Tempe pays you to replace your lawn
$0.50 per square foot, up to $2,000 — Grass Removal & Conversion Rebate, City of Tempe Water Conservation.
| Lawn replaced | Rebate |
|---|---|
| 500 ft² | $250 |
| 1,000 ft² | $500 |
| 1,500 ft² | $750 |
| 2,000 ft² | $1,000 |
| 3,000 ft² | $1,500 |
At $0.50/ft², capped at $2,000. Your own measurement decides the number.
What the programme asks for
- A landscape plan? Not required as a separate document, but the coverage rule below has to be met and shown.
- In the agency's words:
The grass removal area after the conversion must have a minimum of 30% expected mature, living plant coverage to receive rebate funds for the total square footage.
- Plants must come from: Tempe plant coverage guides / AMWUA Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert
These programmes are first-come and funded annually. Being listed here means the agency was accepting applications on that date — not that money is still available today. Denver's 2026 allocation was gone by mid-year. Check the agency page before you count on it.
Planning the new yard
Every one of these programmes turns on the same thing: what you plant, and how much of the ground it covers when it is grown. That is a design question, and getting it wrong is what a rejected application looks like.
Our plant library lists 2,500 plants with hardiness zone, sun and water need — free to browse. Sign in and it checks each one against your own zone. If you would rather see the finished yard before you commit, upload a photo of it.
Other cities in the pilot: Mesa, Chandler, Austin, Albuquerque · see all five