Hedge vs. Fence: Cost, Height, and What Your Property Prefers

The honest starting point: most SoCal cities cap backyard fences around 6 feet — often 42 inches at the front setback. Hedges are generally regulated differently and can legally rise well above fence height in many cities. If your privacy problem is a neighbor's second-story window, a fence often cannot solve it and a hedge can.

Cost over ten years

A quality wood privacy fence runs roughly $60–$120 per foot installed in LA, then depreciates: staining, board replacement, and a finite lifespan. A 15-gallon hedge row runs $105–$120 per foot, then appreciates — taller, denser, and more valuable every season, with trimming as the only ongoing cost.

What each does better

Fence: instant, thin, zero water, marks a boundary precisely. Hedge: taller legal height, real noise softening, cooler microclimate, birds, and the kind of curb presence that shows up in appraisals. Many of our best lines are planted directly in front of an existing fence — structure from the fence, height and beauty from the hedge.

Bottom line

Boundary and dog containment: fence. Privacy above 6 feet, noise, and value: hedge. Both: fence first, hedge in front — and our removal add-on hauls off an old fence the same day we plant.