How much does landscape lighting installation cost?
Free guide to landscape lighting installation pricing. The typical range, what drives cost up or down, and how to read the difference between an honest quote and a red-flag one. All numbers reflect residential network installs across the US.
As featured in
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- House Beautiful
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- Country Living
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Rough estimate only. Actual quotes depend on your specific property, electrical setup, fixture grade, and local labor rates. The free site visit from a network installer gives you the real number — typically within 15% of these ranges, sometimes lower.
Landscape Lighting Installation. Typical price by project scope.
Detailed bands by project size and scope. All ranges reflect residential network installs; commercial projects price separately.
Six factors that move every landscape lighting installation quote.
01
Number of fixtures and total wattage (drives transformer size)
02
Trenching distance and difficulty (rocky soil, established gardens)
03
Quality of fixtures (brass vs aluminum, glass lens vs plastic)
04
Whether the contractor includes a lighting design or installs from a designer’s plan
05
Smart control integration vs manual photocell timers
06
Local labor rates (Midwest baseline, coastal markets +30–50%)
Pricing shifts with labor rates and local code.
The Midwest baseline runs ~15–20% below national average; coastal and West Coast markets run above.
Region
Midwest
0.85×
Naperville, Hinsdale, Burr Ridge baseline. Estate landscape demand is steady but not premium.
Region
Southeast
0.95×
Cary, Charlotte, Atlanta. Pine-canopy moonlighting carries regional specialty premium.
Region
East Coast
1.30×
Greenwich, Bedford, Litchfield County. Designer-led estate landscape is the dominant project type.
Region
West Coast
1.45×
Marin, Pasadena, Santa Barbara. Mediterranean garden + vineyard estate work commands top-tier labor.
Three realistic scenarios. Itemized.
Real-world line items from network installations. Your project will price differently. Request a free quote for an exact scope.
Cary, NC
Garden-first half-acre
24 fixtures placed alongside the homeowner’s planting plan, pine-canopy moonlight effect, brass throughout.
- Designer coordination$700
- 18 brass uplights$3,600
- 6 tree-mounted downlights$1,800
- 450W transformer + photocell$900
- Trenching + wire (160 ft)$1,000
- Install labor (2 days)$1,800
Hinsdale, IL
Estate-scale two acres
54 fixtures alongside a landscape architect plan. Uplit oaks, lit garden beds, illuminated water feature.
- Landscape designer coordination$2,400
- 48 brass fixtures (mixed)$11,800
- Underwater pond lighting kit$1,200
- Two 600W transformers$2,400
- Trenching + wire (420 ft)$2,600
- Install labor (4 days)$4,000
Boulder, CO
Front-yard garden refresh
12 fixtures uplighting aspens and washing entry boulders. Standard fixtures (homeowner’s call).
- Site visit + plan$400
- 12 standard uplights$960
- 300W transformer$650
- Wire run (80 ft)$520
- Install labor (1 day)$900
What a good quote looks like. And what to walk away from.
Good signs
- Walks the property with you at dusk. Sees what wants to be lit at night
- Coordinates with your landscape architect or names them as a reference
- Specifies brass fixtures by manufacturer + model number
- Transformer sized for full load plus 25% future-expansion headroom
- Wire gauge specified (12 AWG minimum for runs over 50 ft)
- Written 5+ year fixture warranty on a designed-from-scratch plan
Walk-away signs
- Designs from a Google Maps screenshot without visiting
- No mention of the existing planting plan
- Generic ‘fixture’ line items with no manufacturer named
- Transformer sized exactly to load. Guaranteed to fail when you add fixtures
- 16 AWG wire on long runs. Voltage drop will leave fixtures dim
- Treats landscape architect coordination as an extra fee
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01
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02
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03
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What homeowners say about landscape lighting installation pricing.
Recent feedback from Landscape Lighting Installation homeowners after their projects closed.
“Coordinated with our landscape architect from day one. The quote even broke out designer-coordination time as a separate line item. Totally transparent.”
Emily F.
Cary, NC
“I expected an estate-scale quote to be opaque. It wasn’t. 48 fixtures broken out by zone, transformer count itemized, labor by day. Easy decision.”
James W.
Burr Ridge, IL
“Got three quotes. Two were lump-sum and felt like guesses. The one we picked had every brass fixture priced individually. They came in at the quoted number.”
Megan H.
Boulder, CO
“Quoted on a dusk site visit, not from satellite photos. They saw where the light would matter at night and priced accordingly.”
Brad S.
Aspen, CO
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Pricing for every other lighting service.
Cost Guide
Outdoor Lighting Installation
$2,000–$5,000
View guide →Cost Guide
Recessed Lighting Installation
$150–$300
View guide →Cost Guide
Holiday Lighting Installation
$300–$800
View guide →Cost Guide
Commercial Lighting Installation
$5K–$50K+
View guide →Cost Guide
Security Lighting Installation
$150–$350
View guide →Cost Guide
Interior Lighting Installation
$800–$4,000
View guide →Cost Guide
LED Lighting Installation
$50–$200
View guide →Cost Guide
Deck & Patio Lighting Installation
$1,500–$6,000
View guide →Cost Guide
Smart Lighting Installation
$1,500–$6,000
View guide →Landscape Lighting Installation cost — common questions.
How much does landscape lighting installation cost?
Most residential landscape lighting installations run $2,500–$8,000 nationally. Estate-scale projects with 50+ fixtures and designer coordination reach $30,000+. The biggest cost drivers are fixture count, trenching difficulty, and whether a landscape architect coordinates the plan.
Should I hire a landscape architect or just an installer?
For projects under 20 fixtures, a good installer can handle both design and install. For estate-scale work or properties with an existing planting plan, paying for designer coordination ($1,500–3,000) typically saves more than its cost. Fixtures placed wrong cost the same to remove as they did to install.
What’s pine-canopy moonlighting and is it worth the extra cost?
Pine-canopy moonlighting mounts downlights high in mature pine canopies, casting dappled light across the lawn that mimics moonlight. It’s a regional specialty in the Southeast and adds 25–40% to a typical landscape lighting project. Customers in NC, GA, and the Southeast estate market often consider it essential.
How long do landscape fixtures last?
Brass and copper fixtures last 15–25 years in most climates; aluminum 3–7 years; plastic 1–3 years in freeze-thaw or salt-air regions. The right material choice up-front saves multiple replacement cycles.
Is the underground wire run included in the quote?
Yes. Most reputable installers price the trenching and direct-burial 12-gauge wire as a line item per linear foot ($20–35/ft). Long runs through rocky or established gardens cost more. Surface-routing along beds can be cheaper if aesthetics allow.
Can I add fixtures later as the garden matures?
Yes, but only if the transformer was sized with future-expansion headroom (20–25%). This is the single most important reason to spec a transformer larger than today’s load. A $250 transformer upgrade now saves a $1,500 replacement when you add 6 fixtures in two years.