Tree Removal Cost in Chicago & the North Shore (2026)

If a tree in your yard has to come down, the first thing you want is a real number. The honest answer is that most single-tree removals on the Chicago North Shore land somewhere between $1,500 and $8,000, but that spread is wide for a reason - and the reason is not the one most homeowners expect. It is not really the species, and it is not only the height. What moves the price more than anything is access: how close the tree stands to your house and power lines, how a truck, chipper, or crane can reach it, and where the wood and brush can safely come down.

This guide breaks down what a removal actually costs around here, what drives the number up or down, and what a fair, written quote should spell out before anyone starts cutting.

Typical tree removal cost ranges

Every tree is its own job, so treat these as planning ranges, not quotes. A written on-site estimate is the only way to get a true figure for your property.

The overlap in those ranges is deliberate. A 40-foot tree in a wide-open backyard can cost less than a 30-foot tree wedged between a garage and a fence, because the smaller tree in the tight spot takes more rigging, more careful lowering, and more time.

Why access drives the price, not just size

Picture two identical silver maples, same height, same trunk. One stands in the middle of an open backyard with a gate wide enough to drive a chipper through. The other stands three feet off the corner of the house, over a deck, with the only path to the street running through a narrow side yard.

The first tree can often be dropped in large sections and cleaned up quickly. The second has to be climbed and dismantled from the top down, with every limb roped and lowered by hand so nothing lands on the roof or deck - and every piece of wood carried out the long way. Same tree, very different day of work. That is why the crew that quotes your job walks the whole property first: the tree is only half the story, and the path around it is the other half. We cover this in depth in how tree removal is priced.

The factors that move a removal price most:

• Proximity to the house, garage, fence, and power lines. Anything the tree could hit on the way down means slower, more careful work.
• Lean and structure. A tree leaning toward the house, or split, or half-dead, cannot always be rigged the normal way.
• Equipment reach. Whether a bucket truck or crane can get near the tree, or whether it all has to be climbed, changes the labor significantly.
• Wood and debris volume. A big hardwood produces a lot of wood to cut, chip, and haul.
• Stump. Grinding the stump is usually a separate line item.

What's usually included - and what's extra

A standard tree removal quote generally covers taking the tree down, cutting it up, chipping the brush, and hauling the debris, leaving the yard raked down. Two things are commonly quoted separately:

• Stump grinding. Typically $150 to $800 depending on the stump's diameter and how many you have. Removal quotes often leave the stump unless you ask. See stump grinding cost.
• Hauling vs. leaving firewood. Many crews will cut the trunk into rounds and stack them for you if you want the firewood, or haul everything off - just say which up front.

Big trees and emergencies cost more

Two situations sit above the everyday range. A truly large tree removal - a century-old oak or elm 60 feet and up, especially over a house - runs $4,000 to $15,000 because it has to be taken apart piece by piece by an experienced climber, and often lifted out with a crane. And a storm emergency, where a tree is already down on a roof or tangled in lines, is priced on urgency and risk rather than a tidy schedule; those run $1,500 to $10,000 depending on what it landed on. We break those out in large tree removal cost and emergency tree removal cost.

The dead-ash factor on the North Shore

One local wrinkle worth knowing: the emerald ash borer has killed a large share of Illinois ash trees over the past decade, and North Shore yards and parkways have been hit hard. Dead ash is priced like any other removal - by size and access - but its condition matters, because brittle dead wood cannot always be climbed or rigged safely and more often needs a bucket or crane. If you have a bare, leafless ash, it is worth reading dead ash tree removal before it fails on its own.

What a fair quote should include

When you compare bids, you are really comparing what is inside them. A complete removal quote should put in writing:

• The specific tree or trees, and what is being removed
• Whether the stump is included or a separate line item
• Whether wood is hauled or left for firewood
• Cleanup and haul-away of brush
• Proof of general liability and workers' comp insurance available on request

Red flags are the same in tree work as anywhere: a verbal-only price with no writing, high-pressure "today only" numbers, or a bid far below every other one - which usually means something was left out and will reappear as a change order. Insurance matters more here than in most trades: a removal near a house or power line is exactly where you do not want an uninsured crew.

Get a real number for your tree

The ranges in this guide hold up well across Evanston, Wilmette, Winnetka, and the rest of the North Shore, but your tree is its own story. You can get a quick planning figure with our online estimate tool, then book a written free on-site estimate so a crew lead can walk the property, look at the access, and give you an honest price - and a straight read on whether the tree even needs to come down.