Landscape Lighting Cost in Monterey and Carmel

Most landscape lighting systems we install in Monterey County land between $2,000 and $6,000. That is a wide range, and the reason is simple: the price is mostly fixtures and the labor to set, wire and aim each one. Once you know how many fixtures your yard needs and what they're made of, the quote stops being a mystery.

Here is how we price outdoor lighting and what separates a $2,000 job from a $6,000 one.

What the price covers

A low-voltage system has four parts, and every quote should list all of them:

Design and night aiming are part of the job too. The last visit happens after dark so each fixture is aimed and dimmed where it looks right, not where it looked right on paper.

What moves the price

Fixture count

This is the biggest lever. A front-entry package with path lights to the door and a few uplights on the house and a specimen tree sits at the low end. Lighting the front, the backyard patio, the steps and a row of trees pushes toward the top of the range.

Fixture material

On the Peninsula we spec solid brass or copper fixtures. They cost more than powder-coated aluminum but hold up to salt air for years, where cheap aluminum pits and fails. Inland in Salinas the trade-off is smaller, but brass still outlasts aluminum. We cover this in detail in our guide to coastal lighting that survives salt air.

Getting wire where it needs to go

Running cable through planting beds is quick. Getting it across a finished patio or driveway means boring under it or cutting in, which adds time. This is why we like to wire lighting before a new patio goes in: on design-build projects the conduit goes down first and the cost of reaching the far side of the yard nearly disappears.

Transformer and controls

A bigger system needs a bigger transformer, sometimes two. Smart and app-based controls cost a little more than a basic timer.

Where it is worth spending

Where to save

Repair versus replace

If you already have a system that has stopped working, it may not need replacing. Failed transformers, corroded fixtures, broken runs and timers that lost their program are common service calls. We will tell you whether a repair or a partial upgrade makes more sense.

Tell us which areas you want lit and we'll walk the property, at dusk where possible, and send a written quote within 48 hours. Short-term rental owners and Peninsula estates often pair lighting with security goals, which we plan into the same layout.