Tree Removal Cost in 2026: Prices by Height, Trunk Size and Access

Most tree removal price pages give four height bands and a range for each, with no way to check where the numbers came from. The pages ranking at the top of this search do exactly that: one is a California tree service quoting its own bands, one is a software company’s calculator, and one is a marketplace citing its own job data and an estimating database it does not publish.

This page builds every range from published inputs you can open: BLS wage data for tree trimmers and pruners (OEWS, May 2025), Census Bureau figures on how landscaping firms’ revenue splits into payroll and everything else (2022 Economic Census), FEMA’s 2025 equipment rate schedule, dated crane bids, landfill fee schedules, and, most usefully, public bid tabulations in which tree companies priced removals tree by tree for cities and a state DOT. The arithmetic is in the method box near the end. For how tree work fits with other project prices, see our cost guides and the full landscaping cost breakdown.

Tree removal cost by height

Height is how homeowners describe a tree, and it is how most quotes are framed. The table assumes a healthy tree with a clear area to drop limbs and sections, a three-person crew with a chipper, brush chipped and taken away, and the trunk left on site in rounds. Everything else on this page is priced as a change from that baseline.

Tree height	Typical trunk (our assumption)	Crew-hours	Estimated cost per tree
Small: under 30 ft	under 12 in	1 to 2	$225–$570
Medium: 30 to 60 ft	12 to 24 in	2.5 to 4.5	$570–$1,285
Large: 60 to 80 ft	24 to 36 in	4.5 to 7	$1,025–$1,995
Very large: over 80 ft	over 36 in	7 to 12	$1,590–$3,425

The low end of each range is a crew paid the national median tree trimmer wage working at the fast end of the hour range; the high end is a crew paid the 75th-percentile wage working at the slow end. A 30-foot ornamental pear in an open front yard sits near the bottom of its band. A 55-foot maple leaning toward a garage sits near the top of the medium band before any access charge is added.

Number of trees (trees)Tree heightSmall: under 30 ft (trunk under 12 in)Medium: 30 to 60 ft (trunk 12 to 24 in)Large: 60 to 80 ft (trunk 24 to 36 in)Very large: over 80 ft (trunk over 36 in)What is under the treeOpen lawn, room to drop itNear a house, fence or garageOver a roof or near power linesEquipment accessTruck and chipper can reach itBackyard, gate access onlyTree conditionHealthyDead, decayed or storm-damaged

Add-ons

Stump grinding, per stump (13 to 30 in) ($95 to $550 each) Haul away the logs, per tree (30 to 60 ft) ($205 to $775 each) Crane, 4 to 8 hours ($780 to $3,360)

Estimated removal cost$320 to $1,120

Per-tree prices are the height-band estimates in this guide; brush chipping and cleanup are included, the trunk is left in rounds. Stump grinding and log haul-away are priced per tree. Local prices vary; see How we built these numbers.

1. Small: under 30 ft225
2. Medium: 30 to 60 ft570
3. Large: 60 to 80 ft1,025
4. Very large: over 80 ft1,590

Source: Green Industry Report estimate from BLS OEWS May 2025 and 2022 Economic Census Open drop zone, brush chipped and hauled, trunk left on site. Excludes crane, stump and permits.

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	Low estimate	High estimate
Small: under 30 ft	225	570
Medium: 30 to 60 ft	570	1,285
Large: 60 to 80 ft	1,025	1,995
Very large: over 80 ft	1,590	3,425

How much does it cost to cut down a 40 ft tree?

An estimated $570 to $1,285 with a clear drop zone, which is the medium band. Our model pairs a 40-foot tree with a trunk of roughly 12 to 18 inches at chest height (an assumption; species vary). For a trunk that size, the three contractors bidding Overland, Mo., in April 2026 asked $500 to $780 for a 13- to 18-inch tree with no utility line nearby (City of Overland bid results, April 2026). If the tree has to be roped down in pieces over a roof, apply the access factors further down: roughly $740 to $1,670 at a 1.3 factor.

How much is it to remove a 50 ft or 100 ft tree?

