- The middle half earn between $23.53 and $38.31 an hour.
- Only 4 states pay tree trimmers more at the median.
- Washington pays more than 1 of its 2 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 700 tree trimmers on payrolls in Washington.
- At the state median wage, a tree service needs to bill about $124.50 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Tree Trimmer pay in Washington, bottom to top
BLS calls this group tree trimmers and pruners. It covers climbers who cut and prune trees for homes, roads and utility lines, and includes utility arborists.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $21.41 | $44,530 | $18.24 |
| 25th percentile | $23.53 | $48,940 | $21.56 |
| Median | $30.70 | $63,850 | $24.50 |
| 75th percentile | $38.31 | $79,680 | $30.72 |
| 90th percentile | $45.01 | $93,620 | $38.61 |
| Average (mean) | $32.20 | $66,980 | $26.91 |
From the bottom tenth ($21.41) to the top tenth ($45.01), the top of the scale pays about 2.1 times the bottom in Washington, close to the 2.1 times spread for tree trimmers nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $21.41 against $18.24 at the bottom tenth, and $45.01 against $38.61 at the top.
The average, $32.20, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Washington compares with other states
Over a full year, the Washington median of $63,850 is $12,890 more than the national $50,960.
In the state ranking, Washington sits 5th, between Illinois ($30.99) and California ($30.07). The range runs from $18.94 in Nebraska to $37.24 in Minnesota.
Against its neighboring states, Washington is in the middle: Oregon pays more, and Idaho pays less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in Washington. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
How many tree trimmers work in Washington
About 700 tree trimmers work on payrolls in Washington, 1.3% of the 55,160 nationwide, the 24th largest count among the states.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 0.2 per 1,000 jobs, 0.55 times the national share.
What a tree service in Washington should charge
Higher wages in Washington go straight into the price. Take a tree service in Washington paying the state median of $30.70 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its starting numbers (40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit).
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $30.70 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $68,741 |
| Break-even rate | ($68,741 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $105.83 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $105.83 ÷ 0.85 | $124.50 |
That is $124.50 per billable hour, 4.1 times the wage, and $10.89 more than the $113.61 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $38.31 in Washington, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $137.87.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $23.53, the rate only drops to $111.91.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a tree trimmer in Washington
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how tree services run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 37-3013, tree trimmers and pruners, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: tree trimmer salary by state.