Tree Removal Cost in Middlesex County, MA (2026)

A tree removal quote in Middlesex County is a bit like a car repair estimate — the number depends entirely on what is under the hood. Or in this case, what is over the roof. I have been quoting trees across this county since 1995, and the honest answer is that most jobs land somewhere between $300 and $3,000. The wide range is not a copout. It reflects the reality that a 15-foot ornamental cherry in an open Billerica front yard is not the same job as a 70-foot oak wedged between two triple-deckers in Lowell.

The Quick Answer

Tree removal in Middlesex County, Massachusetts costs $300 to $3,000+. Small trees (under 30 ft) run $300 to $500. Medium trees (30 to 60 ft) run $500 to $1,000. Large trees (60+ ft) run $1,000 to $3,000 or more. Stump grinding adds $150 to $300. Crane-assisted removal runs $2,000 to $5,000+. Those are flat, all-in prices — the number written down before we start, dump fee and cleanup included.

I am Keith McDonald. I run McDonald Tree Service out of Billerica, and we have covered 18 towns in Middlesex County for thirty years. Here is what actually drives the cost in each part of the county.

What Makes Middlesex County Different

Middlesex County is the most populated county in New England — 1.6 million people spread across cities and suburbs with very different tree profiles. The county runs from the New Hampshire line down to Boston's doorstep, and the trees change with the terrain.

The northern tier — Lowell, Tewksbury, Dracut, Tyngsborough — has a lot of mature hardwoods: red oaks, sugar maples, white pines that have been growing since the houses were built. These are often 50 to 80 feet tall, and many of them sit on quarter-acre lots with fences, sheds, and power lines nearby. Getting them out takes rigging, experience, and usually a full day.

The western towns — Concord, Lincoln, Acton, Westford, Carlisle — have bigger lots, fewer structures near the trees, and more room to work. Same size tree, but the access is easier and the price drops accordingly.

Then you have the dense inner ring — Woburn, Burlington, Bedford, Lexington — where the housing stock is older, the lots are tighter, and a lot of the big trees were planted as street trees sixty or seventy years ago. These are the jobs where we piece the tree out from the top down because there is nowhere to drop a single limb.

Tree Removal Cost by Town

After thirty years of jobs across the county, here is how the towns break down on price. The number is not the town itself — it is the typical lot size, tree age, and access you find there.

Town	Typical Job Range	Why
Billerica	$400 – $2,500	Mixed lot sizes. North Billerica has tighter driveways; south Billerica has more open space.
Lowell	$500 – $3,000+	Dense triple-decker neighborhoods. Tight access, crane work common on big trees.
Chelmsford	$400 – $2,000	Suburban lots, moderate access. Most jobs are medium trees over structures.
Tewksbury	$400 – $2,000	Similar to Billerica. Mix of open and tight lots.
Wilmington	$400 – $2,500	Suburban, some waterfront lots near the Ipswich River.
Burlington	$500 – $2,500	Older neighborhoods with mature trees near structures.
Bedford	$500 – $2,500	Conservation restrictions add paperwork. Tree Preservation bylaw in some zones.
Woburn	$500 – $3,000+	Dense, older housing. Many crane jobs. Tight side yards.
Lexington	$500 – $3,000+	Permit required for trees over 12" DBH. Strict bylaws, mature tree canopy.
Concord	$400 – $2,000	Larger lots, conservation overlay districts. Easier access overall.
Carlisle	$300 – $1,500	Big lots, easy equipment access. Conservation restrictions near wetlands.
Westford	$300 – $1,500	Rural-suburban mix. Room to work. Lower access complexity.
Dracut	$400 – $2,000	Similar to Lowell's northern edge. Mix of open and tight lots.
Acton	$400 – $2,000	Larger lots, wooded properties. Multi-tree jobs common.
Lincoln	$400 – $2,500	Large wooded lots, conservation land nearby. Access varies.

These are ranges, not fixed prices. A 40-foot healthy oak in an open Carlisle yard lands at the low end. The same tree between two houses in Woburn with a power line running through the canopy lands at the high end. We quote every job in person because the tree tells us what it costs — not the other way around.

What Drives the Price Up or Down

Two trees the same height can carry very different price tags. Here is what actually matters.

Size and species

Bigger tree, more wood, more time, more truck. That is the baseline. But species matters too. A 50-foot red oak outweighs a 50-foot white pine by a significant margin — hardwoods are heavier, slower to cut, and take more rigging. Softwoods like pine and spruce usually run 20 to 30 percent less at the same height.

