South Carolina timber prices
What your standing timber is worth in South Carolina — published stumpage values by species, and a free calculator that turns them into a figure for your own land.
Quick answer
These are stumpage prices for South Carolina — what a landowner is paid for timber standing on the stump, before it is cut. The most recent published figure for pine sawtimber is $21.91 per ton, reported by South Carolina Forestry Commission (from Timber Mart-South) for Q2 2026. Delivered or mill log prices are a different and much higher number, because they include the cost of cutting and hauling the wood. TimberClear lists 433 South Carolina foresters, buyers, loggers and mills who work this timber. What a particular stand brings is settled by a timber cruise, not by a price list.
If you own woodland in South Carolina and you are wondering what it is worth, the number you want is the stumpage price — what a buyer pays you for timber while it is still standing. The most recent published figure for pine sawtimber in South Carolina is $21.91 per ton, reported by South Carolina Forestry Commission (from Timber Mart-South) for Q2 2026. The full table is below.
Two prices get quoted in this business and they are not the same. Stumpage is what reaches you. Delivered, sometimes called the mill or log price, is what a mill pays once the wood has been cut, limbed and hauled to the yard — and the difference between them is the cost of doing all that work. Delivered prices are easier to find online, they are a good deal higher, and a landowner who mistakes one for the other walks into a sale expecting money that was never on the table. Everything on this page is stumpage.
South Carolina stumpage prices by species
South Carolina Forestry Commission (from Timber Mart-South), Q2 2026
| Timber | per ton |
|---|---|
| Pine sawtimber | $21.91 |
| Pine chip-n-saw | $15.69 |
| Pine pulpwoodpulp | $5.27 |
| Hardwood sawtimber | $18.72 |
| Hardwood pulpwoodpulp | $5.73 |
Source: South Carolina Forestry Commission (from Timber Mart-South), Q2 2026. These are stumpage prices — what a landowner is paid for standing timber.
Compare pine prices per ton across the Southern states
What is an acre of timber worth in South Carolina?
At these prices, one mature, normally stocked acre of mostly large trees, sold in one harvest, works out to roughly $1,180 to $2,350 for pine and other softwood and $1,040 to $2,090 for hardwood. Smaller trees, a thinner stand or a partial cut bring less. It's a ballpark, not an appraisal.
What is your timber worth?
The table above is the price. The calculator turns it into a figure for your land — it asks your acreage, your species, how big the trees are and how thick they stand, then works the estimate from the prices above. About a minute, and no email needed to see it.
What are my trees worth in South Carolina?
A price list cannot answer that on its own, and any site that tells you otherwise is guessing. Three things decide what an acre brings, and only you can see them: how big the trees are, how thickly they are growing, and what species they are.
Size matters more than anything else on that list. In South Carolina the best sawtimber on this page tops out at $21.91 while pulpwood tops out at $5.73 — the same tree, grown on, is worth several times more. That is the whole argument for knowing what you have before anybody makes you an offer.
Our free timber value calculator asks those three questions and works an estimate from South Carolina's own published prices, the ones in the table on this page. It gives you a range rather than a single figure, because a range is the honest shape of the answer. It takes about a minute and it does not ask for your email to show you the number.
How much forest South Carolina has, and who owns it
South Carolina has 12.6 million acres of timberland. 87% of forest land is in private ownership.
The wood itself: Loblolly and shortleaf pine (43.4%), oak/hickory (20.7%), oak/gum/cypress (14.6%). Species is one of the three things that decide what your acre is worth, and it is the one you cannot change.
South Carolina's shield against local forestry ordinances is broader than a management plan alone — it also covers forest land that is simply taxed as forest land, certified, under a conservation easement, or managed under the Forestry Commission's best management practices, so most working timberland in the state is already outside county forestry rules.
Sources: srs.fs.usda.gov · scstatehouse.gov
Do I need a permit to cut timber in South Carolina?
South Carolina requires no state permit and no notification to harvest timber on your own land, and state law exempts timber production and harvesting from erosion and sediment permitting outright, with no conditions attached. Best Management Practices for water quality are non-regulatory here, though the Forestry Commission says landowners are ultimately responsible for complying with them, and the federal Clean Water Act exemptions for forest roads and wetlands do depend on it. A county or city cannot regulate forestry activity on your tract at all if it meets any one of five tests in state law, among them present-use-value taxation, a forest management plan, or managing under the Commission's BMPs. Burning slash is the exception: outside town limits you must notify the Forestry Commission before you light it.
State law caps what counties and cities can do. A local government must not adopt or enforce any ordinance or permit on forestry activities on forest land that is taxed as forest land, managed under a registered forester's plan, certified, under a conservation easement, or managed under state BMPs.
