How much does tree removal cost? In the Spokane area, typical market rates run about $150–$500 for a small tree under 30 feet, $400–$900 for a mid-size tree (30–60 feet), $800–$1,700 for a large tree in the 60–80 foot class, and $1,500–$3,500 or more for very large trees or any removal that requires rigging or a crane over a house. Those figures track national norms, but the spread between the bottom and top of each range is set by four things: how tall and thick the tree is, how hard it is to reach, what's standing underneath it, and how much wood has to leave your property when it's down.
Here's the per-tree picture at a glance — these are typical Spokane-area market ranges, not any one company's price list:
| Tree size | Typical Spokane-area market range | |---|---| | Small (under 30 ft) | $150–$500 | | Medium (30–60 ft) | $400–$900 | | Large (60–80 ft) | $800–$1,700 | | Very large or over-structure / crane work (80 ft+) | $1,500–$3,500+ |
If you're comparing tree removal cost per tree across quotes, note that these are per-tree figures for the removal itself — stump grinding, and sometimes hauling, are priced separately (more on that below). And because every tree, lot, and drop zone is different, the only number that actually means anything is a written estimate from someone who has stood under your tree.
The four things that actually set the price
1. Height and trunk diameter. A 25-foot ornamental maple is an afternoon; a 100-foot ponderosa is an engineering project. Height determines whether the tree can be felled whole or must be dismantled from the top down, and trunk diameter determines how much each cut section weighs — which drives rigging loads, equipment needs, and the sheer volume of wood that ends up on the ground. Large tree removal cost climbs faster than height does, because a tree twice as tall can hold far more than twice the wood.
2. Access. A front-yard tree next to the driveway, where a chip truck can park underneath, sits at the bottom of its size range. A backyard tree behind a fence, a garden, and a gate too narrow for machinery means everything gets carried — every limb, every trunk round — and labor hours stack up. Sloped lots and soft ground add the same kind of friction.
3. What's underneath it. This is the biggest multiplier. A tree in open lawn can often be felled in one controlled drop — fast and comparatively cheap. A tree leaning over a roof, garage, shop, fence, or service line has to come down piece by piece, with each section roped, cut, and lowered under control so nothing free-falls. When a tree is too tall, too dead, or too boxed-in to climb and rig safely, a crane lifts sections out over the house instead — and crane time is exactly why over-structure removals occupy the top of the cost table. (If a tree is into a power line, that call goes to Avista first, not a tree crew.)
4. Haul-away and cleanup. Getting the tree on the ground is only part of the job. Limbs get chipped, trunk wood gets bucked and loaded, and several tons of debris leave the property. Some quotes include full haul-off; others leave the wood stacked for you or price hauling as a line item. Always confirm what "removal" includes before comparing bottom lines.
Why Spokane removals land where they do
Spokane's signature removal is a tall, shallow-rooted ponderosa pine standing over an old house — and that combination pushes local jobs toward the technical end of the spectrum. Roughly a quarter of the city's homes were built before 1940, and in neighborhoods like Browne's Addition and the South Perry District, century-old trees tower over Victorian mansions and Craftsman bungalows on tight lots with nowhere to drop anything. Those removals are slow, rigged, piece-by-piece work by design — the kind of job described in detail on our tree removal page.
The region's geology raises the stakes. Thin glacial-outwash soil over Columbia River basalt gives even 100-foot pines shallow root plates, which is how the November 2015 windstorm — 71-mph gusts — toppled roughly 1,900 trees inside Spokane city limits alone. The same pattern runs east into Spokane Valley, where mature pines planted during the mid-century build-out now tower over homes on fast-draining Missoula Floods gravel.
Then there's the beetle problem. Drought-stressed pines across the area are dying to bark beetles — Spokane Parks has been removing 200-plus beetle-killed ponderosas, including around 50 at Manito Park, and the city has issued homeowner advisories. Here's the part that surprises people: a dead pine often costs more to remove than a live one of the same size. Standing dead wood turns brittle and unpredictable, which can make it unsafe to climb — forcing bucket or crane work and slower, more conservative rigging. The longer a beetle-killed pine stands, the more dangerous and expensive it gets.
What's usually extra
A few line items commonly sit outside the base removal price:
- Stump grinding. Almost always quoted separately. Spokane-area market pricing runs about $2–$5 per inch of stump diameter with a $100–$200 minimum, and most single stumps land around $100–$400. The stump grinding page covers how it works and how grinding compares with full dig-out removal, which costs several times more.
- Debris hauling. If the quote leaves wood on site, hauling it later is its own cost. Some homeowners keep the trunk wood for firewood and save money doing it — just decide before the crew shows up, not after.
- Permits. For a tree on your own private property inside Spokane, a city permit generally isn't required — but street trees and anything in the public right-of-way fall under City of Spokane Urban Forestry rules, and neighboring cities have their own right-of-way requirements. Confirming what applies to your address should be part of any estimate.
Insurance, cheap bids, and the certificate question
Two pieces of honesty that will save you money or grief:
Insurance usually pays only after the damage. Homeowners policies typically cover tree removal when the tree has fallen on a covered structure — the house, the garage, a fence. Preventive removal of a standing hazard tree is almost always out of pocket. That sounds unfair until you run the numbers: removing a leaning 90-footer costs a fraction of a deductible plus roof, chimney, and interior repairs, and nobody gets hurt in the version where the tree comes down on purpose.
The suspiciously cheap bid is usually the uninsured one. Tree work is one of the most dangerous trades in the country, and liability plus workers' compensation coverage is a real cost baked into every legitimate quote. A bid far below the market ranges above usually means that cost was skipped — and if an uninsured worker is hurt in your yard, or your roof takes a hit from an uncontrolled drop, the savings evaporate fast. Ask every bidder for current certificates of insurance before anyone starts a saw. A professional outfit produces them without flinching; the ones who change the subject just answered your question.
Timing: the dormant-season angle
If the tree isn't an active hazard, winter booking works in your favor in Spokane. December through February demand is slower than the spring-through-summer rush, bare deciduous trees are simpler to work and clean up, and frozen ground lets equipment cross lawns without leaving ruts. For beetle-killed pines there's a biological deadline too: getting dead trees down before spring beetle flight helps keep the infestation from spreading to the live pines around them.
The flip side: the region's worst tree-wrecking storms — November 2015, Ice Storm '96, January 2021 — all hit between November and January. A tree that's already dead, newly leaning, or cracked at the base is a candidate for prompt removal, not a spring to-do list.
Get a real number for your tree
Ranges are for research; your tree gets a specific answer. Tree Removal Pros Spokane provides free written estimates anywhere in Spokane County — call (509) 215-2692 any hour (the phone is answered 24/7, with storm damage and fallen tree response around the clock) or request a free estimate online. You'll get a firm number for your exact tree, access, and cleanup before any work is scheduled — and if a trim would solve the problem instead of a removal, that's what the estimate will say.