A 50-foot tree falls in the same medium band, usually in its upper half: roughly $925 (the band midpoint) to $1,285 for a healthy tree with room to work. A 100-foot tree is a different job. Our very-large band ($1,590 to $3,425) assumes climbers and rigging only; many 100-foot removals near houses use a crane, which adds an estimated $780 to $3,360 for four to eight hours of crane time (see the crane section). Public bids for the biggest trunks show the same scale: $3,120 to $4,025 for a 55- to 60-inch tree in Overland’s 2026 bids.

How big of a tree costs $1,000 to remove?

At public-bid prices, $1,000 buys roughly a 19- to 30-inch trunk. In Overland’s 2026 bids, the 19- to 24-inch class ran $695 to $1,170 and the 25- to 30-inch class $1,200 to $1,560. In our height model, $1,000 is the upper half of the 30- to 60-foot band or the bottom of the 60- to 80-foot band.

What cities actually pay per tree: public bid prices by trunk diameter

Tree companies price by trunk diameter more often than by height, because diameter is easy to measure and tracks the weight of wood that has to come down. Cities make them do it in writing. A diameter-class bid sheet lists a price per tree for each size class, every bidder fills it in, and the tabulation becomes a public record. Measure your own tree’s diameter at breast height (DBH), 4.5 feet above the ground: wrap a tape around the trunk and divide the circumference by 3.14.

Trunk diameter (DBH)	Lowest bid	Highest bid	Near a utility line (low–high)
0–6 in	$60	$195	$60–$292.50
7–12 in	$275	$487.50	$275–$585
13–18 in	$500	$780	$581.25–$1,625
19–24 in	$695	$1,170	$755–$1,365
25–30 in	$1,200	$1,560	$1,300–$1,755
31–36 in	$1,560	$1,700	$1,755–$1,800
37–42 in	$1,560	$2,370	$1,852.50–$2,468.75
43–48 in	$2,340	$2,730	$2,535–$2,843.75
49–54 in	$2,730	$3,347.50	$2,925–$3,476.25
55–60 in	$3,120	$4,025	$3,120–$4,168.75

1. 0–6 in60
2. 7–12 in275
3. 13–18 in500
4. 19–24 in695
5. 25–30 in1,200
6. 31–36 in1,560
7. 37–42 in1,560
8. 43–48 in2,340
9. 49–54 in2,730
10. 55–60 in3,120

Source: City of Overland, Mo., bid results, April 2026 Trees away from utility lines.

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	Lowest of 3 bids	Highest of 3 bids
0–6 in	60	195
7–12 in	275	487.50
13–18 in	500	780
19–24 in	695	1,170
25–30 in	1,200	1,560
31–36 in	1,560	1,700
37–42 in	1,560	2,370
43–48 in	2,340	2,730
49–54 in	2,730	3,347.50
55–60 in	3,120	4,025

A second tabulation, from a village in Lake County, Ill., shows how wide quotes spread for identical work. Seven companies bid the same 30 removals for 2025–26:

Trunk class	Lowest of 7 bids	Median bid	Highest of 7 bids
Under 5.9 in	$40	$60	$160
6–12.9 in	$74	$144	$400
13–20.9 in	$250	$400	$900
21–30.9 in	$690	$800	$2,500
31 in and over	$1,200	$1,430	$4,000

The highest bidder for a 31-inch-plus tree asked 3.3 times the lowest. That is the single best argument for getting three quotes on a large removal. The same spread shows up on a state highway contract: four bidders on a North Carolina DOT roadside job in Robeson County priced a 21- to 30-inch tree at $600 to $800 and a tree over 50 inches at $1,800 to $2,650 (NCDOT bid tabulation, contract D6D1.SBE.007, April 2025). A Michigan city’s 2026 street-tree contract, 37 mature trees along local and major streets, drew eight bids from $46,280 to $136,715, or about $1,250 to $3,700 a tree (City of Owosso, 2026 Fall Tree Removal bid tabulation).

Two cautions before you hold a contractor to these numbers. Public contracts bundle dozens of trees on open streets, so a one-tree backyard job carries more travel and setup per tree. And bid sheets can be unbalanced: one NCDOT bidder entered $1 for every stump-grinding class, recovering the money on other lines. Treat these as a floor for open-access work, not a quote.

