Landfill Tipping Fees by State: All 50 States Ranked [2026]

• •The national average landfill tipping fee reached $62.28 per ton in 2024, a 10% increase from $56.80 in 2023 — the steepest year-over-year jump since 2022, according to the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF).

• •Alaska has the highest average tipping fee at $124.25 per ton, driven by remote operations and high transportation costs. Mississippi has the lowest at $31.90 per ton.

• •The Northeast pays the most on average ($80.67 per ton), while the South Central region (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) pays the least ($44.87 per ton).

• •States with waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities pay 28% more for landfill disposal — $71.28 per ton versus $55.57 per ton in non-WTE states — because WTE plants divert MSW from landfills, reducing supply competition.

• •Seven states face landfill capacity exhaustion within five years, with the Northeast projected to lose 30% of its remaining landfill capacity in that timeframe (Waste Business Journal/SWEEP).

• •These fees are the single largest variable cost for junk removal companies and independent haulers — a couch weighing 150 pounds costs $4.70 to landfill in Mississippi but $9.30 in Alaska, before any other operating costs.

A landfill tipping fee is the price charged per ton (or sometimes per cubic yard) when waste is deposited at a landfill. The name comes from the physical act of "tipping" — emptying a truck's load at the disposal site. Every waste hauler, junk removal company, and municipal collection service pays tipping fees, and those costs are passed directly to customers.

Tipping fees are set by individual landfill operators, not state governments. However, state environmental regulations, remaining landfill capacity, and the presence of alternative disposal options (waste-to-energy plants, recycling mandates) all influence what landfills charge. States with strict environmental regulations and limited landfill capacity tend to have significantly higher fees.

The EREF surveys 351 municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills annually to produce the most comprehensive tipping fee dataset in the United States. The data below comes from their October 2024 survey, supplemented by state-specific sources where EREF data is unavailable.

Alaska leads the nation at $124.25 per ton, nearly double the national average. Remote locations, limited road infrastructure, and harsh operating conditions make landfill operations extraordinarily expensive. Maine ($110.91) and New Hampshire ($110.46) round out the top three — both driven by shrinking landfill capacity and strict environmental regulations in New England.

The top 10 most expensive states for landfill disposal all share at least one of three characteristics: limited remaining landfill capacity, active waste-to-energy programs that reduce disposal competition, or strict state-level environmental surcharges.

Mississippi leads the nation with the lowest average tipping fee at $31.90 per ton — roughly one-quarter of what Alaska charges. The cheapest states cluster in two regions: the South Central corridor (Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas) and the northern Great Plains (Nebraska, Kansas). These states share common characteristics: abundant open land for landfill siting, lower population density reducing competition for disposal capacity, and fewer state-mandated environmental surcharges.

The following table shows average MSW landfill tipping fees for all 50 states based on the EREF 2024 survey and supplementary state sources. States marked with an asterisk (*) have waste-to-energy facilities, which typically correlate with higher landfill disposal costs.

Note: EREF does not report individual state averages for Connecticut, Massachusetts, or Vermont due to limited landfill data. For those states, BioCycle survey data or state-specific sources are used instead.

EREF groups states into six regions. The Northeast has led the nation in average tipping fees for at least a decade, and the gap is widening. Between 2023 and 2024, Northeast fees jumped $8.52 to reach $84.44 per ton — the steepest regional increase.

The South Central region (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas) remains the cheapest at $44.87 per ton, though fees there have also been climbing.

Five structural forces are pushing landfill tipping fees higher across the United States, and none of them show signs of reversing.

• •Shrinking capacity: Total U.S. landfill capacity is projected to decrease by more than 15% over five years, according to data from Waste Business Journal collected by SWEEP. Seven states face complete landfill exhaustion within five years, and the Northeast is losing approximately 30% of its remaining capacity. Fewer landfills means less competition and higher prices.

• •Regulatory costs: Federal Subtitle D requirements and state-level environmental regulations mandate increasingly expensive liner systems, leachate collection, groundwater monitoring, and post-closure care. These compliance costs are baked into tipping fees.

• •Labor and equipment inflation: Landfill operations require heavy equipment operators, environmental compliance staff, and maintenance crews. Labor costs have risen 15-25% since 2020 in many markets.

• •Waste-to-energy competition: In the 20+ states with WTE facilities, landfill operators face competition for MSW tonnage. WTE plants divert waste from landfills, reducing their volume and forcing higher per-ton fees to cover fixed costs. EREF data shows WTE states average $71.28 per ton versus $55.57 in non-WTE states — a 28% premium.

