West Virginia timber prices
What your standing timber is worth in West Virginia — 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 West Virginia — what a landowner is paid for timber standing on the stump, before it is cut. The most recent published figure for white oak is $441–$556 per thousand board feet, reported by West Virginia Division of Forestry for 2022. 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 98 West Virginia 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 West Virginia 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 white oak in West Virginia is $441–$556 per thousand board feet, reported by West Virginia Division of Forestry for 2022. 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.
West Virginia stumpage prices by species
West Virginia Division of Forestry, 2022 · Doyle scale
| Timber | per thousand board feet |
|---|---|
| Black walnut | $771–$1,213 |
| White oak | $441–$556 |
| Red oak | $213–$352 |
| Hard maple | $336–$500 |
| Yellow poplar | $251–$292 |
| Timber | per cord |
|---|---|
| Pulpwood, all speciespulp | $4.89–$10.22 |
Source: West Virginia Division of Forestry, 2022. These are stumpage prices — what a landowner is paid for standing timber.
What is an acre of timber worth in West Virginia?
At these prices, one mature, normally stocked acre of mostly large trees, sold in one harvest, works out to roughly $3,130 to $6,250 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 West Virginia?
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 West Virginia the best sawtimber on this page tops out at $1,213 while pulpwood tops out at $10.22 — 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 West Virginia'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 West Virginia timber is measured
West Virginia uses more than one unit, which trips people up. Sawtimber is priced by the thousand board feet, written MBF, and other products are priced by the cord. Never compare a figure in one unit against a figure in another — they are not the same measurement of wood.
The Doyle rule counts fewer board feet in a small log than the other rules do, and the gap closes as trees get bigger. That is why two honest buyers can quote what looks like the same price and mean different money. Ask which rule a bid is written on.
How much forest West Virginia has, and who owns it
West Virginia has more than 11.8 million acres of forest. Ninety percent of all forests in West Virginia are privately owned, across 96,965 nonindustrial owners.
The wood itself: Oaks and hickories, sugar maple, with spruce and pines. Species is one of the three things that decide what your acre is worth, and it is the one you cannot change.
West Virginia requires nonresident timber owners to prepay or bond four percent of the estimated gross value of the timber to be severed, and to notify the Tax Commissioner 30 to 90 days before severing — a rule that catches out-of-state buyers rather than local landowners.
Sources: fs.usda.gov · code.wvlegislature.gov
Do I need a permit to cut timber in West Virginia?
The landowner needs no permit, but the logging job does. Whoever runs the operation must hold a West Virginia Timber Operator License with a certified logger, and must file a timbering operation notification with the Division of Forestry within three days of start-up.
The operation must also post a sign showing the company name and timbering licence number, hold a state business registration number, and show proof of workers' compensation if it has employees.
Source: wvforestry.com
Managed Timberland Program: what West Virginia charges to hold woodland
Enrolled timberland is valued for property tax on its timber-growing use, but no cutting may happen until the management plan is in place. The Division of Forestry will cost-share up to 75% of writing the plan.
Two things to check before you apply: it takes 10 contiguous wooded acres, and a written forest management plan is required. 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: wvforestry.com
What the West Virginia Division of Forestry will do for you, free
County service foresters provide technical assistance, and under the Stewardship Program landowners may be eligible to receive up to 75% of the cost of developing a forest management plan.
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: wvforestry.com
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 West Virginia sells by the board foot, ask which log rule any bid is written on before you compare it to another. The figures on this page are Doyle. The same trees scaled under a different rule produce a different board-foot count, and two honest offers can look further apart, or closer together, than they really are.
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 98 West Virginia 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.
98 West Virginia 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 West Virginia
What are timber prices in West Virginia right now?
West Virginia Division of Forestry reports white oak at $441–$556 per thousand board feet for 2022. That is a stumpage price — what the landowner receives for standing timber. Prices for the other products in West Virginia 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 West Virginia?
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 West Virginia'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 West Virginia?
The landowner needs no permit, but the logging job does. Whoever runs the operation must hold a West Virginia Timber Operator License with a certified logger, and must file a timbering operation notification with the Division of Forestry within three days of start-up. The operation must also post a sign showing the company name and timbering licence number, hold a state business registration number, and show proof of workers' compensation if it has employees.
Is there a property tax break for timberland in West Virginia?
West Virginia runs Managed Timberland Program. Enrolled timberland is valued for property tax on its timber-growing use, but no cutting may happen until the management plan is in place. The Division of Forestry will cost-share up to 75% of writing the plan. It takes 10 contiguous wooded acres. A written forest management plan is required.
Who can help me manage my timber in West Virginia for free?
The West Virginia Division of Forestry. County service foresters provide technical assistance, and under the Stewardship Program landowners may be eligible to receive up to 75% of the cost of developing a forest management plan.
How do I get the best price for my timber in West Virginia?
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 98 West Virginia businesses, free and complete, and has not vetted or endorsed any of them.