Some trees come down because they are dead, some because they are failing, and some because they are simply in the way of a driveway, an addition or a roofline. Around Huntsville that can mean a pine killed by bark beetles, a hardwood cracked or uprooted in a storm, or a tree grown too close to the house or the lines.
When a tree becomes a hazard
The City of Huntsville's own description of its tree program is a useful checklist: trees age, and disease, pests, lightning, drought and weather can all turn a healthy tree into a hazard. When a tree on City property or in the right-of-way looks like trouble, the City's arborist evaluates it using up to four levels of assessment recommended by ANSI standards, weighing how likely the tree is to fail and how bad it would be if it did. Most of the City's removals are done for safety.
The same two questions apply to a tree in your yard: how likely is it to fail, and what is underneath it? A dead pine over an empty corner of the lot is a different job from the same pine over a bedroom.
How a tree comes down
With open ground on the side it can fall toward, a tree may come down in one piece. Where there's a house, a fence or a line in the way, it usually comes down in sections: a climber or an aerial lift takes off limbs and then the trunk from the top, and on the tightest lots a crane lifts the pieces out. When a crane is needed, Angi prices crane service at $250 to $600 per day.
OSHA's tree care guidance keeps ground workers back at least twice the tree's height from felling, or one and a half times its height when the tree is felled with a rope, and calls for marked drop zones and a planned retreat path.
Published prices
| Tree | Angi, October 2026 (national) |
|---|---|
| Up to 30 feet | $150 to $450 |
| 30 to 60 feet | $450 to $1,200 |
| 60 to 80 feet | $800 to $1,500 |
| Over 80 feet | $1,000 to $2,000 |
| Pine | $250 to $1,500 |
| Oak | $200 to $2,000 |
| Stump removal added on | $100 to $150 for the first stump, $50 each after |
| Local permit, where one is required | $60 to $150 |
Angi's overall average is $750, with most removals between $200 and $2,000. See the cost page for more.
Worth asking before you agree to a price
- Is the stump included? Grinding is often quoted separately.
- Who hauls the wood? Huntsville's curbside service won't collect debris from a contractor's work.
- Is the tree near a line? If so, ask how the utility will be involved before any cutting.
- Is cabling or bracing being suggested instead? That's "tree surgery work" under Alabama's Professional Services Law, which requires an annual permit.
Sources for this page
- City of Huntsville Blog: Going out on a ‘limb’ for public safety in Huntsville (Laura McPhail, September 9, 2022)
- Angi, tree removal cost guide, 2026 data (by Stephanie Mickelson; revised Oct. 22, 2026)
- OSHA: Tree Care Work: Falls and Falling Object Hazards (HB-3731, 2014)
- City of Huntsville: Curbside Collection
- Code of Alabama 1975, Title 2, Chapter 28: Professional Services Law (copy hosted by Alabama Cooperative Extension)
Checked October 27, 2026. Ordinances, collection rules and prices get revised; confirm with the source before you count on a figure.