2026 Cost Guide

Tree Removal Cost Guide for Jacksonville, IL

What goes into a tree removal price in Jacksonville, Illinois and Morgan County, in plain English, before a crew ever pulls into the drive.

What Affects Price

What Sets a Removal Price Around Here

Height and trunk size. A 90-ft cottonwood on the creek behind a Jacksonville house takes far more sectioning and rope work than a 25-ft redbud by the porch. Height is the biggest single factor.
Species and structure. Dead ash comes down in predictable pieces but needs careful rigging because it's brittle. Silver maple, bur oak and old walnut carry wide, heavy crowns, and limbs over a roof or fence get lowered one by one. Big silver maples split and hollow with age, so we rig them conservatively.
Access. Open yards are simple. Trees tight to the house, behind a fence, over a septic field, or in soft ground by Mauvaise Terre Creek take slower work. Silt loam is firm dry and soft wet, and a bucket truck ruts a soaked lawn.
Storm demand. After a derecho or straight-line winds every Morgan County crew is booked, and emergency jobs are priced for the after-hours response and the risk of a tree under load.
Stump add-on. Removal leaves a low stump. Grinding is priced on its own by diameter; see the stump table below.
Haul or chip. Licensed companies can't use the city's landscape-waste stations (§ 12-85), and cut trees left lying are a nuisance (§§ 12-5, 12-6), so in-town prices include haul-off. Burning yard waste in the city is banned (§ 11-163); outside town your fire district decides.

By the Numbers

Job-by-Job Pricing

Our service pages and the cost calculator use these exact figures, so you'll see one set of numbers across this site.

Tree Removal

Tree size	Typical cost range
Small tree (under 30 ft)	$300–$700
Medium (30–60 ft)	$700–$1,500
Large (60 ft+)	$1,500–$3,500
Storm / emergency removal	Priced on-site after the hazard is assessed

Stump Grinding

Job	Typical cost range
Single stump (by diameter)	$100–$400
Each additional stump	$50–$150
Surface-root chasing / deep grind	$75–$200 extra

Tree Trimming

Job	Typical cost range
Small tree	$250–$450
Medium tree	$450–$800
Large tree	$800–$1,500
Hazard-limb removal (single limb)	$150–$400

Land Clearing

Job size	Typical cost range
Light brush (per acre)	$1,500–$3,500
Wooded (per acre)	$3,500–$8,000+
Single lot under ½ acre	$1,200–$4,000

Ranges are typical for west-central Illinois based on published industry cost guides; your written estimate reflects your specific tree and site.

Treat these as ranges, not a quote. You'll get a free written estimate before any work.

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How Storm Season Changes the Price

When a tree is already down or resting on a house or a line, the size-based ranges above don't apply. Summer derechos and straight-line winds and winter ice both hit Morgan County, and wide, brittle silver maples and borer-killed ash usually fail first.

After a big one, every crew from here to the Illinois River is booked for weeks. A routine Tuesday removal becomes an emergency priced for extra rigging on a loaded tree and the risk to the crew.

So if a dead ash, a leaning cottonwood or a heavy maple limb over the roof is on your list, book it in fall or early spring at the size-based price. Dead ash especially: under § 27-88 the city can call it a nuisance and set the removal date for you. Tree on the house or blocking the drive? Call. Storm jobs jump the line and get priced on-site.

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No Surprises

What We Put in Writing

Every Morgan County Tree Co. estimate is free, in writing, and covers the whole job:

Scope. The trees and limbs involved, and how low we'll cut each stump.
Cleanup. Wood, limbs, brush and chips hauled off unless you keep the wood. We never burn in Jacksonville; outside town, check with your fire district before you burn.
Extras, listed on their own. Grinding, root chasing, or lot work past the trees you asked about.
Access. Whether the bucket truck fits the gate, what needs protecting (drive, septic, wet lawn), or if wood gets carried out by hand.
Street-side check. If the tree could land on the street, sidewalk or parkway, the forestry advisor's written OK comes first (§ 27-87). It's on the estimate, not a day-of surprise.
Timing. A work window, or for storm jobs, how fast we can get there.

If the tree turns out different once we're up in it and the price has to move, you'll hear it before the saw runs, not on the bill.

Before You Start

Covering Permits and Insurance

Permits are the easy part in Jacksonville, IL: a tree wholly on your own lot needs none (§ 27-87). If it could fall on the street, sidewalk or other city property, the forestry advisor must OK it in writing. The crew needs a city tree-trimmer license (§ 27-1), sticker on the truck, and we hold one. More on our Jacksonville tree permits guide.

Insurance is worth a call to your agent. Policies tend to pay once a tree has damaged a covered building, not to remove a dead or leaning one before it falls. If a bid looks too cheap, ask for the insurance certificate and the city sticker before anyone climbs.

Should You DIY?

Taking It Down Yourself?

A young redbud or volunteer mulberry you can reach from the ground can be a fair DIY job with the right tools and some experience. Anything bigger, near the house, fence, drive or wires, or already dead, leaning or storm-hit, is another level of risk.

Dead ash is the local trap. Within a couple of years of the borer killing it, the wood goes brittle, limbs snap under a climber, and the top can break apart as the trunk is cut. Hiring a crew usually costs far less than a new roof, a torn-down service line or an ER visit.

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