Why tree removal costs so much: the line items behind a quote

A tree removal quote is mostly crew time. There are almost no materials, so the price is labor plus the trucks and machines the crew brings, plus the insurance and overhead that come with some of the most dangerous work in the country.

Cost input	Published figure	Source
Tree trimmer and pruner wage, U.S. median	$24.50 an hour ($30.72 at the 75th percentile)	BLS OEWS, May 2025
Payroll as a share of landscaping-firm revenue	32.3 percent	Census, 2022 Economic Census, NAICS 561730
Three-person crew, billed (our calculation)	$227 to $285 per crew-hour	wages ÷ 0.323
Brush chipper, 12- to 19-inch capacity, equipment only	$29.70 to $54.11 an hour	FEMA Schedule of Equipment Rates, 2025
Truck-mounted aerial lift, 55 to 80 ft	$62.86 to $65.87 an hour	FEMA, 2025
Stump grinder, 23- to 26-inch wheel	$55.28 to $56.33 an hour	FEMA, 2025
Knuckleboom log loader (grapple)	$150.01 an hour	FEMA, 2025
40-ton boom truck crane with operator	$195 to $225 an hour, 4-hour minimum	Tennessee Tech RFQ, Nov. 2025
Crane, county tree contract	$420 an hour	Lauderdale County, Miss., Bid 4021, 2026

The crew rate in our model lines up with what contractors bid when cities ask for hourly prices. Bidders on the North Carolina DOT job priced a bucket truck with a chainsaw crew at $75 to $300 an hour, and the only bidder on Lauderdale County’s 2026 contract priced removal at $480 an hour with a three-person minimum crew. Seven bidders for Grayslake priced daytime emergency crews at $130 to $520 an hour.

Danger is part of the price. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 99 deaths among tree trimmers and pruners in 2024: 39 from falls and 39 from being struck by or caught in something, usually wood (BLS CFOI, Table A-5, 2024). Grounds maintenance workers as a group died at 20.9 per 100,000 full-time workers, against 3.3 for all U.S. workers (BLS CFOI hours-based rates, 2024). That risk shows up in workers’ compensation and liability premiums, which sit inside the overhead every quote has to cover.

Prices have also climbed faster than inflation. The consumer price index for gardening and lawn care services, the closest BLS series to tree work, rose 52 percent from September 2019 to September 2025, from 210.9 to 320.6 (BLS CPI series CUUR0000SEHP02). All items rose 26.5 percent over the same months (BLS CPI-U, CUUR0000SA0).

Access, houses and power lines: what raises the price

The same tree can cost twice as much depending on what is underneath it. A tree with open lawn around it can be felled in a few big pieces. A tree over a roof has to be climbed, limbed and lowered piece by piece on ropes, which multiplies the crew-hours. We price that as a multiplier on the base estimate.

Situation	Factor we apply	Why
Open drop zone, truck and chipper can reach the tree	1.0	Baseline
Backyard with gate-only access; brush carried out by hand	1.2	Extra labor-hours dragging brush to the chipper
Near a house, fence, pool or garage; lowered in sections	1.3	Rigging and roping each piece
Over a roof or within reach of power lines	1.6	Slowest rigging; line-clearance rules may require a qualified crew or the utility first
Dead, decayed or storm-damaged tree	1.25	Climbing restrictions, more rigging, sometimes a lift or crane

Trees near power lines: who handles what

Federal rules keep anyone who is not a qualified electrical worker, and any conductive object they hold, at least 10 feet from an energized overhead line of 50 kV or less, with more distance for higher voltages (29 CFR 1910.333(c)(3)). A ladder, pole saw or falling limb counts. That is why tree crews without line-clearance training will not cut limbs touching the wires, and why a tree tangled in lines often starts with a call to the utility.

Utilities split the job by which wire is involved. The high-voltage lines on poles along the street are the utility’s to keep clear, usually at no charge to you; the service drop, the single line from the pole to your house, is generally yours. PG&E tells customers that property owners are responsible for keeping service drops clear and offers a free temporary disconnect so a contractor can work safely (PG&E vegetation management). Dominion Energy in Virginia will not cut trees on or near a service line but will disconnect the line at no cost (Dominion Energy). FPL trims around its own lines without charging the owner (FPL tree FAQ).

