Research

HyreYard research

Ten studies on the permits, water rules, soils and licenses behind a yard, each read from the statute, code, agency page or federal dataset.

Updated September 2026 · Data as of September 5, 2026 (statutes, ordinances, utility pages and NRCS Soil Data Access)

Written by HyreYard Research Desk Primary-source research and fact checking

11 of 23 cities require a permit to remove a yard tree Tree permit study

9 of 50 states bar HOA bans on drought-tolerant yards HOA preemption study

12 of 25 water systems assign watering days Watering restrictions tracker

What you will find

Ten original studies on the rules and data behind American yards. They cover tree and retaining wall permits, fire-code landscaping rules, watering restrictions, turf rebates, HOA limits, expansive and wet soils, landscaper licensing and lawn care wages.

Each names its sources, retrieval dates and method, and covers only the places we read. The author is the HyreYard Research Desk.

Permits and codes

11 of 23 City tree codes Do you need a permit to cut down your own tree? 23 city tree codes read at the ordinance: 11 require a permit for a typical private-yard tree, 12 do not. Diameter triggers, fees and penalties. Read the page 9 of 23 Building codes When a retaining wall needs a permit 23 codes and department pages. 9 do not use a plain 4-foot exemption, and the measuring point can matter more than the number. Read the page 11 states Fire codes Defensible space: the landscaping rules fire codes impose 11 fire-country states and 6 local codes. California’s 5-foot Zone 0 is in statute but not yet in the regulations (OAL file 2026-0828-03E). Read the page

Water, rebates and HOAs

12 of 25 Utility rules · read September 5, 2026 Outdoor watering restrictions in 25 water systems 25 large water systems in drought-prone states, each read from the utility’s own page: 12 assign watering days. Read the page 18 Agency programs · next review December 5, 2026 Turf replacement rebates at 18 water agencies 18 programs in 7 states taking applications, plus 5 closed or absent. Rate, cap, plant rules and inspection, each dated. Read the page 9 of 50 50-state statutes When your HOA cannot stop you removing the lawn 9 states bar an HOA from banning drought-tolerant landscaping, 4 have narrower rules and 37 have none we could find. Read the page

Soil

38M acres NRCS Soil Data Access The soils that break patios and retaining walls NRCS shrink-swell classes, 38 million acres of Vertisols and 64 million of Very High shrink-swell soil, by state. Read the page 8 classes NRCS handbooks Where yards flood, and what the soil survey already knew The eight NRCS drainage classes and four hydrologic soil groups, read for a yard, plus the grading and downspout causes a soil map cannot see. Read the page

Licenses and cost

10 of 50 50-state boards Which states license landscapers, and for what 10 of 50 states license landscape contractors by name. Irrigators and pesticide applicators are credentialed in more states, and Arizona’s CR-21 does not cover planting. Read the page $45 floor BLS wage data Lawn care cost, built up from wages BLS May 2025 median $18.82 an hour for landscaping workers, and a labor floor per mowing stop at three overhead levels. No national average. Read the page

The rules we hold ourselves to

Primary sources only

A rule comes from the statute, ordinance, board or agency that issued it, cited by section, with the URL and the retrieval date. We do not cite a blog that cites a code.

Coverage is a number

A table titled to fifty states has fifty sourced rows. A table of cities is titled to the cities we actually read. Gaps are published as gaps.

Company counts stay inside seven states

Texas, Arizona, Washington, California, Oregon, Florida and North Carolina. Texas is the largest count on the weakest evidence, a self-reported sales-tax permit, because Texas licenses no landscaper. National claims rest on federal or state agency data, never on our counts.

Fact, calculation, analysis and recommendation stay labeled

“According to…” is a source. “HyreYard analyzed… and calculated…” is ours. “This suggests…” is interpretation. We do not present our reading as something the source stated.

Unable to verify is not unlicensed

A register we could not query is a data-access problem. Reporting it as “these companies have no licenses” would be a false claim about named businesses.

Limitations sit on the page, not in a footnote

Where a result depends on an amendment, a measuring point or a program that has closed, we say so in the finding itself.

Attributed to the desk, never to a person

Research here is published under the HyreYard Research Desk. We do not put an individual byline on original analysis, and we do not claim first-hand experience the organization cannot evidence.

