How to hire an arborist

How to hire an arborist, step by step

Here's a step-by-step arborist hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write an arborist job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new arborist
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does an arborist do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you post your arborist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find an arborist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   An arborist's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, arborists from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents arborist salaries for various positions.

   Type of Arborist	Description	Hourly rate
   Arborist	Grounds maintenance workers ensure that the grounds of houses, businesses, and parks are attractive, orderly, and healthy in order to provide a pleasant outdoor environment.	$14-27
   Landscaper	A landscaper is responsible for maintaining gardens, plant areas, and other outdoor facilities. Landscapers' duties include reviewing and adjusting landscape design based on the clients' specifications, analyzing garden layouts, measuring land areas and surfaces for the design outlines, installing irrigation systems, maintaining plant growth, and applying fertilizers regularly... Show more	$11-17
   Landscape Crew Leader	A landscape crew leader works hand-in-hand with a Foreman during the landscape project installation. This professional represents the organization's best interest and maintains top-notch professionalism and integrity... Show more	$13-24

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • CDL
   • Hand Tools
   • CPR
   • Customer Service
   • ISA
   • Grinders
   • Aerial Lift
   • ANSI
   • Lawn Care
   • GIS
   • Data Collection
   • Tree Care
   • Line Clearance
   • PPE

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Cut grass weed eater feed animals water plants fix mowers drive tractor work on plumbing.
   • Utilize climbing equipment or buckets of extend truck booms, and/or chainsaws, hooks, handsaws, shears, and clippers.
   • Obtain ISA certification, pesticide applicator certification and CDL.
   • Maintain and mow lawns; top, trim, and prune shrubs, hedges, and trees.
   • Follow all ANSI pruning practices.
   • Asphalt roller man grind man shovel loot operator

   More arborist duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your arborist job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. An arborist salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, arborists' average salary in mississippi is 49% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level arborists earn 47% less than senior-level arborists.
   • Certifications. An arborist with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in an arborist's salary.

   Average arborist salary

   $41,881yearly

   $20.14 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level arborist salary

   $30,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 30, 2026

   Average arborist salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$55,774	$27
   2	Nevada	$47,202	$23
   3	Massachusetts	$46,582	$22
   4	New Hampshire	$44,699	$21
   5	Minnesota	$44,620	$21
   6	Washington	$44,541	$21
   7	Oregon	$44,382	$21
   8	Connecticut	$43,717	$21
   9	Maryland	$41,847	$20
   10	Wisconsin	$40,354	$19
   11	Colorado	$39,978	$19
   12	Michigan	$39,508	$19
   13	Pennsylvania	$38,768	$19
   14	Virginia	$38,264	$18
   15	Ohio	$38,225	$18
   16	Missouri	$37,422	$18
   17	Indiana	$37,052	$18
   18	Utah	$35,484	$17
   19	Maine	$35,370	$17
   20	Texas	$34,325	$17

   Average arborist salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Florida Power & Light	$95,662	$45.99
   2	Southern California Edison	$68,226	$32.80
   3	Princeton University	$51,035	$24.54
   4	Mark-It	$45,870	$22.05
   5	NBCUniversal	$45,775	$22.01	1
   6	University of Wisconsin System	$45,302	$21.78
   7	Pasco	$44,383	$21.34
   8	National Park Foundation	$43,838	$21.08
   9	Eversource Energy	$43,086	$20.71
   10	International Society of Arboriculture	$42,989	$20.67
   11	City of Jacksonville	$42,646	$20.50
   12	SavATree	$42,457	$20.41	232
   13	City & County Of San Francisco - Police Department (sfpd)	$42,441	$20.40
   14	John Lucas Tree Expert Co., Inc.	$42,429	$20.40	29
   15	West Coast Arborists	$42,421	$20.39
   16	Bartlett Tree Experts	$42,412	$20.39	374
   17	Asplundh Tree Expert	$42,392	$20.38
   18	The Davey Tree Expert Company	$42,381	$20.38	260
   19	Witt O'Brien's	$42,159	$20.27
   20	Lewis Tree Service	$41,834	$20.11	30

4. Writing an arborist job description

   A job description for an arborist role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's an arborist job description:

   Arborist job description example

   Climber **Up to $35.00hr! **

   SavATree’s mission is to take our passion for nature and keep this country’s outdoors beautiful and flourishing. Through our comprehensive tree, shrub, and lawn care we work hard to make sure our discerning customers have attractive, healthy and cared-for green spaces to enjoy. Over the last thirty years, we have opened new offices across the country, and we are looking for people who want to grow with us.

   The General Tree Care Team are the muscle of our operation. These industrial athletes work together to provide high-quality tree care, helping to maintain and preserve the overall health of our clients’ landscapes.

   In this role, team members have the opportunity to work outside and visit beautiful properties in their community. The Tree Care team applies expertise in climbing, pruning, and safety to ensure the health and well-being of each client’s landscape.

   What a day is like:

   Daily focus is working together on a General Tree Care crew to provide high quality tree care to our clients. The Tree Care Team is involved in all aspects of tree climbing, pruning, removals, cable bracing and other concepts related to tree care. Team members are able to safely operate all equipment and perform the assigned job tasks while also providing excellent service to our clients.

   What kind of person are we looking for? Someone with:

   • Experience with proper pruning practices including large shade trees and ornamentals
   • Ability to identify native and introduced tree and shrub species and have a working knowledge of each species’ characteristics
   • Ability to climb without spurs
   • Experience with tree care safety standards
   • Practical knowledge of chainsaw and equipment operation
   • Valid Driver’s license, CDL a plus
   • previous tree climbing experience a plus
   • Experience with aerial lifts (bucket truck)

   Why you might love working here:

   • We have lots of training and development opportunities and support continuing education in the industry
   • Our Tree Care Team works alongside some of the best trained and equipped teams in the industry, with an emphasis on quality and safety
   • We offer competitive compensation and benefits, including health and dental, paid time off, 401(K) Savings Plan, Flexible Spending Plan, Equipment Account

   Interested in taking your career to another location? We have several openings at other SavATree locations across the United States, and we offer relocation assistance in most cases. Just ask us for further details.

   SavATree is an equal opportunity employer and a Drug Free Workplace

   #sponsor

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find arborists for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your arborist job on Zippia to find and recruit arborist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting arborists requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new arborist

   Once you have selected a candidate for the arborist position, it is time to create an offer letter. In addition to salary, the offer letter should include details about benefits and perks that are available to the employee. Ensuring your offer is competitive is vital, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and it is important to be open to discussion and reach a mutually beneficial agreement. After the offer has been accepted, it is a good idea to formalize the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new arborist. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire an arborist?