Dumpster Rental Statistics
Figures from the Dumpster Price Index, compiled from 3,536 prices published by 1,395 independently owned companies across 37 states. Updated regularly.
Key figures
- The median published price for a 20-yard dumpster in the United States is $419. (n=1075 companies)
- Prices scale less than volume: a 40-yard holds four times a 10-yard but costs only 1.7× as much: $345 against $600.
- The median rental includes 2 tons of weight. (n=930)
- Weight beyond the allowance is billed at a median of $76 per ton. (n=845)
- 7 days is the most common rental period. (n=1803)
- Prices vary widely within the same size: the middle half of 20-yard listings spans $350 to $490, a 33% spread around the median.
- The gap between states is larger still. A 20-yard runs $664 in New Hampshire against $300 in Nebraska, a difference of 121%.
- 60% of independent dumpster companies publish a price on their own website. (1,395 of 2,330 company sites read)
Median price by size
One row per container size, from every published price the crawl accepted. The per-yard column is the median divided by the volume, and it is the clearest single fact in the dataset: the container gets cheaper per cubic yard the bigger it gets, because most of a quote is the truck and the tip rather than the box.
| Size | Median | Middle half | Per cubic yard | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 yard | $345 | $295–$399 | $34.50 | 653 companies |
| 15 yard | $365 | $320–$425 | $24.33 | 952 companies |
| 20 yard | $419 | $350–$490 | $20.95 | 1,075 companies |
| 30 yard | $520 | $445–$600 | $17.33 | 592 companies |
| 40 yard | $600 | $499–$700 | $15.00 | 264 companies |
What companies carry, not just what they charge
- 78% of companies naming a fleet run a 20-yard, the most carried size. The 40-yard is the scarcest of the standard five at 37%. (n=2,952 companies naming at least one size)
- 41% of independent dumpster companies also sell junk removal as a service of their own. (1,414 of 3,464 company websites read)
- The median listed company holds 47 Google reviews. (n=4,258 listed companies)
The Index over time
Every month's figures are archived, so the series below is the same measurement repeated rather than a revision. The sample grows as more company sites are read, which moves the median too, so read the n column with the price.
| Month | 20-yard median | Middle half | Companies in sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07 | $425 | $375–$500 | 914 |
| 2026-08 | $419 | $350–$490 | 1,075 |
The national 20-yard median moved down $6 between 2026-07 and 2026-08, over a period in which the sample grew from 914 to 1,075 companies — so some of that movement is coverage rather than the market.
The finding: who you call beats where you are
Cost guides organise dumpster pricing by state, which implies the state is what decides your bill. Measured across the 33 states where at least twelve companies publish a 20-yard rate, it mostly is not.
The middle half of state medians spans 15% of the national median. The middle half of company prices inside a typical state spans 22% of that state's own median. The gap between two companies you could both call today is about 1.4 times the gap between the state you live in and the next one over.
| State | Spread inside the state | Companies publishing |
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 41% | 30 |
| Massachusetts | 36% | 26 |
| Arkansas | 34% | 26 |
| … | ||
| Nebraska | 8% | 14 |
| Alabama | 14% | 23 |
| Missouri | 14% | 30 |
Which is the whole practical case for ringing more than one yard. A state median tells you whether a quote is roughly sane. It tells you nothing about whether the company quoting it is the dear one on your own street, and that is the bigger number.
What these figures cannot tell you
Stated plainly, because a statistics page that only lists its strengths is marketing.
Every price here is one a company published on its own website, so the sample is the minority of haulers who publish at all and is weighted toward the ones with better websites rather than better prices. A published rate is also a starting price: it rarely includes the weight allowance you will actually use, and overage is where a cheap quote stops being cheap. Service areas are estimated from each company's address rather than confirmed with the owner. And the national carriers are excluded by design, so this describes the independent market a person actually chooses between, not the industry as a whole.
Most and least expensive states
Highest 20-yard median
- New Hampshire $664
- Massachusetts $620
- New Jersey $597
- Connecticut $550
- New York $500
Citing these figures
Free to use with attribution. Suggested citation:
Dumpster Price Index. "Dumpster Rental Statistics." https://dumpsterpriceindex.com/research/dumpster-rental-statistics/
Using these statistics
- Can I cite or reuse these figures?
- Yes. The statistics on this page are free to quote with attribution to the Dumpster Price Index, and every figure names its sample size so it can be reported honestly. A link back is appreciated but not required.
- What is the sample behind these numbers?
- 3,536 published prices from 1,395 independently owned companies, refreshed regularly. Coverage is uneven by design: a state with few companies publishing rates gets no median rather than a weak one.
- Why do state medians vary so much?
- Disposal cost, mostly. Haulers pay a landfill or transfer station by the ton and those gate rates are set locally, so the same container can differ by hundreds of dollars across a state line. Haul distance to the nearest facility does most of the rest.