Two catches. When a utility does cut a tree near its lines, the wood is usually left for the owner: PG&E leaves larger wood on site because it belongs to the property owner, and FPL and Georgia Power both say storm debris is the owner’s or local government’s to remove (Georgia Power FAQ). And the utility’s work is clearance, not removal of the whole tree, so you may still need a contractor for the rest. Call the utility before you book the job; a free disconnect can move a tree from the 1.6 factor to the 1.3 factor in our calculator.

When a crane is worth it

A crane lifts whole sections out over the house, so the crew spends fewer hours rigging. On a large tree with no drop zone, that trade often cuts total cost. Crane time is bought in blocks: the lowest bidder for Tennessee Tech’s November 2025 crane contract charged $195 an hour for a 40-ton boom truck with a 4-hour minimum ($780), and $265 an hour for a 60-ton unit with a 6-hour minimum (Tennessee Tech University bid tabulation, Crane/Boom Truck, Nov. 18, 2025). Lauderdale County, Miss., pays $420 an hour for a crane on its tree contract. We use $780 to $3,360 per job for crane time, four to eight hours, as an add-on.

Does the species change the price? Wood weight and hardness

Species matters in two ways: how hard the wood is on saws and chippers, and how much it weighs, which decides how big each rigged piece can be and how much the load costs to haul. The U.S. Forest Products Laboratory publishes both. A green (freshly cut) oak weighs about 61 pounds per cubic foot; a 10-foot section of an 18-inch trunk is roughly 1,080 pounds.

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Species	Specific gravity, green	Side hardness, green (lbf)	Green weight (lb per cu ft)
Eastern cottonwood	0.37	340	59
Eastern white pine	0.34	290	not listed
Silver maple	0.44	590	49
Loblolly pine	0.47	450	50
Sweetgum	0.46	600	60
American sycamore	0.46	610	64
Black walnut	0.51	900	58
Sugar maple	0.56	970	59
Northern red oak	0.56	1,000	61
White oak	0.60	1,060	64
Pecan	0.60	1,310	not listed
Honeylocust	0.60	1,390	not listed
Shagbark hickory	0.64	1,460	not listed

1. Eastern cottonwood58.60
2. Silver maple48.70
3. Loblolly pine50.30
4. Sweetgum59.70
5. American sycamore63.70
6. Black walnut57.80
7. Sugar maple58.90
8. Northern red oak61
9. White oak64

Source: USDA Forest Products Laboratory, Wood Handbook (2021), Tables 4-1 and 5-3b; calculation by GIR 62.4 x green specific gravity x (1 + mean green moisture content).

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	Pounds per cubic foot, green
Eastern cottonwood	58.60
Silver maple	48.70
Loblolly pine	50.30
Sweetgum	59.70
American sycamore	63.70
Black walnut	57.80
Sugar maple	58.90
Northern red oak	61
White oak	64

Two points stand out. Cottonwood is soft (340 lbf) but heavy when green (59 pounds per cubic foot) because it holds so much water. Hickory and honeylocust are four times harder than cottonwood, which slows cutting and dulls chipper knives. In practice, crews price dense hardwoods such as oak, hickory and pecan above pines and soft maples of the same height, and large cottonwoods and sycamores above what their softness suggests. We do not apply a separate species factor in the calculator; the spread inside each height band covers most of it.

Whole-tree weight climbs much faster than diameter. Using the Forest Service’s national biomass equation for the oak, hickory and hard maple group and the moisture content above, a 12-inch tree weighs roughly 1.1 tons green above ground, an 18-inch tree about 2.8 tons and a 24-inch tree about 5.7 tons (Jenkins and others, Forest Science, 2003; Wood Handbook). Doubling the trunk diameter roughly quintuples the wood. These are estimates for a typical tree, and open-grown yard trees with big crowns can run heavier.

Stump grinding: leave it or grind it

Almost no removal quote includes the stump unless it says so. Grinding takes the stump and surface roots 6 to 12 inches below grade and leaves a pile of chips; full extraction, digging the root ball out, costs more and only makes sense where something will be built.