Access and lot configuration

This is the lever most people underestimate. A tree alone in an open front yard is cheap. The same tree wedged between your house and the neighbour's fence, with six feet of clearance on each side, is a half-day of rigging. In Lowell and Woburn, we regularly pull trees out of backyards where the only way in is through the house's side yard. In Carlisle and Westford, we can often back the chip truck right up to the trunk.

What the tree is leaning over

A tree over your roof, your pool, or the power lines costs more because the margin for error drops to zero. Every cut is deliberate. Every piece gets rigged down by hand. We have done thousands of these across Billerica, Chelmsford, and Tewksbury, and they always take longer than an open-lot drop.

Dead vs. alive

Here is the one that surprises people: a dead tree often costs more than a live one. Dead wood is brittle and unpredictable. Branches snap without warning. Trunks go hollow. The wood crumbles when the saw touches it. A healthy tree with solid wood is predictable, and predictable is cheaper. If you have a dead tree and you are waiting for a deal, the deal is now — before it comes down on its own schedule, which is never convenient.

Emergency vs. scheduled

A tree on your car at 2am during a nor'easter is a different animal than a removal booked for next Tuesday. Emergency work means after-hours crew, hazardous conditions, and cutting around storm damage. Expect 25 to 50 percent more than a scheduled job. We answer the phone around the clock at (978) 375-2272 because trees have never once waited for business hours.

Stump Grinding: The Thing Everyone Forgets

The tree comes down and you are left with a stump, which most people forget about right up until they mow over it in June. Stump grinding in Middlesex County runs $150 to $300 for a typical residential stump. Diameter and root spread are the main variables. A 12-inch stump is fifteen minutes; a 36-inch oak with roots radiating six feet takes an hour or more.

If we are already onsite for the removal, we will usually grind it the same day for a bundled price that beats scheduling a separate visit. Full detail in our stump grinding cost guide.

Permits Across Middlesex County

Most Middlesex County towns do not require permits for tree removal on private property. A few exceptions:

• Lexington requires a permit for any tree over 12 inches in diameter at breast height on private property. One of the strictest bylaws in the state.
• Bedford has a Tree Preservation bylaw that can trigger Planning Board review for trees over 10 inches in certain zones.
• Carlisle has heavy conservation restrictions, and many lots border protected wetlands.
• Concord has conservation overlay districts with their own tree protections.
• Every town requires Tree Warden sign-off to remove a public shade tree under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 87.

Permit fees run $25 to $100 where they apply. We handle the paperwork at no charge, and if your tree needs a permit we will tell you before we touch it. Our Massachusetts tree removal permits guide has town-by-town detail.

Properties near wetlands may need additional review under the Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act (MGL Chapter 131, Section 40). If your tree is within 100 feet of a wetland, we check before we cut.

How to Spend Less on Tree Removal

A few things that actually move the needle, after thirty years of doing this:

• Schedule ahead. A tree that is dying but not dangerous yet is a great candidate for a winter removal. Frozen ground means less lawn damage, and the calendar is quieter. Emergency work always costs more.
• Bundle jobs. Removal, a stump, a couple of prunes — do them in one visit and you only pay to mobilize once. The second tree on the same property is always cheaper than a separate call.
• Keep the firewood. If you have a wood stove or fire pit, tell us to leave the trunk wood. Saves us the haul, saves you buying a cord.
• Get it in writing. Any price should be one number, in writing, before work starts. Verbal quotes that become “well, it turned out to be more complicated” is how the industry gets its reputation.

When You Do Not Need Us

This is the part most tree companies will never tell you.

If the tree is healthy, leave it alone. A few dead branches in a healthy crown is normal tree biology. Prune them out if they bother you, but the tree is not dying.

Small branches under wrist-thick are fair game for anyone with a pruning saw and a brain. Anything overhead, anything near a power line, anything that requires a ladder and a running chainsaw at the same time — call us. That combination sends people to the emergency room every year.

Nine out of ten storm-damaged trees in Middlesex County look worse than they are. The canopy snapped, the yard is a mess, but the trunk is sound and the root ball is solid. That is a pruning job, not a removal. We will tell you honestly which one it needs.

If you are not sure, call us anyway. Worst case, I tell you the tree is fine and you have spent nothing but a phone call.

Give Us a Call

McDonald Tree Service has been working out of Billerica since 1995. We handle tree removal, stump grinding, pruning, and emergency tree work across 18 towns in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Flat quotes, in writing, before we start. Owner on every job.

Call (978) 375-2272 and I will come look at whatever you have got. I will tell you what it costs, what you actually need, and what you can skip. If the tree is fine, I will tell you that too.