Tree Trimmers and Pruners
Also called: Arborist, Groundsman, Tree Climber, Tree TrimmerUsing 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. Works off the ground in the tree canopy and may use truck-mounted lifts.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 3 of its 24 tasks, and jobs are projected to grow 4.2% by 2035. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 4.3% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.9 hires for every 10 job openings in professional and business services, which employs about 92% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.9 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $41,500 | $37,610 to $48,740 | 890 |
| Arizona | $50,680 | $45,990 to $54,970 | not published |
| Arkansas | $45,650 | $44,970 to $47,850 | 290 |
| California | $62,550 | $46,880 to $78,500 | 9,610 |
| Colorado | $51,390 | $49,290 to $59,510 | 1,200 |
| Connecticut | $48,930 | $48,830 to $65,920 | 360 |
| Delaware | $49,330 | $47,960 to $59,040 | not published |
| Florida | $46,070 | $38,370 to $48,880 | 2,770 |
| Georgia | $46,910 | $38,430 to $52,570 | 1,030 |
| Hawaii | $56,990 | $46,320 to $66,340 | 170 |
| Idaho | $43,840 | $41,740 to $50,950 | not published |
| Illinois | $64,450 | $60,860 to $75,630 | 700 |
| Indiana | $46,050 | $40,280 to $52,150 | 1,850 |
| Iowa | $42,890 | $28,680 to $55,350 | 380 |
| Kansas | $48,400 | $46,430 to $58,090 | 390 |
| Kentucky | $44,410 | $38,540 to $46,110 | 1,020 |
| Louisiana | $47,350 | $40,180 to $58,270 | 120 |
| Maine | $46,430 | $40,070 to $56,420 | not published |
| Maryland | $47,210 | $42,680 to $50,990 | 730 |
| Massachusetts | $62,550 | $53,620 to $79,320 | 2,090 |
| Michigan | $57,550 | $50,520 to $60,520 | 1,840 |
| Minnesota | $77,460 | $71,560 to $77,460 | not published |
| Mississippi | $41,560 | $35,780 to $48,110 | 260 |
| Missouri | $61,140 | $46,840 to $66,070 | 970 |
| Montana | $59,580 | $50,880 to $62,130 | 230 |
| Nebraska | $39,380 | $37,580 to $43,640 | not published |
| Nevada | $51,210 | $39,850 to $51,650 | 190 |
| New Hampshire | $59,660 | $51,450 to $59,660 | 330 |
| New Jersey | $71,940 | $61,700 to $80,310 | not published |
| New Mexico | $47,330 | $45,530 to $59,160 | not published |
| New York | $62,400 | $47,820 to $79,030 | 3,750 |
| North Carolina | $48,480 | $40,860 to $60,860 | 1,560 |
| North Dakota | $44,820 | $38,420 to $46,240 | not published |
| Ohio | $49,650 | $47,560 to $54,810 | 1,460 |
| Oklahoma | $46,950 | $44,550 to $50,780 | 860 |
| Oregon | $75,440 | $62,400 to $83,830 | 1,610 |
| Pennsylvania | $58,200 | $47,740 to $64,250 | 3,160 |
| Puerto Rico | $50,770 | $50,770 to $50,770 | not published |
| Rhode Island | $61,040 | $61,040 to $61,060 | 110 |
| South Carolina | $43,660 | $35,680 to $50,280 | 430 |
| South Dakota | $50,430 | $45,910 to $61,030 | 270 |
| Tennessee | $47,350 | $40,750 to $49,170 | 710 |
| Texas | $39,880 | $38,540 to $45,820 | 4,460 |
| Utah | $56,890 | $55,680 to $66,130 | 200 |
| Vermont | $62,170 | $52,740 to $70,360 | 430 |
| Virginia | $48,550 | $45,600 to $53,970 | 1,070 |
| Washington | $63,850 | $48,940 to $79,680 | 700 |
| West Virginia | $49,140 | $48,990 to $56,720 | 1,420 |
| Wisconsin | $57,930 | $48,850 to $62,590 | 1,190 |
| Wyoming | $46,210 | $34,820 to $63,960 | not published |
Nationally: $50,960. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 3 of its 24 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Operate boom trucks, loaders, stump chippers, brush chippers, tractors, power saws, trucks, sprayers, and other equipment and tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Clean, sharpen, and lubricate tools and equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Operate shredding and chipping equipment, and feed limbs and brush into the machines. | Not published |
| Not much | 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. | Not published |
| Not much | Hoist tools and equipment to tree trimmers, and lower branches with ropes or block and tackle. | Not published |
| Not much | Trim, top, and reshape trees to achieve attractive shapes or to remove low-hanging branches. | Not published |
See all 24 tasks
| Not much | Supervise others engaged in tree trimming work and train lower-level employees. | Not published |
| Not much | Load debris and refuse onto trucks and haul it away for disposal. | Not published |
| Not much | Trim jagged stumps, using saws or pruning shears. | Not published |
| Not much | Collect debris and refuse from tree trimming and removal operations into piles, using shovels, rakes, or other tools. | Not published |