Stump diameter	Grayslake, Ill. 2025/26 (7 bids, low–high)	Overland, Mo. 2026 (3 bids, low–high)
Under 6 in	$25–$150	$30–$65
6–12.9 in / 7–12 in	$45–$250	$65–$85.50
13–20.9 in / 13–24 in	$95–$425	$65–$193.50
21–30.9 in / 25–30 in	$160–$550	$97.50–$247.50
31 in and over / 31–36 in	$195–$600	$97.50–$301.50

For a one-off residential stump we use $95 to $550 per stump, the range of public bids for 13- to 30-inch stumps. A single small stump often costs more than its class price because the contractor has a trip minimum; Lauderdale County’s contractor charges $360 for any stump up to 24 inches. Grinding several stumps on one visit is where the per-stump price falls. After grinding, the hole needs topsoil and seed or sod; see our sod installation cost guide for patch pricing.

Haul-away or leave the wood?

Brush is easy: it goes through the chipper and leaves in the chip truck. Trunk wood is the expensive part to remove, because it is heavy and landfills and yard-waste sites charge by the ton. Leaving the trunk cut into rounds for firewood or for you to deal with is the simplest way to cut a quote.

Facility	Wood or stump rate	Effective
Broome County, N.Y., landfill	$55 per ton, tree trunks and stumps	county fee page, current
Madison County, N.Y.	$65 per ton, stumps and oversized tree waste; $35 brush	2025 solid waste fee schedule
Seattle transfer stations	$132 per ton, clean yard or wood waste	Seattle Public Utilities rates, April 1, 2026

We price log haul-away for one 30- to 60-foot tree at $205 to $775: one to two hours of a two-person crew with a truck and loader, plus 1 to 3 tons of wood at $55 to $132 a ton. Larger trees scale with weight; a 24-inch oak can put more than 5 tons on the truck.

Tree removal cost by state

Crew wages are the biggest regional variable. We reran the medium-band estimate (a 30- to 60-foot tree, 2.5 to 4.5 crew-hours) with each state’s tree trimmer wages: the low end uses the state median wage, the high end the state 75th percentile. Equipment, insurance and overhead are scaled the same way, which is a simplification; rural states with lower wages also tend to have lower overhead.

1. Minnesota865
2. Oregon840
3. New Jersey805
4. California700
5. Massachusetts700
6. New York695
7. Pennsylvania650
8. Michigan640
9. Ohio555
10. North Carolina540
11. Georgia525
12. Florida515
13. Texas445
14. Nebraska440

Source: Green Industry Report estimate from BLS OEWS May 2025 state data, SOC 37-3013 2.5 to 4.5 crew-hours, three-person crew, national payroll gross-up.

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	Low (state median wage)	High (state 75th percentile wage)
Minnesota	865	1,555
Oregon	840	1,685
New Jersey	805	1,615
California	700	1,575
Massachusetts	700	1,595
New York	695	1,590
Pennsylvania	650	1,290
Michigan	640	1,215
Ohio	555	1,100
North Carolina	540	1,225
Georgia	525	1,055
Florida	515	980
Texas	445	920
Nebraska	440	875

