Is tree work a good career? What the official outlook figures say

Each country counts tree work under a different job title, in a different group, in a different year. The figures below are not comparable from one country to the next, and several cover a wider group than tree workers. Each entry says which job title and which year. This page reports what the agencies publish.

United States

Growth and openings

The Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook, on its grounds maintenance workers page (modified September 14, 2026), says employment of grounds maintenance workers is projected to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations. Tree trimmers and pruners are one part of that group. The page reports 1,299,200 jobs in the group in 2025 and about 162,500 openings a year on average over the decade. Openings count people who leave or retire as well as new jobs, so the openings figure is not the same as growth.

The O*NET profile for tree trimmers and pruners (37-3013.00) gives figures for that job alone, built on the same BLS projections.

Figure	Value	Covers
Employees, 2025	70,600	Tree trimmers and pruners
Projected growth, 2025 to 2035	Average, 3% to 4%	Tree trimmers and pruners
Projected openings, 2025 to 2035	7,900	Tree trimmers and pruners
Median wage, 2025	US$24.50 an hour, US$50,960 a year	Tree trimmers and pruners

O*NET says projected openings are openings due to growth and replacement. It does not say over what share of years or how the 7,900 is spread, so it is a total for the decade as the page states it.

Injuries and deaths

The Handbook says tree trimmers and pruners have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations. The page gives no number for that sentence. The Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries publishes counts by occupation. In its Table A-5 for 2024, tree trimmers and pruners had 99 fatal work injuries, out of 5,070 for all US workers. Of the 99, the table shows 39 under falls, slips and trips, 39 under contact incidents, 12 under exposure to harmful substances or environments and 7 under transportation incidents. The table is a count, not a rate. It does not say how many people work as tree trimmers and pruners at any time, and it covers one year only, so it cannot show a trend. Some cells in the table are blank because the figure did not meet publication criteria.

Canada

The Job Bank arborist outlook page (modified 2026-08-07) says labour demand and labour supply are expected to be broadly in line for arborists over 2024 to 2033 at the national level. The figures on the page cover all landscape and horticulture technicians and specialists (NOC 22114), not arborists alone. It gives employment in 2023 as 15,100, with 32% of workers aged 50 and over and a median retirement age of 65.0.

The three-year provincial ratings were updated on December 10, 2025. Job Bank scores them from 0 stars (undetermined) to 5 stars (very good).

Rating	Stars	Where
Limited	2 of 5	Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec
Moderate	3 of 5	Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan
Undetermined	0 of 5	New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Yukon

Undetermined means the figures were not enough to rate that area, not that prospects are poor. The Job Bank wages page (updated November 19, 2025) gives prevailing hourly wages for arborists in Canada as CA$21.00 low, CA$30.00 median and CA$40.87 high. It says 86% of workers in the group get at least one non-wage benefit.

The Job Bank pages give no injury or fatality figure. Workers' compensation boards publish those by province.

United Kingdom

The National Careers Service tree surgeon profile gives an average salary of £25,000 for a starter to £35,000 for an experienced worker, and typical hours of 40 to 43 a week. It says a tree surgeon could work weekends and at short notice, and describes the working environment as outdoors in all weathers, at height, dusty and physically demanding. The profile carries no date and no job-outlook rating or employment count.

For council roles, the arboricultural officer profile gives £25,000 to £40,000 and 35 to 40 hours a week, with occasional on-call work. It has no outlook figure either.

Australia

The Your Career page for arborist (ANZSCO 362212, content changed April 9, 2024) carries the figures below. The statistics year is not stated. Figures shown:

Employed: about 7,000.
Full-time share: 80%.
Women: 3.0% of employed people.
Average age: 36. About 33.5% are aged 25 to 34, and 1.9% are 65 or over.
Average full-time hours: 43 a week, which the page marks as lower than the all-jobs figure.
Future outlook: Moderate. The page gives no projected growth percentage and no pay figure.

The page also shows the share of workers by highest qualification: 47.1% hold a certificate I to IV and 15.3% an advanced diploma or diploma. These are shares of people counted in the job, so they say what workers hold, not what employers require. The page says you need extensive experience, or a certificate III or IV in arboriculture, to work as an arborist.

New Zealand

The Tahatu page for arborist shows pay before tax. All amounts here are NZ dollars.

Band	Yearly	Hourly
Lower	NZ$50K	NZ$24
Most common	NZ$55K to NZ$84K	NZ$26 to NZ$40
Upper	NZ$99K	NZ$48

For comparison the page says the average pay in New Zealand is NZ$34 an hour or NZ$70,000 a year. It gives training as about 1 year and employment as 1.5K people in the 2023 Census, with the change from the 2018 Census marked "Steady". It says arborists usually work regular hours and may work extra hours, including nights, and be on call. The page shows no rating for chances of getting a job.

What the numbers show and do not show

The US, Canadian and Australian outlooks are neutral to modest: growth faster than average for the wider US group, balance in Canada, Moderate in Australia. None of them is a statement about a particular town or employer.
Canada's provincial ratings differ by place, and most are Limited or Undetermined. The page does not say why.
Pay figures differ in kind. Some are medians, some are bands, some are starter and experienced averages, and none is an offer from an employer. See what tree workers earn for more.
Injury figures are published as counts for one year, or as a sentence without a number. Neither is a rate per worker.
The UK and New Zealand profiles carry no growth projection, and the Australian page carries no growth percentage.

The guide on where tree work leads covers the jobs behind these figures. The guides on safety rules by country and health hazards cover rules that apply on the job.