# Cost of Tree Removal 2026

Canonical URL: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/tree-removal-cost/
Plain text: https://www.simplywise.com/blog/tree-removal-cost/llms.txt
Publisher: SimplyWise, Inc. (https://www.simplywise.com)
Published: September 16, 2026
Updated: October 27, 2026
Summary: The cost of tree removal built from sourced inputs: BLS crew wages, published rental day rates, and county tip fees, with a calculator for your range.

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## Cost of Tree Removal: Build It From Sourced Numbers

Nobody publishes an honest national price for felling a tree. So this tree removal cost calculator builds it from wages, rental day rates, and the scale house ticket.

Add SimplyWise as a preferred source (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=simplywise.com)

Your direct cost before overhead and margin

Tree height

Access and risk

Trunk diameter (in) Tap a height button to refill hours

Crew hours on site Your call. Buttons fill a start.

Debris tons to the yard Set 0 to leave the wood

Grind the stump

$905 to $1,087 direct cost

Crew wages, 3 workers$515 to $645

Machines, 1 rental day$225 to $265

Haul and tip fees$165 to $177

Wages from BLS May 2025, median to 75th percentile. Rental and two county tip rates read September 11, 2026. Crew hours are your own assumption. Overhead, permit and margin sit on top.

At a glance

1. No authority publishes a national price for a removal, so this page builds one.
2. Crew wages run $24.50 to $30.72 an hour (BLS, May 2025).
3. A towable chipper rents for $225 to $265 a day at two yards.
4. Two county scale houses tip trunk wood and brush at $55 to $59 a ton.
5. A 45 ft towable lift adds $300 a day in a tight yard.

## How the tree removal cost calculator works

Search the cost of tree removal and you get lead generators quoting ranges they will never honor. That is marketing. This page uses none of it.

Every input underneath the price does get published. So the calculator stacks crew hours at the published wage band, a rental day, and the tip ticket. That total is direct cost.

Crew hours are the one thing nobody publishes. The height and access buttons fill a starting figure from shop assumptions. Overwrite it with what your crew does.

## Crew wages are the biggest line

The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks tree trimmers and pruners as occupation 37-3013. In May 2025 it counted 55,160 of them. That is your climbing and ground crew.

| Hourly wage, May 2025 | Tree trimmers, 37-3013 | Logging equipment, 45-4022 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Median | $24.50 | $23.91 |
| Mean | $26.91 | $25.57 |
| 75th percentile | $30.72 | $29.35 |
| 90th percentile | $38.61 | $35.72 |

Those are wages paid, not rates billed. Payroll taxes, climbing-class comp, trucks, saws, and the office load on top. Three hands at the median burn $73.50 an hour.

## What the machines cost a day

Two yards post rates on named machines. Posted prices on a specific machine, not a range in an ad.

| Machine | Rate a day | Yard, read Sept 11, 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Large towable chipper, 6 in | $225 | TC Rentals price list |
| Wood Chipper 12 Inch | $265 | Ark Rentals product page |
| Towable boom lift, 45 ft | $300 | TC Rentals, single source |
| Small compact stump grinder | $200 | TC Rentals, single publisher |
| Self propelled stump grinder | $335 | TC Rentals, single publisher |

The two grinder rows are the span the calculator adds when stump grinding is on, both from one price list. Three yards put a walk-behind at $132 to $215 on our stump grinding cost (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/stump-grinding-cost/) guide. No crane service publishes an hourly rate it is bound by, so the calculator prices the lift and leaves the crane to your quote.

## Stop rebuilding this math every Friday night

SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a job site photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. It is $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, about $20/mo on annual, with a 7-day free trial.

## Hauling, the line most bids forget

Wood is heavy and the scale house bills by weight. Two county schedules land within four dollars a ton, one on trunk wood, one on brush.

| Scale house | Material and rate | Load minimum |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Broome County, New York | Tree trunks and stumps, $55 a ton | $5 |
| Fairfax County, Virginia | Brush, $59 a ton | $39 small, $49 medium, $98 large |

Those are county rate schedules, not estimates. Fairfax bills yard waste higher at $96 a ton. Leaving the rounds on site drops the line, so the calculator takes zero tons.

## What we could not source

Four numbers got cut. No publisher stands behind a national installed price for a removal. Likewise, not one crane service posts an hourly rate. There is also no national permit fee, because permits are municipal. And nobody publishes crew hours by tree height, which is why that field is yours to set.

Permits are still real money. Portland, Eugene, and San Antonio all run tree permit programs with published fee schedules. The amount moves with your city, the tree, and the right of way. Pull your schedule.

## How to price a tree removal job

1. Walk the drop zone first Decide whether the tree falls whole or comes down in pieces. That call drives hours harder than height does.
2. Put real hours against the plan Use your logged time from the last three jobs like this one. Enter it and let the wage band work.
3. Add machines by the day Rental yards bill in days. A nine hour job is two chipper days, so the calculator rounds up.
4. Load the cost before you quote Direct cost is the floor. Add overhead, insurance, the permit, and margin. Then hand over one number.

## Keep reading

- Construction Calculators Hub (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/construction-calculators/)
- Tree Trimming Cost (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/tree-trimming-cost/)
- Junk Removal Pricing (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/junk-removal-pricing/)
- Landscaping Cost (https://www.simplywise.com/blog/landscaping-cost/)

## Sources

### Wages

- BLS OEWS national flat file, May 2025, occupations 37-3013 and 45-4022 (read 2026-09-11).

### Equipment rates

- TC Rentals price list (https://tcrentals.com/price-list/) (large chipper $225, boom lift $300, pro stump grinder $335; read 2026-09-11).
- Ark Rentals, Wood Chipper 12 Inch (https://arkrentals.com/product/wood-chipper-12-inch/) (daily $265; read 2026-09-11).

### Disposal

- Broome County NY tipping fees (https://broomecountyny.gov/solidwaste/landfill-fees) (tree trunks and stumps $55 a ton; read 2026-09-11).
- Fairfax County VA disposal rates (https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/publicworks/recycling-trash/commercial-disposal-fees), FY2027 (brush $59 a ton; read 2026-09-11).

### Product

- SimplyWise Cost Estimator, App Store (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simplywise-cost-estimator/id6670619664) (4.8 rating; verified 2026-09-09).

## Common questions about the cost of tree removal

### Pricing the job

**What is the average cost of tree removal?**

No authority publishes one. The ranges you find online come from lead generators that never honor them. Build it instead: crew hours at $24.50 to $30.72, a chipper day at $225 to $265, and two county scale houses at $55 to $59 a ton.

**How does this tree removal cost calculator work?**

It multiplies your crew hours by three workers at the published wage band. Then it adds a rental day and the county tip ticket. The result is direct cost.

**Why is crew hours an input?**

Because no publisher states crew hours by tree height. The buttons fill a starting figure from shop assumptions. You overwrite it with your own logged time.

### What drives the price up

**Why does a tree near a house cost more?**

It cannot be felled whole. The crew rigs it down in pieces, multiplying hours. A tight drop zone often adds a towable lift at $300 a day.

**Does hauling the wood change the price?**

Yes. Broome County charges $55 a ton for trunks and stumps. Fairfax County charges $59 a ton for brush, with load minimums on top.

**Can SimplyWise price a removal from a photo?**

Yes. SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds, with material and labor lines. Free to try, at $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr.

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