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

State	Median tree trimmer wage	Crew-hour cost (median)	30–60 ft tree, estimated
Alabama	$19.95	$185	$465–$980
Arizona	$24.36	$226	$565–$1,105
Arkansas	$21.95	$204	$510–$960
California	$30.07	$279	$700–$1,575
Colorado	$24.71	$229	$575–$1,195
Connecticut	$23.52	$218	$545–$1,325
Delaware	$23.72	$220	$550–$1,185
Florida	$22.15	$206	$515–$980
Georgia	$22.55	$209	$525–$1,055
Hawaii	$27.40	$254	$635–$1,330
Idaho	$21.08	$196	$490–$1,025
Illinois	$30.99	$288	$720–$1,520
Indiana	$22.14	$206	$515–$1,045
Iowa	$20.62	$191	$480–$1,110
Kansas	$23.27	$216	$540–$1,165
Kentucky	$21.35	$198	$495–$925
Louisiana	$22.77	$211	$530–$1,170
Maine	$22.32	$207	$520–$1,135
Maryland	$22.70	$211	$525–$1,025
Massachusetts	$30.07	$279	$700–$1,595
Michigan	$27.67	$257	$640–$1,215
Minnesota	$37.24	$346	$865–$1,555
Mississippi	$19.98	$186	$465–$965
Missouri	$29.40	$273	$680–$1,325
Montana	$28.65	$266	$665–$1,250
Nebraska	$18.94	$176	$440–$875
Nevada	$24.62	$229	$570–$1,035
New Hampshire	$28.68	$266	$665–$1,200
New Jersey	$34.59	$321	$805–$1,615
New Mexico	$22.76	$211	$530–$1,190
New York	$30.00	$279	$695–$1,590
North Carolina	$23.31	$216	$540–$1,225
North Dakota	$21.55	$200	$500–$930
Ohio	$23.87	$222	$555–$1,100
Oklahoma	$22.57	$210	$525–$1,020
Oregon	$36.27	$337	$840–$1,685
Pennsylvania	$27.98	$260	$650–$1,290
Rhode Island	$29.35	$273	$680–$1,225
South Carolina	$20.99	$195	$485–$1,010
South Dakota	$24.25	$225	$565–$1,225
Tennessee	$22.76	$211	$530–$990
Texas	$19.17	$178	$445–$920
Utah	$27.35	$254	$635–$1,330
Vermont	$29.89	$278	$695–$1,415
Virginia	$23.34	$217	$540–$1,085
Washington	$30.70	$285	$715–$1,600
West Virginia	$23.62	$219	$550–$1,140
Wisconsin	$27.85	$259	$645–$1,255
Wyoming	$22.22	$206	$515–$1,285

Minnesota, Oregon and New Jersey sit at the top of the table, with median tree trimmer pay above $34 an hour; Texas, Nebraska and Alabama sit at the bottom, under $20. The same 50-foot tree carries a crew cost roughly 1.9 times higher in Minnesota than in Nebraska. For landscaping pay by state more broadly, see our landscaper salary data.

Do you need a permit to remove a tree? Rules and fees in 13 big cities

In much of the country, no permit is needed to take down a tree in your own yard. In cities with tree ordinances, the permit is often the least of it: the replacement payment for a large tree can cost more than the removal. Sizes below are trunk diameter at 4.5 feet unless the code measures circumference. We read each city’s code and current fee schedule; rules change, so confirm with the city before booking.

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

City	Private-yard trees that need a permit	Fees and replacement payments	Dead or hazardous trees
Washington, D.C.	“Special” trees 40 to 100 inches around (about 13 to 32 inches across), effective May 21, 2026; trees over 100 inches around only if hazardous or an exempt species	Tree Fund payment of at least $55 per inch of circumference (D.C. Code §8-651.04)	Permit still issued, with no Tree Fund payment if shown to be hazardous
Seattle	Trees 6 inches and up. Without a development project, most residential lots may remove two 6- to 12-inch trees per three years; 12 inches and up only if hazardous or (12 to 24 inches) damaging a foundation or utilities	Hazard review from $275.50 (half the $551 hourly rate); payment in lieu of replacement $2,833 per 12- to 24-inch tree (Director’s Rule 8-2023)	No land-use fee for dead trees and no replacement (Tip 242B, 2025), but approval still needed
Portland, Ore.	Private trees 12 inches and up; 20 inches and up need a Type B permit with inch-for-inch replacement	Application free for up to 3 trees, $25 a tree for 4 or more; $472 per inch in lieu of replanting (fee schedule eff. July 10, 2026)	Permit still needed, with tree-for-tree replacement; emergencies can file within 7 days
Austin	Protected trees 19 inches and up; heritage species (all oaks, pecan, cedar elm and others) 24 inches and up need a variance	$252.89 tree review without a building permit; mitigation fund $200 per inch (fee schedule eff. Oct. 1, 2026)	Damaged imminent-hazard tree may be removed without a permit within 7 days; schedule notes fees waived for dead, diseased or hazard trees
Atlanta	Non-pine trees 6 inches and up; pines 12 inches and up (ordinance adopted June 2025, amended Feb. 2026)	Recompense $140 per caliper inch owed in 2026, indexed to inflation from 2027	Permit still required; no replacement or recompense
Charlotte	Outside development, only heritage trees: N.C. native species 30 inches and up	$500 per heritage tree, or replacement planting options (city checklist, 2024)	No permit or mitigation for dead, diseased or failing heritage trees, with documentation
Oakland	Coast live oaks 4 inches and up; other trees 9 inches and up except eucalyptus and Monterey pine	$579.06 permit for 1 to 10 trees (non-development); $619 per tree in-lieu fee (FY2026-27 fee schedule)	Not confirmed for private dead trees; check with the city
San Jose	Trunks 38 inches around (about 12 inches across) at 54 inches above ground	Set in the city planning fee schedule	Permit required even for dead trees
Los Angeles	Only protected natives: oaks (not scrub oak), Southern California black walnut, western sycamore, California bay, 4 inches and up	$805.99 application plus $2,892.48 inspection for 1 to 2 trees (LAMC 46.04)	No exemption; decline or danger of falling are grounds to approve
Houston	Private yard trees not regulated; street and sidewalk-zone trees 20 inches and up (or listed street-tree species) need 20 days’ notice	Inch-for-inch replacement or a per-inch fee; fines up to $500 per tree	Storm or accident damage is a defense
Miami-Dade County (unincorporated)	Trees 3 inches or 12 feet and up, but existing single-family yards are exempt unless a specimen tree (18 inches and up) or in a natural forest community	Set by county administrative order	Dead trees exempt outside natural forest communities; cities may be stricter
Denver	No general permit for private yard trees; permit required for right-of-way trees	Set by Forester rule	No value compensation for dead or unhealthy right-of-way trees
Chicago	Private trees not covered; parkway trees become city property once planted	$20 permit to remove a parkway tree (MCC 10-32-090)	City forestry crews handle dead parkway trees

