Answer first: In the Longview area, removing a small tree under 30 feet typically runs $300 to $700. A medium tree, 30 to 60 feet, runs $700 to $1,500. A big loblolly or mature oak, 60 feet and up, runs $1,500 to $3,000 and beyond. Emergency and storm work runs 1.5 to 2 times those rates. Stump grinding adds $100 to $450. These are typical ranges, not quotes; your number comes in writing after someone looks at the tree.
The base ranges
| Job | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Small tree, under 30 ft | $300 - $700 | Access, hauling included or not |
| Medium tree, 30-60 ft | $700 - $1,500 | Over structures, rigging needed |
| Large pine or oak, 60-80 ft+ | $1,500 - $3,000+ | Wood volume, crane time, drop room |
| Emergency / storm removal | 1.5x - 2x the above | After-hours adds 30-100% |
| Tree off a roof with crane | commonly $2,000 - $5,000+ | Crane day rate, structure protection |
| Hung limb removal | a few hundred dollars | Height, over-structure or not |
| Stump grinding | $100 - $450 | Stump diameter, access, roots |
| Trimming visit | $250 - $800 | Tree count, height, dead-wood volume |
Why big pines cost what they cost
A mature loblolly is 80 to 100 feet of wood, often within falling distance of something expensive, with no room to just drop it. That means a climber or bucket taking it down in sections, rigging each piece, for hours, then moving a literal ton or more of wood off your lot. The crew is three or four people and two machines. That is where the money goes. When the tree is dead and brittle, climbing is off the table, equipment gets bigger, and the same tree costs more, which is the whole argument for removing a beetle-killed pine early.
The storm premium, and how to pay less of it
Emergency work costs 1.5 to 2 times scheduled rates everywhere, and after-hours calls add 30 to 100 percent on top. You cut that bill by splitting the job: pay the emergency rate only for night stabilization (tarp, weight off the load point, scene made safe), then have the full removal done at daylight rates. You also cut it by not paying emergency rates for non-emergencies: a tree flat in the yard is a scheduled cleanup no matter how dramatic it looked coming down.
Storm-chaser arithmetic
After every big East Texas blow, out-of-area crews sweep through Longview neighborhoods quoting door to door. Some are legitimate. The pattern that should stop you: cash up front, no written scope, a truck with no company name, and a price that changes once the saw is running. After June 2023 the stories were everywhere. Whoever you hire, ours or not: get the price and scope in writing before work starts, pay when the work is done, and take your own photos first if insurance is involved.
Kilgore-specific pricing
If you are in Kilgore, a national cost-comparison site that tracks Kilgore-specific data puts the local average at $529, with a typical range of $205 to $834. That is outside validation, not our quote, and it lines up with the ranges above. See the full Kilgore tree service page for storm-track details and what we cover there.
What to have ready when you call
- Roughly how tall the tree is, compared to your house: one story, two, well above.
- What it is near or on: open yard, fence, roof, lines. If lines: SWEPCO first, 888-216-3523.
- Whether you want the wood gone or stacked.
- Access: can a truck get within reach, or is it a backyard carry-out?
With those four answers we can give you an honest range on the phone and a firm written number at the tree.