• •Community opposition (NIMBY): Siting new landfills has become nearly impossible in many regions. Public opposition, lengthy permitting processes, and environmental reviews can delay new facilities by 5-10 years. Without new capacity, existing landfills have pricing power.

Landfill tipping fees are the single largest variable cost for junk removal companies. When a hauler picks up your old couch, they pay the landfill by weight to dispose of it. That disposal cost gets passed to you in the price of the service.

A standard couch weighs 150-200 pounds (ewtaz.com furniture weight data). At the national average of $62.28 per ton, disposing of a 175-pound couch costs the hauler about $5.45 in tipping fees alone. In Maine ($110.91/ton), that same disposal costs $9.70. In Mississippi ($31.90/ton), it costs $2.79.

These differences compound quickly for a full truckload. A hauler filling a pickup truck with 1,500 pounds of junk pays $46.71 in tipping fees in an average state. In Alaska, that same truckload costs $93.19 — double the disposal cost before factoring in fuel, labor, or any profit margin.

This is why junk removal prices vary so dramatically by location. A company operating in Maine or New Hampshire faces disposal costs 3-4x higher than one in Mississippi or Kansas, and those costs are reflected in what customers pay.

Evidence suggests a direct correlation. When Pahrump, Nevada implemented new landfill tipping fees, residents publicly predicted an increase in illegal desert dumping (Pahrump Valley Times). Baltimore raised its landfill tipping fee for the first time since 1993, partly to "reduce the incentive for out-of-area haulers to dump in Baltimore" — an acknowledgment that low fees attract waste from neighboring jurisdictions (CBS Baltimore).

The dynamic creates a difficult policy tradeoff. Higher tipping fees fund better environmental protections and landfill operations, but they also increase the economic incentive for illegal dumping. States with the steepest fee increases — particularly in the Northeast where fees jumped 11.2% in a single year — face the greatest pressure on illegal dumping enforcement.

For individual consumers, the calculus is straightforward: self-hauling to a landfill saves money only if the tipping fee is low enough to justify the time, fuel, and effort. In high-fee states like Maine or New Hampshire, paying a junk removal service often costs less than the tipping fee alone after accounting for fuel and time.

The landfill capacity crisis is concentrated in the Northeast and parts of the Midwest. According to data compiled by SWEEP (Solid Waste Environmental Excellence Protocol) from Waste Business Journal projections:

• •Seven states face landfill exhaustion within five years

• •One additional state has 5-10 years of remaining capacity

• •Three states have 11-20 years remaining

• •The Northeast is losing approximately 30% of its remaining capacity over the next five years, followed by the Midwest at 24%

States running low on capacity face two options: export waste to neighboring states (which drives up costs through transportation fees) or site new landfills (which faces intense community opposition). Either path leads to higher tipping fees.

This is already visible in the data. The Northeast's average tipping fee ($84.44/ton) is nearly double the South Central region ($44.87/ton), and the gap is growing as capacity tightens. New York's Sullivan County raised C&D tipping fees to $150 per ton in January 2025 as waste export costs climbed. Cortland County, New York increased fees by $15 per ton to $105 effective March 2026.

Landfill size and ownership type create significant pricing variation within the same state. EREF's 2023 data shows:

• •Large landfills: $68.82 per ton average (higher volumes, more regulatory compliance costs)

• •Medium landfills: $49.70 per ton average

• •Small landfills: $58.55 per ton average (lower volumes but often municipally subsidized)

Municipally-owned landfills frequently charge lower tipping fees than privately-operated facilities because they benefit from taxpayer subsidies, lower land costs, and a public service mandate rather than a profit motive. However, private landfills often offer more flexible hours, accept wider waste streams, and provide better customer service.

This pricing variation means the "state average" can be misleading. Within Maryland, tipping fees range from $66 to $200 per ton (CBS Baltimore). Within a single state, you may find municipal landfills charging half of what a private facility charges 30 miles away.

This analysis draws primarily from the EREF 2024 Analysis of Municipal Solid Waste Landfill Tipping Fees, based on data collected from 351 landfills across the United States in October 2024. State averages are unweighted averages (treating each landfill equally regardless of volume).

For states where EREF does not report individual averages (Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont), we used BioCycle survey data, state environmental agency reports, and specific landfill rate schedules from the most recent available period.

All regional groupings follow EREF's standard classifications. Waste-to-energy (WTE) state designations come from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Furniture and appliance weights reference published weight charts from ewtaz.com.

Tipping fees reflect what landfills charge at the gate. Actual costs to consumers include additional transportation, labor, and service fees from waste haulers and junk removal companies. For example, Dropcurb charges a flat $79 for curbside junk removal — a price that accounts for disposal fees, hauler compensation, and service overhead regardless of which state the pickup occurs in.