We do not landscape, and nobody buys a position

We take no payment for placement, ranking or a favorable mention.

Using this research

Journalists, researchers, water agencies and fire authorities are welcome to cite and reproduce these findings, including the tables. We ask for a link to the study page, because the methodology, the retrieval dates and the limitations live there and a row quoted without them is easy to misread.

Every study names its sources precisely enough to be checked independently. If you find an error, such as a recodified section, a closed rebate or a renamed license class, please tell us. Corrections are made on the page with a dated note, not silently.

Questions

Who writes HyreYard research?

The HyreYard Research Desk. Research is attributed to the desk, not to an individual, and we do not claim first-hand experience we cannot show. HyreYard does not landscape or pull permits and takes no payment for placement or a favorable mention.

Where do the figures come from?

From primary sources: the statute, ordinance, board or agency that issued a rule, cited by section with its URL and retrieval date, plus federal files such as NRCS Soil Data Access and BLS wage data. Figures we compute are labeled as HyreYard calculations.

How current are the studies?

Each study carries its own retrieval date; the current set was read on September 5, 2026. Watering restrictions change fastest, so check your utility’s own page before you water. Corrections are made on the page with a dated note.

Can my HOA stop me removing the lawn?

It depends on the state. 9 states bar an HOA from banning drought-tolerant landscaping, 4 have narrower rules and 37 have no statute we could find. The HOA preemption study has the table and what the HOA may still require.

Do I need a permit to cut down a tree in my own yard?

It depends on your city. Of 23 city tree codes we read, 11 require a permit for a typical private-yard tree. See tree removal permit rules. If a tree touches power lines, stay away and call the utility first.

Which states license a landscaper?

10 of 50 states issue a named landscape contractor license. Irrigation work and pesticide application are credentialed in more states than planting is. Details are in which states license landscapers.

Is there a national 4-foot rule for retaining wall permits?

No. Four feet is the IRC model exemption. Of 23 codes we read, 9 do not use a plain 4-foot exemption, so the rule that applies is your building department’s. See retaining wall permit thresholds.

Written and audited by

HyreYard Research Desk

Primary-source research, data analysis and fact checking

We are a research desk, not a landscaping company. We read the statute, the municipal code, the water-district rule or the federal soil file ourselves, and we publish the figure with the document it came from and the date we retrieved it.

Where a number cannot be traced to a primary source, we publish the shorter page and say what we could not verify. This desk is new.

The counts below are what we can already stand behind, and every one of them is counted from the studies on this site.

255: source documents cited, each linked
112: government (.gov) domains among them
258: citations carrying a retrieval date
10: research studies published

How this desk works

Primary sources only. A rule comes from the statute, ordinance, board or agency that issued it, cited by section, with the URL and the retrieval date. We do not cite a blog that cites a code.
Coverage is a number. A table titled to fifty states has fifty sourced rows. A table of cities is titled to the cities we actually read. Gaps are published as gaps.
Company counts stay inside seven states. Texas, Arizona, Washington, California, Oregon, Florida and North Carolina. Texas is the largest roster on the weakest evidence, a self-reported NAICS sales-tax permit, because Texas licenses no landscaper. National claims rest on federal or state agency data, never on our counts.
Fact, calculation, analysis and recommendation stay labeled. "According to…" is a source. "HyreYard analyzed… and calculated…" is ours. "This suggests…" is interpretation. We do not present our reading as something the source stated.
We do not landscape, irrigate, plant, cut trees or pull permits, and we take no payment for placement, ranking or a favorable mention. Nobody buys a position on this site.

Data as of September 5, 2026 (statutes, ordinances, utility pages and NRCS Soil Data Access). Authorship on this site is organizational: the analysis belongs to the desk rather than to a named individual, and we do not publish credentials we do not hold.

Our editorial policy sets out how we source, date and correct what we publish.

Working out what your own yard needs

A study describes a rule. A calculator does arithmetic on the numbers you type. Neither is a price, and HyreYard does not do the work.

Open the calculators Find a Landscaping Company

HyreYard does not perform landscaping, irrigation, tree work or permit work. Research is attributed to the desk. Nothing here is legal, engineering or tax advice.