Cedar Rapids Tree Crew: Tree Service, Tree Removal and Tree Trimming in Cedar Rapids, IA
Cedar Rapids Tree Crew handles tree service in Cedar Rapids, IA, as a local tree service contractor that reads every yard for what the 2020 derecho left behind. Removing one tree here averages near $1,200, and most jobs fall between $400 and $1,900 by height and reach. You hear our verdict first. The stump gets its own line on the quote.
Request a quote
Tell us about the tree that has you worried. We phone back with a straight answer and a rough figure.
Old trees in this area have been subject to high winds. Trees with cracks can stay hidden from the ground for months or even sometimes years. A tree with plenty of leaves can still be rotting from the inside. It's always best to have a tree assessment done by a professional before anyone spends money.
- Most Cedar Rapids tree removals land at $400 to $1,900
- 20 to 50 foot yard trees usually take two to five hours
- The stump and the cleanup each get a line on your quote
- You point out the right trunk in person before any cutting
- Ground mats go down before a lift rolls across your grass
Price a removal by tree height
Typical prices per tree for Cedar Rapids jobs. Your quote follows a look at the job.
| Type | Per tree |
|---|---|
| Near 30 ft | $370 to $700 |
| Near 50 ft | $610 to $1,170 |
| Near 80 ft | $980 to $1,870 |
$370 to $700
Call (319) 304-4321 for your priceAt a glance
| Taking one tree down | Near $1,200; usual span $400 to $1,900 |
|---|---|
| A 40 ft yard tree | $490 to $940, stump not included |
| Three on the crew | $200 to $260 an hour |
| One stump ground | $179 to $308, 2-hour minimum |
| Same-day or next-day work | Often double or triple the going rate |
| Dropping the house wire | No Alliant charge, one business day ahead |
Residential Tree Removal and Stump Work
Stump Grinding for Lawn and Replanting
With stump grinding for lawn and replanting, the first stump can run about $179 to $308. The stump will be taken down about 6 to 8 inches below grade. If there are any surface roots that are near the top, those will be cut out as well. About 90% of the chips should be removed. If you try to grow grass with a lot of chips in it, the grass will not grow well.
Tree Trimming and Crown Reduction
For tree trimming and crown reduction, you'll want to be sure to get in writing from the tree service exactly what they'll be doing. A large tree can take three workers three to four hours to properly trim back. The typical price around this area is $500 to $870 per tree. What they never want to do is take away more than one-third of the crown, which is the branches and leaves up high.
Tree Removal Through Fenced Backyards
For tree removal through fenced backyards, a lot of the time a small machine with tracks that raises a worker can get through gates to access the backyards. Boards can be laid down where the lift drives so as not to tear up your yard. The pieces are then cut from the top down and lowered down by rope so nothing falls on a home or garage.
Stump Removal and Root Cleanout
Stump removal and root cleanout is much different from grinding the stump down. Grinding leaves the roots still underground, so you cannot plant another tree in that spot. Removal will clear out all of the stump and roots, which is usually necessary near a patio or sidewalk, or where you're going to put a replacement tree. Be sure to call the free service in your area that flags buried utility lines before any digging.
Emergency Tree Removal After Summer Storms
Emergency tree removal after summer storms can get quite hectic for tree service companies. Be sure to take photos before any branches or trees get moved for insurance purposes. The adjuster wants these photos without any work done yet. The crew, when they're busy after these storms, will first get to the homes that have trees or large limbs on the house. Sometimes they will just make the house safe and then come back and finish later to get to everybody.
Dead Tree Removal for Derecho Survivors
With dead tree removal for derecho survivors, the dead trees lose their moisture quickly and get brittle. Because of this, they get riskier to remove every season.
Ash Tree Removal and Emerald Ash Borer
Emerald ash borer has been in Iowa since 2010, and a tunneled ash can split on a calm day. We remove ash that is past saving before it gets that far. Treatment is separate work. Iowa Code 206.6 asks for a state license to spray or inject for hire, so we explain the choice and send you to an applicator holding one.
Oak Tree Trimming Outside Wilt Season
Oaks here should get no pruning cuts from April through July, when fresh wounds invite oak wilt. The dead of winter, December to February, suits them best, so we book oak work for the cold months. A big limb about to come down over a driveway in June is the exception, and we will say so plainly rather than wait.
Power Line and Service Drop Tree Trimming
Alliant Energy trims its pole-to-pole primary line. The lower wire reaching your house is yours to clear. Alliant takes that wire down at no charge for tree work, with one business day of notice at 800-255-4268, and we set that up before cutting. Our crew stays 10 feet from anything live.
