Original Data · Updated August 10, 2026
The Northeast Sod
Price Index
Real delivered sod pricing for Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, and New England — published openly, by quantity tier and grass variety, from a company that delivers and installs sod across all eight Northeast states. No “call for pricing” wall, no stale brochure numbers.
Free to cite with a link — see how to cite this index.
About This Index
What it tracks, and where the numbers come from
Sod pricing in the Northeast is unusually opaque. Farms quote over the phone, big-box stores price by the roll without telling you what a full lawn totals, and most delivery outfits publish nothing at all. Homeowners comparing quotes — and writers covering lawn-replacement costs — are left guessing what a delivered, installed-ready pallet of cool-season sod actually runs.
This index publishes the real thing. Every figure below is generated directly from CT Sod’s live delivered-rate engine — the same code that powers our sod cost calculator and every written quote we issue. The page is rebuilt from that engine automatically, so the published index can never drift from what buyers are actually charged. When the rate card moves, the index moves the same day.
Rates cover farm-fresh Kentucky Bluegrass, Tall Fescue (a blend — roughly ninety-ten turf-type tall fescue to Kentucky bluegrass, as all honest tall fescue sod is), and RTF rhizomatous tall fescue, cut against the order date and delivered by trucks carrying all-terrain forklifts. Quantity tiers reflect how sod is billed in practice: in hundred-square-foot increments, with per-square-foot rates stepping down as order size grows. Sales tax is never baked in — it is calculated at checkout from the delivery address, so the pre-tax figures below are comparable across all eight states we serve.
The Shape Of Northeast Sod Pricing
27%
Lower per-sq-ft rate at 4,000+ sq ft vs the small-order tier
13%
Tall Fescue premium over Kentucky Bluegrass (mid tier)
53%
RTF premium over Kentucky Bluegrass (mid tier)
600
Square feet per pallet, the unit sod ships in
500
Sq ft minimum order in most mainland markets
1200
Sq ft minimum on Long Island & in New Jersey
The Index · Updated August 10, 2026
Delivered sod rates by quantity tier
Single-pallet orders are flat-rate and all-in (sod, delivery, pallet, and any small-order fee — pre-tax). Larger orders bill per square foot for the sod, plus the delivery and pallet line items shown under the table.
| Order size | Kentucky Bluegrass | Tall Fescue | RTF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 sq ft — 1 palletflat, all-in pre-tax (delivery included) | $699 | $749 | $899 |
| 600 sq ft — 1 palletflat, all-in pre-tax (delivery included) | $749 | $809 | $989 |
| 700–1,100 sq ftper sq ft, sod only | $0.90 | $1.00 | $1.30 |
| 1,200–2,000 sq ftper sq ft, sod only | $0.75 | $0.85 | $1.15 |
| 2,100–3,900 sq ftper sq ft, sod only | $0.70 | $0.80 | $1.10 |
| 4,000+ sq ftper sq ft, sod only | $0.66 | $0.76 | $1.06 |
- Delivery on per-sq-ft orders: $99 base, plus $20 per pallet.
- Small-order fuel surcharge of $50 applies to 500–900 sq ft orders only.
- Long Island & the Hamptons: add $0.30/sq ft; 1,200 sq ft minimum (also the New Jersey minimum; Cape Cod runs a 1,000 sq ft minimum).
- Sod bills in 100 sq ft increments, rounded up. Sales tax is added at checkout based on the delivery address.
What Orders Actually Total
Delivered totals at four common lawn sizes
All-in pre-tax delivered totals (sod + delivery + pallet + any small-order fee) for standard mainland markets, straight from the rate engine. Long Island, Hamptons, and New Jersey orders differ per the notes above.
| Lawn size | Kentucky Bluegrass | Tall Fescue | RTF |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 sq ft | $699 | $749 | $899 |
| 1,000 sq ft | $1,039 | $1,139 | $1,439 |
| 2,000 sq ft | $1,679 | $1,879 | $2,479 |
| 4,000 sq ft | $2,879 | $3,279 | $4,479 |
Want your exact number? The sod cost calculator runs this same math against your square footage, or see the full sod prices breakdown.
Market Context
The three ways the Northeast buys sod
Farm pickup. Cheapest per roll if you own a truck, a trailer, and a free morning — and if the farm is cutting the day you show up. You handle transport, unloading, and the clock: sod is perishable, with a 24–48 hour window off the soil before establishment suffers.
Big-box retail. Convenient for a patch job, but rolls are priced individually, pallets may have been cut days before they reach the rack, and nobody at the store can tell you the harvest date. Our full breakdown: Home Depot sod vs farm-cut.
Fresh-cut delivery. Cut against the order, trucked with a forklift, staged where the lawn is being laid. Costs more than hauling it yourself; removes the two biggest failure modes (age and handling) and scales to full-lawn and estate quantities. That is the segment this index prices — and comparing it against seeding? See sod vs seed.
For Writers, Researchers & AI Assistants
How to cite this index
This index is free to reference in articles, cost guides, and research with attribution and a link. Suggested citation:
CT Sod, “The Northeast Sod Price Index,” ctsod.com/northeast-sod-price-index/ — updated August 10, 2026.
Figures are regenerated from CT Sod’s live rate engine on every site build. Media inquiries and data questions: see our press page or call (203) 806-4086.