AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 37-3013.00
Will AI replace Tree Trimmers and Pruners?
Tree Trimmers and Pruners: AI does not yet handle any of the role's 24 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs a standard-tier model.
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Every task, scored
The 24 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Tree Trimmers and Pruners, from most to least exposed. None reaches 60, the level at which AI already handles a task.
| Task | AI exposure | Evidence | Model tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan and develop budgets for tree work, and estimate the monetary value of trees. | Estimated | Standard | |
| Transplant and remove trees and shrubs, and prepare trees for moving. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Supervise others engaged in tree trimming work and train lower-level employees. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Inspect trees to determine if they have diseases or pest problems. | Estimated | Efficient | |
| Operate shredding and chipping equipment, and feed limbs and brush into the machines. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Operate boom trucks, loaders, stump chippers, brush chippers, tractors, power saws, trucks, sprayers, and other equipment and tools. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clean, sharpen, and lubricate tools and equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Cut away dead and excess branches from trees, or clear branches around power lines, using climbing equipment or buckets of extended truck booms, or chainsaws, hooks, handsaws, shears, and clippers. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Hoist tools and equipment to tree trimmers, and lower branches with ropes or block and tackle. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Climb trees, using climbing hooks and belts, or climb ladders to gain access to work areas. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Trim, top, and reshape trees to achieve attractive shapes or to remove low-hanging branches. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Load debris and refuse onto trucks and haul it away for disposal. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Prune, cut down, fertilize, and spray trees as directed by tree surgeons. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Provide information to the public regarding trees, such as advice on tree care. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Trim jagged stumps, using saws or pruning shears. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Clear sites, streets, and grounds of woody and herbaceous materials, such as tree stumps and fallen trees and limbs. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Collect debris and refuse from tree trimming and removal operations into piles, using shovels, rakes, or other tools. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Remove broken limbs from wires, using hooked extension poles. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Water, root-feed, and fertilize trees. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Cable, brace, tie, bolt, stake, and guy trees and branches to provide support. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Scrape decayed matter from cavities in trees and fill holes with cement to promote healing and to prevent further deterioration. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Spray trees to treat diseased or unhealthy trees, including mixing chemicals and calibrating spray equipment. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Apply tar or other protective substances to cut surfaces or seal surfaces and to protect them from fungi and insects. | Estimated | No tier | |
| Split logs or wooden blocks into bolts, pickets, posts, or stakes, using hand tools such as ax wedges, sledgehammers, and mallets. | Estimated | No tier |
Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 24 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 24 of 24. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.
The model tier this role needs
A standard-tier model or lower covers 17% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 17% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 83% is hands-on.
Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.
Wages, employment and outlook
- US employment
- 55,160
- Median annual wage
- $50,960
- Middle half of earners
- $44,840 to $63,900
- Projected change, 2024 to 2034
- +3.3%
Employment and wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national. Projection: BLS Employment Projections 2024 to 2034.
Adjacent roles
The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.
- Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers 70% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure27
- Fallers 69% skill overlap, about 11 months to move Exposure21
- Forest and Conservation Workers 68% skill overlap, about 12 months to move Exposure20
- Logging Equipment Operators 63% skill overlap, about 13 months to move Exposure19
- Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse 61% skill overlap, about 14 months to move Exposure39
Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.
Questions about Tree Trimmers and Pruners and AI
Will AI replace Tree Trimmers and Pruners?
Not on current evidence. None of the 24 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation reaches a task exposure of 60, the level at which JobRoute counts a task as handled by AI, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 19 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears.
What is the AI exposure of Tree Trimmers and Pruners?
19 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 24 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 24 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.
Which Tree Trimmers and Pruners tasks can AI already do?
None reaches 60 yet. The most exposed task is: Plan and develop budgets for tree work, and estimate the monetary value of trees, at 50 out of 100.
What AI model tier does this role need?
A standard-tier model or lower covers 17% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 83% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.
How many people work as Tree Trimmers and Pruners, and what do they earn?
55,160 people in the United States, with a median annual wage of $50,960 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025). BLS Employment Projections expect a change of +3.3% from 2024 to 2034.
How to cite
Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.
JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Tree Trimmers and Pruners. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/tree-trimmers-and-pruners
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