Georgetown tree removal prices for 2026
Prices by size, the things that push them up or down, and what belongs in an honest written quote. The range runs from $300 for a crape myrtle to $8,000 for a crane job over a house.
Quick numbers
Expect $300 to $8,000 in Georgetown in 2026. Where you land depends mostly on size, on what sits below the tree, and on whether it's still alive.
- Crape myrtle, small ornamental or young cedar out in the open: $300–$800.
- Medium hackberry, Arizona ash or cedar elm, 25 to 45 feet tall, with space to fall: $700–$1,800.
- Large pecan, cedar elm or live oak, 45 to 70 feet, reaching over the house, the pool or the service drop, lowered in sections: $1,800–$4,500.
- Dead post oak of any real size: $1,000–$4,200. Nobody can climb it.
- Crane jobs, for trees over the roof, on a tight Sun City lot, or too brittle to climb: $3,000–$8,000.
- Stump grinding: add $150–$900.
- Heritage Tree permit, where one applies: add $150–$400 for the arborist letter and the application. The city's fee and mitigation come on top.
The 2026 price table
| Job | 2026 range | Usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Small tree, under 25 ft, easy to reach | $300 – $800 | Bradford pear, redbud, crape myrtle, small cedar |
| Medium tree, 25–45 ft, open ground | $700 – $1,800 | Hackberry, Arizona ash, cedar elm, felled in one piece |
| Large tree, 45–70 ft, close to buildings | $1,800 – $4,500 | Pecan, live oak, cedar elm, lowered in sections |
| Dead post oak by a structure, any size | $1,000 – $4,200 | Crane or bucket truck; no climbing |
| Crane job | $3,000 – $8,000 | Tight lots, brittle trees, work above a pool or roof |
| Heritage live oak (26"+), permit work included | $2,500 – $8,000 | The city sets mitigation separately, at 3:1 |
| Storm or emergency | $700 – $5,000 | Nights, weekends, trees lying on buildings |
| Stump grinding | $150 – $900 | $5 – $7 for each inch across |
Six things that push the number
What it would land on
This counts for more than height. On an open lot, a 60-foot live oak is felled in a morning. Put that same tree above a limestone ranch house, a pool and the neighbor's fence, and it comes down in fifty pieces, each one lowered on a rope. A crew spends all day on it. That's why "near the house" doubles the price.
Dead or alive, and what killed it
Post oaks lost in the 2022–23 drought. Red oaks that oak wilt finished in six weeks. Cedar elms standing dead for two years. None can safely carry a climber. They come down from a bucket truck or by crane, and a badly decayed one gets taken apart in small, careful bites. A tree costs least to remove in the year it dies. Dead post oak goes brittle faster than most people expect.
Getting to it
Can a bucket truck reach? Will a compact loader fit through the gate? Does the tree stand down a limestone slope in Berry Creek, or in the San Gabriel bottom? Each piece carried out by hand, rather than driven out, adds time.
The species
Live oak: dense, heavy and wide, so each limb above the house gets rigged. Pecan: big, and brittle at the tips. Cedar elm: light and tall, prone to splitting. Post oak: the heaviest wood in the county, and the most dangerous once dead. Cedar: light, and packed with dead inner limbs we must clear first. The arborist prices what each species truly takes.
A permit, if it's a Heritage Tree
Thirteen species qualify once they measure 26 inches or more across at 4½ feet. Removing one needs a city Tree Removal Permit anywhere in Georgetown or its ETJ. Unless the tree is dead, fatally diseased or hazardous, mitigation is three inches planted or paid for each inch removed. That can cost more than the removal. So we measure and check the plat date before quoting. More in the permit guide.
The stump
Grinding is its own line, priced per inch. West of I-35 the limestone sits close to the surface, so grinding often stops shallower there. Details on the stump grinding page.
What belongs in a written quote
Check that it names:
- each tree, by species and size
- the method: fell, rig or crane
- where the wood and debris go
- whether the stump is part of the price
- any city or HOA paperwork
- a certificate of insurance
- how long the price holds
A bare figure on the back of a business card, with no scope, tells you nothing about what you're paying for. After an ice storm, that's exactly how out-of-state crews catch people.
Common questions
Is winter a cheaper time to remove a tree?
Often, by a little. Crews have more open days in December and January, the ground is firm, and you're inside the safe window for oak work. Storms are the exception. After ice, every crew in the county stays booked for a month.
Will insurance pay for my removal?
Only if the tree hit a covered structure. A tree on the roof is usually covered, with a debris cap. A tree that came down in the yard is yours to pay for. Our insurance guide has the details.
Three quotes came back $2,000 apart. Why?
Most often, one crew is uninsured, one is guessing, and one actually looked at what's under the tree and measured it against the Heritage Tree rule. Ask all three for a certificate of insurance and an itemized scope. The gap tends to explain itself.
Do you charge to come out and quote?
No. The site visit and the written price cost nothing. A written arborist report, such as a risk assessment, an oak wilt evaluation, or a letter for the city or an insurer, carries a small separate fee. That fee is credited toward any work.
Does keeping the wood lower the price?
Slightly. If we leave the trunk cut into rounds, you skip the hauling charge. Pecan, post oak and live oak all make excellent firewood. If oak wilt was the reason for removal, the wood must be covered in clear plastic or burned before spring. We'll tell you.
Related: Tree removal · Crane removal · Stump grinding · Permit rules