Tree care statistics

Storms and tree damage

• The U.S. has sustained 403 weather and climate disasters since 1980 with total costs exceeding $2.915 trillion.

  Source: NOAA NCEI via NOAA Climate.gov, Beyond the Data

• In 2024 there were 27 individual weather and climate disasters with at least $1 billion in damages, costing approximately $182.7 billion.

  Source: NOAA NCEI via NOAA Climate.gov

• Severe storms account for the highest number of billion-dollar disaster events (203) but the lowest average event cost ($2.5 billion).

  Source: NOAA NCEI via NOAA Climate.gov

• In an average year about 1,000 tornadoes are reported across the United States, resulting in 80 deaths and over 1,500 injuries.

  Source: NOAA National Weather Service, Tornadoes FAQ

• Damage from severe thunderstorm winds accounts for half of all severe reports in the lower 48 states and is more common than tornado damage; wind speeds can reach 100 mph over damage paths hundreds of miles long.

  Source: NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory

The urban forest

• There are an estimated 5.5 billion trees, or 39.4% tree cover, in US urban areas.

  Source: USDA Forest Service (Nowak and Greenfield)

• US urban trees produce a total of $18.3 billion in annual value: air pollution removal ($5.4B), reduced building energy use ($5.4B), carbon sequestration ($4.8B) and avoided pollutant emissions ($2.7B).

  Source: USDA Forest Service (Nowak and Greenfield)

• US urban and community tree cover is declining by about 175,000 acres per year, roughly 36 million trees, with lost benefits conservatively valued at $96 million per year.

  Source: USDA Forest Service (Nowak and Greenfield)

The tree care industry

IBISWorld figures are cited from its public statistics pages; the pages state no sample size or methodology detail.

• US tree trimming services are a $26.0 billion market in 2026, up 3.7% year over year.

  Source: IBISWorld, Tree Trimming Services in the US - Market Size

• There are 19,929 US tree trimming businesses as of 2026, up from 19,731 in 2025.

  Source: IBISWorld - Number of Businesses

• 135,168 people are employed in US tree trimming as of 2026, up from 131,968 in 2025.

  Source: IBISWorld - Employment

Why tree work is dangerous

• In 2023, trees, logs and limbs were the primary source of 79 deaths in the administrative and waste-management sector; tree trimmers and pruners recorded 80 fatalities.

  Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (2024)

• Industry analysis of BLS data puts the fatality rate for tree trimmers and pruners at about 110 per 100,000 - roughly 30 times the all-industry average of 3.4 to 3.8 per 100,000.

  Source: Tree Care Industry Magazine (TCIA), analysis of BLS data

Arborist certification

• As of the ISA 2024 Annual Report there were 40,048 ISA Certified Arborists worldwide (44,212 credentials held across North America) - about one credentialed arborist for every three US tree care businesses.

  Source: International Society of Arboriculture, 2024 Annual Report

• Only 1,391 arborists hold the top ISA Board Certified Master Arborist credential, and 13,663 hold a current ISA TRAQ tree-risk-assessment credential.

  Source: International Society of Arboriculture, 2024 Annual Report

• Founded in 1938, the Tree Care Industry Association has more than 2,000 member companies and develops the ANSI A300 tree care and Z133 safety standards professional firms follow.

  Source: ANSI Standards Portal, TCIA profile

What trees are worth - and what neglect costs

• Wind and hail losses averaged $13,511 per homeowners claim (2018-2022), about one in 35 insured homes files a wind or hail claim each year, and wind and hail were 40.7% of homeowners claims in 2022.

  Source: Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I)

• US electricity customers averaged 11 hours of interruptions in 2024, nearly double the prior decade; major storms including Hurricanes Beryl, Helene and Milton accounted for 80% of those hours.

  Source: US Energy Information Administration

• Vegetation is the leading cause of power outages at many utilities, and in one peer-reviewed analysis 46% of tree failures that caused outages had no visible defect beforehand.

  Source: Arboriculture and Urban Forestry (ISA peer-reviewed journal)

• A hedonic study of Portland home sales found street trees add, on average, $8,870 to sale price and reduce time on market by 1.7 days.

  Source: Donovan and Butry, Landscape and Urban Planning (PDF via City of Seattle)

• Per the U.S. Department of Energy, three strategically placed trees can cut a household energy bill by $100 to $250 per year, and well-placed trees can reduce air-conditioning needs by 30%.

  Source: Arbor Day Foundation, citing U.S. Department of Energy