What should you charge per dumpster haul?

Charge enough to cover truck time, disposal of the included tons at your local tip fee, container wear and your share of overhead - then add margin. With placeholder inputs (3 truck-hours at $125, 3 tons at $57/ton, 25% margin) a 20-yard comes out around $835; plug in your own numbers below.

Updated 2026-09-23 · 6 sources · By the RollOffDesk team

Per-haul dumpster price builder

Builds a price from your own costs: truck time, disposal at your tip fee, container wear and a share of fixed overhead, then applies your target margin. Defaults are placeholders - replace them with your numbers.

EREF 2023 US average MSW landfill fee: $56.80/ton unweighted. Regions ran $43-$84. Use your own scale-house rate.
Driver wage + payroll burden + fuel + maintenance + truck payment. BLS May 2025 median for heavy truck drivers: $28.19/hr before burden.

Planning estimate only. Your real costs, local market prices and tip fees decide what you can charge. Not financial advice.

Get a printable price sheet (all 5 sizes)

Blank customer-facing price sheet for 10-40 yard containers, plus a print / save-as-PDF copy of your results above.

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How the math works

  • Truck cost = truck minutes per rental / 60 x your all-in truck + driver hourly cost. One rental is usually two truck trips (drop, pickup) plus a landfill run.
  • Disposal = included tons x your tip fee. This is the number most new operators under-price.
  • Container wear = purchase price / (life in years x 12 x rentals per month).
  • Overhead share = fixed monthly costs / rentals per month.
  • Price = total cost / (1 - margin), rounded to $5.
  • Overage per ton = (tip fee + handling) / (1 - margin).
  • Extra-day fee = what the container earns per day once disposal and truck time are paid for.

Tip fee benchmark: EREF regional averages (2023)

US unweighted average $56.80/ton (342 landfills), ton-weighted $57.63. C&D and transfer-station rates differ - use your scale-house rate.
EREF regionAvg MSW tip fee ($/ton)Change vs 2022
Northeast$84.44+$8.52
Pacific$62.28-$6.74
Midwest$57.24-$4.78
Mountains/Plains$49.86-$0.98
South Central$45.25-$3.45
Southeast$43.18-$1.56

What the market charges: published price ranges

Flat rate typically covers delivery, a 7-10 day rental, pickup, disposal and a set weight limit (Dumpsters.com).
SizeDumpsters.com 2026 rangeDumpsters.com average
10 yard$329 - $1,307$582
15 yard$306 - $1,334$600
20 yard$374 - $1,362$672
30 yard$450 - $1,460$801
40 yard$512 - $1,583$891

Labor and mileage references

Heavy truck driver median wage
$28.19/hr
BLS OEWS, May 2025 (53-3032)
Refuse collector median wage
$23.89/hr
BLS OEWS, May 2025 (53-7081)
IRS business mileage rate
76c/mile
Jul-Dec 2026 (72.5c Jan-Jun); cars and light trucks, not roll-off trucks

Operators: embed this calculator on your site

Run a roll-off company? Put the pricing calculator on your own website so customers can work it out before they call. Free: enter your details and the copy-paste embed code appears right here. It works in WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or plain HTML. (Branded, book-it-now ordering is what RollOffDesk online ordering is being built to do.)

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Frequently asked questions

How do you price dumpster rentals?

Build a flat price per size from truck time, disposal of the included tons, container wear and overhead, then add margin. Charge overage per ton above the allowance and a daily fee past the rental period.

How much do dumpster rental companies charge?

Dumpsters.com publishes 2026 averages of $582 (10 yard), $672 (20 yard), $801 (30 yard) and $891 (40 yard), with wide local ranges. Your tip fee and drive times decide where you land.

What is a typical overage fee per ton?

Set it at or above your tip fee plus handling, marked up by your margin. At a $57/ton tip fee, $15 handling and 25% margin, that is about $96/ton.

How many tons should a 20-yard include?

Published operator allowances run about 2-4 tons for a 20-yard (Dumpsters.com lists 2-3 tons; Sourgum 3-4 tons).

Sources

  1. EREF - Analysis of MSW Landfill Tipping Fees (2023 data) (accessed 2026-09-23)
  2. Dumpsters.com - Roll-off dumpster prices (2026) (accessed 2026-09-23)
  3. BLS OEWS May 2025 - Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers (53-3032) (accessed 2026-09-23)
  4. BLS OEWS May 2025 - Refuse and Recyclable Material Collectors (53-7081) (accessed 2026-09-23)
  5. IRS - Standard mileage rates (accessed 2026-09-23)
  6. Sourgum - Dumpster sizes (accessed 2026-09-23)