| Not much | Climb trees, using climbing hooks and belts, or climb ladders to gain access to work areas. | Not published |
| Not much | Clear sites, streets, and grounds of woody and herbaceous materials, such as tree stumps and fallen trees and limbs. | Not published |
| AI + software | Inspect trees to determine if they have diseases or pest problems. | Not published |
| AI + software | Provide information to the public regarding trees, such as advice on tree care. | Not published |
| Not much | Prune, cut down, fertilize, and spray trees as directed by tree surgeons. | Not published |
| AI + software | Plan and develop budgets for tree work, and estimate the monetary value of trees. | Not published |
| Not much | Cable, brace, tie, bolt, stake, and guy trees and branches to provide support. | Not published |
| Not much | Remove broken limbs from wires, using hooked extension poles. | Not published |
| Not much | Water, root-feed, and fertilize trees. | Not published |
| Not much | Apply tar or other protective substances to cut surfaces or seal surfaces and to protect them from fungi and insects. | Not published |
| Not much | Spray trees to treat diseased or unhealthy trees, including mixing chemicals and calibrating spray equipment. | Not published |
| Not much | Transplant and remove trees and shrubs, and prepare trees for moving. | Not published |
| Not much | Scrape decayed matter from cavities in trees and fill holes with cement to promote healing and to prevent further deterioration. | Not published |
| Not much | Split logs or wooden blocks into bolts, pickets, posts, or stakes, using hand tools such as ax wedges, sledgehammers, and mallets. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 0 of the 24 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 24 tasks fall under 15 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #7 Explain technical details of products or services
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operate agricultural or forestry equipment | |||
| Apply protective solutions or coatings | |||
| Dispose of waste or debris | |||
| Cut trees or other vegetation | |||
| Perform agricultural activities | |||
| Operate transportation equipment or vehicles | |||
| Explain technical details of products or services | |||
| Prepare mixtures or solutions |
Show all 15 activities
| Estimate project development or operational costs | |||
| Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas | |||
| Monitor environmental conditions | |||
| Build structures | |||
| Train others on operational or work procedures | |||
| Supervise personnel activities | |||
| Climb equipment or structures |
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for tree trimmers and pruners specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 1,667 moves out
- 1 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 5%
- 2 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 3 Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators Low +1.5% 4%
- 4 Public Relations and Fundraising Managers (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 5 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers Moderate +3.8% 4%
Where people moved in from
of 1,290 moves in
- 1 Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand Low +1.8% 6%
- 2 Construction Laborers Low +7.3% 4%
- 3 Production Workers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 3%
- 4 Cashiers High -6.5% 3%
- 5 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 3%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
O*NET survey of workers in this occupation
- 57% less than high school
- 37% high school
- 2% postsecondary certificate
- 4% some college
O*NET 31.0 survey of workers in this occupation · 21 people answered.
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 23% less than high school
- 43% high school
- 18% some college
- 6% associate's
- 10% bachelor's
- 1% master's
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 966 people surveyed.
Why the two can differ
O*NET asks about 20 people in each occupation, which makes its shares uncertain, but it reports the exact occupation and counts certificates. The Census survey reaches thousands, but it groups some occupations together and counts degrees only. More in the Guide
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
BLS publishes no credential figures for this occupation.
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 4 registered apprenticeships in this occupation. Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Tree Trimmers and Pruners” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS
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