Tree Trimmers and Pruners
Agriculture, Food and Natural ResourcesO*NET 37-3013.00United States
Using sophisticated climbing and rigging techniques, cut away dead or excess branches from trees or shrubs to maintain right-of-way for roads, sidewalks, or utilities, or to improve appearance, health, and value of tree. Prune or treat trees or shrubs using handsaws, hand pruners, clippers, and power pruners.
- Median annual earnings
- $48,386
- Projected change
- +4.5%
- Typical education
- High school diploma or less
- Employment
- 74.4K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
93.9% of the workforce
Growing to 77.76K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What tree trimmers and pruners do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Operate shredding and chipping equipment, and feed limbs and brush into the machines.
- Operate boom trucks, loaders, stump chippers, brush chippers, tractors, power saws, trucks, sprayers, and other equipment and tools.
- Clean, sharpen, and lubricate tools and equipment.
- Cut away dead and excess branches from trees, or clear branches around power lines, using climbing equipment or buckets of extended truck booms, or chainsaws, hooks, handsaws, shears, and clippers.
- Hoist tools and equipment to tree trimmers, and lower branches with ropes or block and tackle.
- Supervise others engaged in tree trimming work and train lower-level employees.
- Climb trees, using climbing hooks and belts, or climb ladders to gain access to work areas.
- Trim, top, and reshape trees to achieve attractive shapes or to remove low-hanging branches.
- Load debris and refuse onto trucks and haul it away for disposal.
- Inspect trees to determine if they have diseases or pest problems.
- Provide information to the public regarding trees, such as advice on tree care.
- Trim jagged stumps, using saws or pruning shears.
- Clear sites, streets, and grounds of woody and herbaceous materials, such as tree stumps and fallen trees and limbs.
- Collect debris and refuse from tree trimming and removal operations into piles, using shovels, rakes, or other tools.
- Cable, brace, tie, bolt, stake, and guy trees and branches to provide support.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $31,126
- 25th percentile
- $39,617
- 50th percentile
- $48,386
- 75th percentile
- $64,701
- 90th percentile
- $93,024
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $48,386 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+4.5%average or slower
202574,397 jobs
2035 projected77,762 jobs
3,365 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- High school diploma or less
- 93.9%
- Some college
- 3.8%
- Certificate
- 2.2%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Equipment Selection
- Determining the kind of tools and equipment needed to do a job.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Equipment Maintenance
- Performing routine maintenance on equipment and determining when and what kind of maintenance is needed.
- Troubleshooting
- Determining causes of operating errors and deciding what to do about it.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Tree Climbers1,825 postings
- 02Climbing Arborists1,071 postings
- 03Trimmers/Climbers1,008 postings
- 04Tree Trimmers977 postings
- 05Arborists758 postings
- 06Trimmers738 postings
- 07Climbers389 postings
- 08Arborists Crew Leader379 postings
- 09Foremen353 postings
- 10Sales Arborists339 postings
- 11Plant Health Care Specialists323 postings
- 12Tree Workers276 postings
- 13Bucket Truck Operators275 postings
- 14Climber Trimmers/Aerial Lift Operators261 postings
- 15Tree Climbers/Arborists202 postings
- 16Bucket Operators196 postings
- 17Mobile Radiologic Technologists186 postings
- 18Technicians121 postings
- 19Utility Arborists119 postings
- 20Low Voltage Technicians101 postings
Top employers
- 01Asplundh Tree Experts1,168 postings
- 02The Davey Tree Expert Company1,142 postings
- 03Bartlett940 postings
- 04SavATree683 postings
- 05Wright Tree Service377 postings
- 06Kendall Vegetation Services340 postings
- 07Penn Line Tree Service317 postings
- 08Xylem Tree Experts317 postings
- 09Brightview279 postings
- 10K&A Recruiting190 postings
- 11Lewis Services135 postings
- 12Rentokil Initial132 postings
- 13Townsend119 postings
- 14Nelson Tree Service111 postings
- 15Moon Valley Nurseries110 postings
- 16Atlas Field Services107 postings
- 17Acrt104 postings
- 18Trees82 postings
- 19Joshua Tree Experts79 postings
- 20Yellowstone Landscape79 postings
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