Source: scstatehouse.gov
Property tax on South Carolina timberland
Timberland of five acres or more actively growing trees for commercial use is assessed on use value rather than market value, at the 4% agricultural assessment ratio.
Two things to check before you apply: it takes 5 acres. Programmes like this usually carry a claw-back — take the land out of forest use early and the state wants the deferred tax back — so read the terms before you sign rather than after you have cut.
Source: law.justia.com
What the South Carolina Forestry Commission will do for you, free
If you own between 10 and 1,000 acres of woodland, a Commission forester will come out, walk the land with you and make management recommendations — completely free. The Commission also gives free timber-marketing assistance and maintains a consulting forester list.
Worth taking. A state service forester does not bid on your timber and does not take a commission, so the advice comes without a stake in the outcome. They will not run your sale for you — that is a consulting forester's job — but they will tell you what you have before anybody makes you an offer.
Source: scfc.gov
Getting the best price for your timber
The single biggest lever is competition. One buyer who turns up and makes an offer has no reason to bid against himself. A sealed-bid sale, run by a consulting forester who invites several buyers to price the same marked timber, routinely moves the final number by a wide margin — and it costs you a share of the sale rather than money up front.
Before any of that, have the timber cruised. A cruise is a forester walking your land and measuring what is actually standing, so you are selling a known quantity instead of taking somebody's word for it.
Because South Carolina timber is sold by weight, the load tickets are your receipt. Every truck that leaves is weighed at the mill, and those tickets are what your payment is calculated from. Ask to receive copies as the job runs rather than a single figure at the end — a sale you cannot check is a sale you have to take on trust.
And put the terms in writing before anybody starts: what gets cut, what stays, what the land looks like when they leave, and when you get paid.
TimberClear lists 433 South Carolina foresters, buyers, loggers and mills. Every listing is free and complete, including the phone number the business already publishes. We have not vetted, verified or endorsed any of them — the listing tells you who they are and what counties they cover, and the choosing is yours.
433 South Carolina timber businesses
Foresters, buyers, loggers and mills, with the counties each one covers. Free and complete.
Compare states side by side
Pick any states and see their prices next to each other.
Timber price questions in South Carolina
What are timber prices in South Carolina right now?
South Carolina Forestry Commission (from Timber Mart-South) reports pine sawtimber at $21.91 per ton for Q2 2026. That is a stumpage price — what the landowner receives for standing timber. Prices for the other products in South Carolina are listed on this page, and they move every quarter.
What is stumpage value?
Stumpage is the price paid for timber while it is still standing — the money that reaches the landowner. It is not the same as a delivered or mill log price, which is what a mill pays once the wood has been cut, limbed and hauled to the yard. The gap between the two is the cost of doing that work, and it is large. A delivered price quoted as though it were stumpage will make timber look worth far more than it is.
How much is an acre of timber worth in South Carolina?
It depends on three things the price list cannot tell you: how big the trees are, how thickly they are growing, and whether they are sawtimber or pulpwood size. Sawtimber is worth several times what pulpwood is worth per ton. TimberClear's free timber value calculator asks those questions and works the estimate from South Carolina's own published prices. It gives a range, never a single figure, because only a cruise settles what a stand is really worth.
Do I need a permit to cut timber in South Carolina?
South Carolina has no state permit or notification requirement for harvesting timber on private land. The state relies on voluntary best management practices. State law caps what counties and cities can do. A local government must not adopt or enforce any ordinance or permit on forestry activities on forest land that is taxed as forest land, managed under a registered forester's plan, certified, under a conservation easement, or managed under state BMPs.
Is there a property tax break for timberland in South Carolina?
South Carolina runs Agricultural Use Value — timberland classification. Timberland of five acres or more actively growing trees for commercial use is assessed on use value rather than market value, at the 4% agricultural assessment ratio. It takes 5 acres.
Who can help me manage my timber in South Carolina for free?
The South Carolina Forestry Commission. If you own between 10 and 1,000 acres of woodland, a Commission forester will come out, walk the land with you and make management recommendations — completely free. The Commission also gives free timber-marketing assistance and maintains a consulting forester list.
How do I get the best price for my timber in South Carolina?
Get more than one offer. A sealed-bid sale run by a consulting forester puts buyers in competition with each other, and that is the single biggest lever a landowner has. Have the timber cruised first so you know what you are selling, and put the terms in writing before anybody starts cutting. TimberClear lists 433 South Carolina businesses, free and complete, and has not vetted or endorsed any of them.