Not sure that old maple is still sound?
Give us your cross streets, what the tree went through in 2020 and what stands under it. We phone back with a first opinion and a price range for what it most likely needs.
Commercial Tree Service and Removal
Boards and landlords usually hold several trees and one budget, so the quote ranks them by risk.
HOA Tree Service for Common Areas
We walk the shared grounds beside your board. Then the work splits into this year and next, with one quote line per tree and a reason the members can read at the annual meeting.
Rental Property Tree Removal
About a third of homes in this city are rented. Landlords and property managers get photos and a priced list of what hangs over tenant parking and walkways. We set the day with the tenant, so nobody has to arrange it for you.
Parking Lot and Storefront Tree Trimming
We raise low limbs over spaces and sidewalks and work the lot one section at a time, so the doors stay reachable while the crew is there and customers can still park.
Commercial Storm Cleanup
We clear entrances and drive lanes before the rest of the property. Downed trees get photographed for your carrier first. Commercial storm work goes on one invoice, sorted by building, for owners who manage more than one site.
Church and School Tree Trimming
We plan around services and the school calendar. Deadwood above walkways comes first, with the area roped off for the whole time a saw is running.
Specialty Tree Services and Land Clearing
Tree Risk Assessment for 2020 Survivors
A full head of leaves says little about what is inside. We check the forks for old splits, the soil for fresh cracks and the root plate for any lift on one side. You get one of three answers for each tree, keep it, cut it back or take it down, with the reason beside it and no pressure on the day. That is the whole job.
Land Clearing and Brush Removal on Wooded Lots
Older deadfall and brush still sit on some in-town acreages and fenced wooded lots. We cut what you mark and leave what you want kept. Opening a whole lot for a new build is a bigger job, so we walk it first and quote by the area. The county's drop-off yard on A Street SW turns away large loads of trees and stumps, so we settle the haul-off plan before clearing starts.
Tree Cabling and Bracing
A cable buys time for a sound fork with a heavy crown, anchored roughly two-thirds out along the limbs under the ANSI A300 Part 3 standard. It does nothing for rot. If the crack already runs down into the trunk, we will tell you the steel is wasted money and the tree should go.
Crane Tree Removal
Crane tree removal earns its cost when brittle wood rules out climbing or a trunk leans over the roof with no room to drop anything. Most residential crane jobs take four to eight hours, where a climbing crew can need two or three days. We would skip it on any tree a lift can reach. A crane is rarely the cheap answer.
Tree Replacement After Removal
Most city trees were maples and ashes in the 2016 inventory, and we think that sameness cost this city dearly. ReLeaf Cedar Rapids plans more than 42,000 new trees over 10 years and leans toward oak, and Trees Forever works with private landowners. We grind deep enough for planting and will talk through what belongs in the spot. Skip ash.
Derecho Damage in Cedar Rapids Trees, Six Years On
In this area, on August 10, 2020, at 12:30 p.m., winds lasted 30 to 60 minutes. The result was that about 670,000 trees in the area were lost. The canopy in this area was down by two-thirds. Many of the surviving trees had cracks that never did close, and freezing nights over time get into these cracks, which results in the trees failing in the years to come.
What we would leave alone
A lopsided maple with a sound trunk stays. Ugly is not unsafe. Six years of healthy new wood has told you something, so we would prune the stubs and walk away.
What we would take down
A split running from a crotch into the trunk goes first. So does a new lean with soil cracking on one side, since an old lean only means the tree grew that way. Check the base yourself in calm weather. One fallen limb, far from any wire, needs a bow saw and not a crew.
Tree Work Steps, First Call to Raked Lawn
How the job runs
- You send the cross streets and what stands under the tree.
- On a walk of the yard, you point to the trunk that comes down, so no crew guesses at it.
- The written quote breaks out cutting, hauling and the stump, and you may drop any of them.
- Neighbors along the fence hear the date. Alliant and 811 get their calls.
- Mats go down where machines cross, and heavy wood near the house comes down on ropes.
- The crew rakes up, and you check the yard with us before the truck leaves.
Tree Service Times, From First Cut to Last Load
Typical times
| Job | Typical time | What sets the pace |
|---|
| Tree, 20 to 50 ft | 2 to 5 hours | What stands below | | Tree, 50 to 80 ft | 5 to 10 hours | Rigging points | | Tree over 80 ft | A full day or more | Crane access | | Stump grinding | 30 min to 2 hours | Stump width |
Market figures for one tree.
What Tree Service Costs in Cedar Rapids, IA
These are market ranges, never our price list.