The pattern: West Coast cities and Atlanta regulate ordinary yard trees and charge by the inch; Houston, Denver and Chicago leave private yard trees alone and regulate only trees along the street; Charlotte and Los Angeles protect only certain trees. A 20-inch oak removed with no replanting could carry a recompense of about $2,800 in Atlanta (20 inches at $140, if all 20 inches are owed) and $9,440 in Portland’s in-lieu fee (20 inches at $472) on top of the contractor’s bill. Ask the contractor whether they pull the permit; many do, and the permit cost belongs on the quote.

Street trees: often the city’s job, not yours

If the tree stands between the sidewalk and the curb, it may not be yours to remove or pay for. Chicago’s code makes parkway trees city property once planted, and its forestry bureau handles dead ones. Atlanta’s parks department maintains and removes right-of-way trees. Portland and Seattle are exceptions: there, the adjacent owner generally maintains street trees and pays for removal. Call the city forester before paying anyone to cut a street tree.

Who pays when a neighbor’s tree falls?

In most states the answer turns on one question: did the tree owner know, or should they have known, that the tree was dead, decayed or dangerous? If a healthy tree comes down in a storm, it is treated as an act of nature, and each owner’s own insurance handles damage to their own property. Connecticut’s insurance department puts it plainly: a tree owner is legally liable only if the owner’s negligence caused the tree to fall (Connecticut Insurance Department, storm claims FAQ). South Carolina’s regulator gives the same answer and adds that your insurer may recover from the neighbor if negligence was involved (S.C. Department of Insurance FAQ).

Extension law guides describe the negligence test the same way. University of Georgia Extension: the owner is liable only with preexisting knowledge that the tree was diseased, decayed or otherwise dangerous (UGA Extension Circular 1099, 2022). NC State Extension points to a duty to remove reasonably foreseeable dangers, such as a tree that is dead or visibly dying (NC State Extension, 2022). Practical upshot: if a neighbor’s tree looks dead or is leaning over your house, tell them in writing and keep a copy. That notice is what later separates an act of nature from negligence.

