Tree Trimmers and Pruners

Moderate Risk
Low High

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
4.5/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

51% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): This occupation may be meaningfully affected by automation. Some parts of the role may be suitable for AI, software, or robotics, while others still rely on human skill, judgement, trust, or real-world context. People in this range may benefit from building skills that complement automation and reduce replacement risk.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Decision-making and problem solving

Quite important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Instructing

Quite important
Why this matters
Teaching or coaching others—explaining steps, giving feedback, and adapting to different learners so they can do the work safely and correctly.
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What users think

Based on 77 votes

39% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted there's a low chance this occupation will be automated. However, the automation risk level we have generated suggests a higher chance of automation: 51% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Tree Trimmers and Pruners will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

Based on user votes over time

View sentiment trend

How opinions have changed over time

Pay & outlook

Wages

Low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Tree Trimmers and Pruners was $50,430 ($24 per hour).

The median annual wage for Tree Trimmers and Pruners was 1.9% higher than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Moderate growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Tree Trimmers and Pruners' job openings is expected to rise 3.3% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Moderate range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 47,870 people employed as 'Tree Trimmers and Pruners' within the United States.

This represents around < 0.001% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 3 thousand people are employed as 'Tree Trimmers and Pruners'.

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What people are saying (5)

Leave a comment
Badussy (No chance)
12 Mar 2026 05:54
yall how is AI gonna trim my hedge when it doesnt even know how to use my manscaped???
j
02 Mar 2024 04:57
all they have to do is write laws that say you have to have x type of trees within x amount of feet of the road/driveway whatever. these requirements will start with all new developments and over time every one will be brought into compliance. Its not just about making robots that can do everything, its about restricting your liberties to that which robots can control. It's already under way with all these tyrannical policies that "no one thinks is a big deal" and the people who resist them are called extremists....
Michael Wahlberg (Low)
28 Feb 2024 12:54
There are many parameters to consider; shape, balance, season. These parts can be facilitated with AI, but then going around and cutting in the right places is less likely, in that case, a robot should be designed like a spider or something similar.
SineEyed (No chance)
23 Apr 2022 19:29
Tree trimming, as a task, is too complex, dynamic, and nuanced for a machine to accomplish in the foreseeable future. AI or autonomous machines could likely perform any of the multitudes of tasks that comprise tree work as a whole, but only if it performs them individually. Purchasing a separate machine to handle each of the 1000 tasks that need to get done to finish a job is not a viable option. The complexity involved in developing machines that could combine many functions, such that a larger percentage of the sum total of tasks is accomplished by a single unit, would drive the cost of such a machine beyond what any company owner would be willing to pay.

In my opinion, the realistic risk of automation in this occupation is 0%.
Michael (Low)
01 Dec 2021 08:25
Would need to be ninja robots. Incredible balance, strength and agility to climb through a canopy.
Leave a reply about this occupation
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Job description

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-SOC code: 37-3013.00