Cedar Rapids Tree Prices
| Job | Typical range | Per |
|---|---|---|
| Removal, near 30 ft | $370 to $700 | tree |
| Removal, near 50 ft | $610 to $1,170 | tree |
| Removal, near 80 ft | $980 to $1,870 | tree |
| Removal crew of 3 | $200 to $260 | hour |
| Trimming crew of 3 | $166 to $221 | hour |
| First stump ground | $179 to $308 | visit |
| Each added stump | $30 to $60 | stump |
| Land clearing | $1.08 to $1.46 | sq ft |
| Risk assessment | $100 to $250 | tree |
| Cabling | $200 to $350 | tree |
The removal and crew figures are for Cedar Rapids, the stump and clearing figures for zip 52401, as of November 2026. National figures fill the other rows. Your number comes once we have stood under the tree.
We would suggest that if your big maple has no crack yet and is still a fully living, healthy tree, you save this beautiful tree and have the cabling done in order to save the tree.
What moves the price
- Height and spread: more rigging, more wood to carry.
- Below the limbs: shingles or wires mean lowering each piece by rope.
- Cracked or dead wood: too brittle to climb, so machines come in.
- Rush work: next-day service can double or triple a normal bill.
A bid with no stump line
Read it as a bid that leaves the stump. Ask before you compare totals.
A family member living on a few acres suffered a huge loss of some old-growth trees in a major ice storm. They hired a tree service to come out and work on the project, which took weeks. The company did not put in writing what the whole job entailed, but just told them what would happen. As it turned out, they never did finish the job and left the place quite a mess, but charged them as if it had been cleaned up.
A bid with no cleanup
Fair enough if you own a truck. Big loads of trunks get refused at drop-off.
If you are in an area where you can burn wood legally, we would opt for leaving the wood stacked in your yard and getting rid of it by either burning it outside or in a fireplace over the months to come, versus paying to have it hauled away.
Keep it, cut it back or take it down: decided in your yard
A split hidden in the crown, a gate too narrow for the lift and soft ground by the alley all change the job. We check each one in person, and the number comes after.
Where the Crew Works in Linn County and Nearby
Cedar Rapids Tree Crew takes on tree removal and stump jobs in Cedar Rapids, IA, and across its neighboring communities.
Linn County, IA
- Fairfax
- Hiawatha
- Marion
- Ely
- Robins
- Palo
- Walford
- Mount Vernon
- Springville
- Lisbon
- Center Point
Benton County, IA
- Atkins
Johnson County, IA
- Solon
- North Liberty
- Tiffin
Atkins took the derecho's strongest measured gust at 126 mph, and Hiawatha logged 100 mph, so old yard trees in the towns around the city deserve the same hard look.
The Cedar River crested at 31.12 feet on June 13, 2008, with flood stage at 12 feet.
Request a quote
Phone (319) 304-4321 to speak with someone, or write about the tree here and expect a call.
Cedar Rapids Tree Questions, Answered Before the Saw Starts
How much does it cost to cut down a 60 foot tree in Cedar Rapids?
Market figures put a 60 foot tree at $730 to $1,400 and a 70 foot one at $850 to $1,640, before stump work. A roof under the limbs pushes it toward the top number.
Does homeowners insurance pay for tree removal?
Insurance will usually only pay when a tree hits the house, and a typical payout can run about $500 to $1,000 per tree. A healthy tree removal is rarely covered.
Should I top a tall tree to make it safer?
No, topping a tree weakens the tree in the months and years to come, as the stubs sprout fast, weak shoots, and the rot can start at the cut stubs.
Can I trim my neighbor's tree where it hangs over my yard?
Whether you can trim your neighbor's tree depends. You can usually cut limbs that hang over your side. Get the neighbor's okay in writing first anyway. Otherwise, damage to the tree could be considered willful harm to a neighbor's tree.
Can I keep the wood chips after stump grinding?
Yes, you can keep the chips, but fresh chips left in the area that is replanted prevent grass from growing in that area.
Where can I take branches myself in Linn County?
The SWA yard waste site at 2250 A Street SW is open weekdays 8 to 4 to unload your branches. The Marion landfill stopped taking branches on April 1, 2024. There is a fee.
When is tree removal cheapest?
Wintertime to early spring is the slow season. If you can wait until this time frame, prices are often lower. Several trees worked on the same day can be 10% to 25% off normal pricing.
Can I treat my own ash tree?
Sometimes a homeowner can do soil drenching, which is a liquid poured on the ground right around the trunk. Doing more than this would take an applicator holding a license to treat the tree properly.