Careers / Tree Trimmers and Pruners
Tree Trimmers and Pruners — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$50,960
United States, 2025
Employment
55,160
United States, 2025
Typical education
Less than a High School Diploma
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
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. Works off the ground in the tree canopy and may use truck-mounted lifts.
- O*NET code
- 37-3013.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- None
Typical tasks
- 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.
- 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.
- Clean, sharpen, and lubricate tools and equipment.
- Hoist tools and equipment to tree trimmers, and lower branches with ropes or block and tackle.
- Climb trees, using climbing hooks and belts, or climb ladders to gain access to work areas.
- Supervise others engaged in tree trimming work and train lower-level employees.
- Trim, top, and reshape trees to achieve attractive shapes or to remove low-hanging branches.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$37,940
25th percentile
$44,840
75th percentile
$63,900
90th percentile
$80,310
Most important skills
- Operation and Control3.8
- Operations Monitoring3.6
- Critical Thinking3.3
- Complex Problem Solving3.1
- Monitoring3.1
- Coordination3.0
- Speaking3.0
- Instructing3.0
- Equipment Selection2.9
- Service Orientation2.9
- Active Listening2.9
- Time Management2.8
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 8 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
8
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operation and Control | 3.8 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Operations Monitoring | 3.6 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.3 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Monitoring | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Coordination | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Instructing | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.1 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
| Speaking | 3.0 | 2.8 | Not selected | 2.8 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
Related careers
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Compare with Tree Trimmers and PrunersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| MN | $77,460 | — | 2025 |
| Minneapolis, MN | $77,460 | — | 2025 |
| New Haven, CT | $76,450 | 40 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $75,980 | 990 | 2025 |
| Portland, OR | $75,570 | 1,160 | 2025 |
| OR | $75,440 | 1,610 | 2025 |
| Syracuse, NY | $75,140 | 130 | 2025 |
| Buffalo, NY | $74,580 | — | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $73,570 | 190 | 2025 |
| NJ | $71,940 | — | 2025 |
| Salem, OR | $71,190 | 100 | 2025 |
| Bridgeport, CT | $70,550 | — | 2025 |
| Bend, OR | $70,250 | 40 | 2025 |
| Eugene, OR | $68,290 | 50 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $68,110 | 310 | 2025 |
| Kingston, NY | $66,160 | 100 | 2025 |
| New York, NY | $65,130 | — | 2025 |
| IL | $64,450 | 700 | 2025 |
| Chicago, IL | $64,260 | 630 | 2025 |
| WA | $63,850 | 700 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Tree Trimmers and Pruners to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.