Cost of Conventional American Lawns

Amount of lawn in the United States:  40.5 million acres
Total amount of money spent on lawn care:  $30 billion

Percent of residential water used outside:  30 to 60%
Amount of water used daily for residential irrigation:  > 7 billion gallons

Amount of fertilizers used on lawns annually:  3 million tons
Amount of synthetic pesticides used on lawns annually: > 30 thousand tons
Ratio of pesticide use per acre by the average homeowner versus the average farmer:  10 to 1

Source: Statistically Speaking: Lawns by the Numbers
by Bill Chameides | July 25th, 2008

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Additional Information

1. Natural Landscaping at EPA’s Laboratory –  www.epa.gov/ne/lab/pdfs/LabLandscapeFactsheet.pdf
2. Bormann, H. F., D. Balmori, and G. T. Geballe. Redesigning the American Lawn: A Search for Environmental Harmony, Second Edition. Yale University Press, New Haven. 2001.