope up.
If you want a real number for your actual lawn — measured, not estimated — book a free lawn-care site visit and we will walk the property before quoting.
What drives a price from "mow-only" to "full-service"
1. Bed work. Mulched beds with ornamentals add $40–$120 per month to scope because pruning, weeding, and mulch refresh all live in the bed line item. 2. Fertilization program. A real program is 5–6 applications per year, not 3. Skipped applications in May and September show up in October when the lawn looks tired. 3. Aeration and overseeding. Roughly half of NoVA "lawn care" providers either skip aeration entirely or do it with a spike aerator instead of a core aerator. Core aeration is the real thing. Plug visible on the lawn for 5–10 days = correct. 4. Pre-emergent timing. Crabgrass pre-emergent must hit before soil temperatures pass 55°F at the 4-inch depth. In NoVA that is typically the last week of March or first week of April. Late application = a wasted application. 5. Cleanup intensity. Fall cleanups in McLean, Vienna, and Great Falls can add $300–$800 because of mature tree canopy. Burke and Springfield are typically lighter.
The Kaeler standard-maintenance scope
For roughly $215–$280 per month on a Fairfax County ¼-acre, a Kaeler standard plan includes:
- Weekly mowing + edging + blow-off April through November (32–36 visits)
- 5 fertilization applications with pre-emergent in spring and slow-release in summer
- 2 weed control applications for broadleaf weeds
- 1 grub control application in early summer
- 1 spring cleanup with bed edge, debris removal, mulch top-up
- 1 fall cleanup with leaf removal and final mow
- 1 core aeration + overseeding in September with tall fescue blend
- 1 lime application if soil pH testing flags it
- Bed maintenance monthly during growing season
- Shrub pruning twice per year
That is the full menu. If your current contractor is quoting half the price, ask which of those line items they are not doing.
What's usually padded in a quote
After reviewing dozens of competitor quotes that homeowners have shared with us, the most common padding patterns are:
1. "Fertilization" listed as a single line item. A real program is 5–6 timed applications. Single-line fertilization usually means 3 applications. 2. "Bed maintenance" with no defined scope. Ask whether mulch refresh, weeding, and pruning are all included or billed separately. 3. "Cleanup" without specifying spring and fall. Some contractors bill cleanups as add-ons. 4. Aeration as add-on at $180–$340. This should be in the standard scope, not an extra. 5. Mulch refresh at $1.20–$2.00 per square foot. Reasonable in 2026. If quoted at $3+, it is padded.
Frequently asked questions
How often should my lawn be mowed in NoVA?
Weekly from late April through mid-October. Bi-weekly is fine for spring (March–April) and fall (October–November) when growth slows. Skipping a week in peak growing season (May–June) shocks the turf when cut.
When should I aerate my lawn in Fairfax County?
Tall fescue (which is most NoVA lawns) gets aerated and overseeded in September — typically the second or third week, once nighttime temperatures drop into the 50s. Spring aeration is sometimes useful for compaction, but September is the high-impact pass. For a deep dive on timing and seed selection, see our aeration and overseeding guide for Fairfax 2026.
Why does my lawn brown in July even with regular mowing?
NoVA summer heat puts cool-season tall fescue into dormancy when daytime highs sit above 87°F and nights stay above 70°F for more than a week. Dormancy is normal — water deeply once per week and the lawn will green back in September. We wrote a longer piece on this specific issue at why your lawn browns in Fairfax July heat.
Is monthly billing the same as 12 × monthly visits?
No. Most NoVA lawn care contracts are annualized — the annual scope is divided into 12 equal monthly payments for budgeting smoothness, even though the actual work concentrates in April–November. Make sure your contract states the annual scope, not just the monthly price.
Should I switch to a year-round lawn service or pay per visit?
For a maintained suburban lawn, year-round contracts work out cheaper than pay-per-visit because crew route density discounts get passed to the homeowner. Pay-per-visit makes sense for transitional years (selling the home, renovating the yard) but not as a long-term plan.
What's the cheapest legitimate lawn care plan in NoVA?
Weekly mow-only April through November ($1,440–$2,000 per year) plus a 5-application fertilization program ($360–$540 per year). Skip mulch refresh, skip aeration, and the lawn will start to thin within 2–3 years — but that is the lowest-cost legitimate plan for someone who wants the grass cut and fertilized.
Ready to scope your lawn?
If you want a real per-month number for your specific lot — measured, scoped, and itemized — book a free lawn-care site visit and we will walk the property and show you exactly what your monthly price includes.
We serve Fairfax, Burke, Reston, Sterling, Vienna, McLean, Great Falls, Oakton, and the rest of the 18 NoVA cities we work in. See all areas we serve.
