How Much Does a Dumpster Rental Cost?

A 20-yard dumpster — the most common size — has a median published price of $425, with most companies listing between $375 and $500. The spread is the interesting part.

What you're actually paying for

A dumpster rental is four costs bundled into one number: delivering the container, renting it for a fixed period, hauling it away, and dumping what's inside. Only the last one varies much between companies, and it varies a lot.

Haulers pay a landfill or transfer station by the ton. That gate rate — the tipping fee — swings from under $30 a ton in parts of the Midwest to well over $100 in the Northeast and on the West Coast. It is the single biggest reason the same container costs twice as much in one state than another.

Why two quotes in the same town differ

Same size, same week, forty dollars apart. Usually one of three things:

Different included weight. One company includes two tons, the other one. The cheaper listing is only cheaper if you stay under the limit.

Different rental period. Seven days is the most common, but three-day and fourteen-day rentals are both widespread. A short period with a daily extension fee can end up costing more than the longer quote.

Different distance to the dump. A hauler whose yard sits near a transfer station spends less of the day driving than one forty miles out.

The number that actually matters

Ask for the all-in figure: base price, included tonnage, overage rate per ton, rental period, and any fee for extra days. Overage runs a median of $80 a ton, and it's where most surprise invoices come from. A quote without those five numbers isn't comparable to anything.

See median prices by size and state →

Figures on this page come from the Dumpster Price Index, last checked 2026-07-30. How the data is collected.