Situation	Who usually pays	Source
Healthy tree falls in a storm onto your house	Your homeowners policy (you pay the deductible)	Conn. Insurance Dept.
Dead or visibly decayed tree the owner knew about falls on your house	The tree owner (or their insurer), often through subrogation by your insurer	NC State Extension; Insurance Information Institute
Tree falls but hits nothing insured	Usually you; debris removal is generally not covered	Insurance Information Institute
Neighbor’s branches hang over your yard	You may trim to the property line at your own expense	UF/IFAS EDIS FE962, 2022

What homeowners insurance pays for tree removal

The standard homeowners form written by ISO, which many insurers use or adapt, pays up to $1,000 per loss to remove fallen trees, and no more than $500 for any one tree. It applies when a tree is felled by wind, hail or the weight of ice, snow or sleet (or a neighbor’s tree by a covered peril) and it damages a covered structure or blocks a driveway or wheelchair ramp (ISO HO 00 03 sample form, 2000 edition, via III). That is less than the cost of most large removals in the tables above. Connecticut’s regulator describes coverage of up to $500 for removal in the same circumstances; check your own policy’s wording, because insurers adapt the form.

Trimming a neighbor’s tree and the cost of cutting the wrong one

You can generally cut back branches and roots that cross onto your property, up to the line and at your own cost, but not in a way that kills the tree (UF/IFAS EDIS; Ohio State University Agricultural and Resource Law Program, 2023). Cutting down a tree that is not yours is expensive: Washington’s timber trespass statute awards treble damages (RCW 64.12.030), and California (Civil Code §3346), New York (RPAPL §861), Oregon (ORS 105.810) and Michigan (MCL 600.2919) have multiple-damages rules of their own. Before removing a tree near a boundary, confirm whose side of the line the trunk stands on.

Can seniors get free tree removal?

There is no national free tree removal program. The closest federal option is USDA’s Section 504 home repair program for rural homeowners: grants are limited to owners 62 or older with very low income (7 CFR 3550.103), and grant money may only pay for repairs that remove identified health and safety hazards (7 CFR 3550.102). USDA lists the maximum grant as $10,000 and the maximum loan as $40,000 at 1 percent (USDA Rural Development, Section 504). Neither the rule nor the program page names trees, so a hazardous tree threatening the house is the case to ask about, not routine removal.

Two other routes cost nothing. If the tree is a street or parkway tree, the city usually owns it and removes it (see the permit table above). And if the problem is limbs in the primary power lines, the utility clears those at its own cost.

What is the cheapest time of year for tree removal?

Late fall through winter, outside storm season, in most of the country. No public data set tracks seasonal tree prices, so this is reasoning from the bid sheets rather than a measured discount: the Overland bidders priced emergency removals 37 percent above scheduled ones (pooled across sizes), and one bidder doubled every emergency price. Booking a non-urgent removal in a slow month, and grouping several trees into one visit, avoids both the storm premium and a second trip charge. Deciduous trees also weigh less and are easier to see through once the leaves drop.

Reading a tree removal quote: what should be in writing

• Which trees, by location and trunk size, and whether each is felled whole or dismantled in sections.
• Whether stump grinding is included, how deep, and whether the chips are removed or left in the hole.
• What happens to the trunk wood and brush: chipped and hauled, or left in rounds.
• Who obtains the city permit, if one is required, and who pays any replacement fee.
• Proof of liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage. A worker hurt on your property without coverage can become your problem.
• Whether a crane, lift or utility disconnect is needed, and who schedules it.

Some states license tree work separately from landscaping. Maryland, for example, bars anyone from working as a tree expert without a state license, and its definition covers removing trees taller than 20 feet (Md. Code, Natural Resources § 5-415, § 5-417). Check our license requirements by state and how to check a license before you pay a deposit. A quote far below the public bid prices above usually means something has been left out: the stump, the haul-away, or the insurance.

Is it cheaper to cut a tree down yourself?

For a small tree that can fall in any direction without hitting anything, yes: the cost is a saw, safety gear and your time. Above roughly 20 to 30 feet, or anywhere near a structure or a line, the numbers turn the other way. The trade’s fatality count above is for trained crews with proper equipment, and a damaged roof costs more than the removal. Splitting the work is a fair compromise: have a crew drop the tree and leave the wood, then cut and haul the rounds yourself.

This page is general information, not legal, insurance or safety advice. Tree ordinances, liability rules and utility policies change and vary by city and state; confirm with your city forester or permit office, your insurer and your utility before work starts. Never work within 10 feet of a power line.