Urban forestry programmes: Tree City USA, Tree Cities of the World and the Forest Service programme
Three programmes shape how cities describe their tree care: Tree City USA, Tree Cities of the World and the U.S. Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program. This page reports each programme's own standards, counts and funding statements.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what each programme says about itself. It does not rank cities or list recognised communities. How cities count their trees is covered in tree inventories, and money for planting is on tree grants.
Tree City USA
The Arbor Day Foundation runs Tree City USA with the National Association of State Foresters. Its overview page says the programme began in 1976 with 42 communities in 16 states and is an annual national recognition programme. On October 9, 2026 the page showed 3,636 recognised Tree Cities and said 49 percent of the United States population lives in one. Those are the programme's own figures, and a community has to apply again each year.
The standards page says communities must meet all four standards through activities completed between January 1 and December 31. It says the programme is for incorporated communities and Census Designated Places that have a governing structure, and that homeowners associations and similar bodies inside a community are not eligible. The four standards, as the Foundation states them:
- A tree board or department: a tree board, a department or a named position that holds legal authority over decisions on public tree care. The page lists a volunteer board, forestry department, parks department, public works department, planning department or city manager as possible holders.
- A public tree care ordinance: community-wide laws, ordinances or legally enforceable policies that name who is responsible, guide the care and protection of trees, and address public trees. The page says tree clauses may sit across several ordinances, and that incorporated communities with an ordinance structure must submit an ordinance, not a policy.
- Annual spending of US$2 per capita on community tree care. Qualifying categories on the page include planting and initial care, maintenance, removal, management, utility line clearance, other tree expenses and volunteer hours, which the application values at a national hourly rate.
- An Arbor Day observance and proclamation: a public observance and an annual proclamation signed by the mayor, city council or an equivalent official. The page says the observance can be part of an Earth Day or other event if trees are central.
The standards page says the application portal opens each September and stays open until the following spring.
Tree Cities of the World
The programme's home page says it was launched in 2018 as a partnership of the Arbor Day Foundation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. On October 9, 2026 it showed 283 recognised cities. It says cities earn recognition only by meeting all five standards, and its how-it-works page says they apply annually for activities between January 1 and December 31.
| Tree City USA, four standards | Tree Cities of the World, five standards |
|---|---|
| A tree board or department | Responsibility for city trees: a defined individual, department or group, often called a tree board, responsible for trees on public land. |
| A public tree care ordinance | City tree policies: at least one law, ordinance or official policy governing planting, care, protection and removal, accessible to staff and residents. |
| Not a separate standard | Tree and forest assessments: a recent assessment, inventory or canopy study. |
| Annual spending of US$2 per capita | Annual budget for city trees: an annual budget or documented expenditures, with in-kind investment counted. The page gives no per-capita figure. |
| An Arbor Day observance and proclamation | Celebrating city trees and achievements: one or more public events or recognitions during the year. |
The how-it-works page also says participating cities can join the Green Cities Network tied to the FAO Green Cities Initiative.
The Forest Service programme
The U.S. Forest Service describes its Urban and Community Forestry Program as the only federal programme devoted to growing and keeping up trees, forests and green spaces in urban and community settings, authorized under the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978. The page says the programme helps States and partner organizations apply nature-based solutions, and it cites the figure that 84 percent of Americans live, work and play in urban communities.
On money, the page says the programme has traditionally been funded at US$36 million to US$40 million a year, including about US$1 million a year for a challenge cost-share grant programme run with the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council. The council's stated duties include a 10-year national action plan, a yearly evaluation of it, and recommendations on the cost-share grant criteria.
Sources
- Arbor Day Foundation, Tree City USA overview, read October 9, 2026
- Arbor Day Foundation, Tree City USA standards, read October 9, 2026
- Tree Cities of the World, programme home page, read October 9, 2026
- Tree Cities of the World, how it works, read October 9, 2026
- U.S. Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program, read October 9, 2026