United States

Department

of Agriculture

Forest

Service

Pacific Southwest

Research Station

California

Department of

Forestry and

Fire Protection

Pay Us Back

In the Southern California Coast Region

Methods:

1 Benefits and costs were quantified for typical 

large, medium, and small broadleaf trees

1 The analysis assumed that trees were planted in 

a residential yard, public park or street side with 

a 77.5-percent survival rate over 40 years

1 Tree care costs were based on results from a 

survey of municipal and commercial arborists

1 Benefits were calculated by using tree growth 

curves and numerical models that consider regional 

climate, building characteristics, air-pollutant 

concentrations, and prices

Benefits analyzed:

1 Energy savings (electricity and natural gas)

1 Air pollution reduction (carbon dioxide, nitrogen 

dioxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, airborne particles, 

and volatile organic compounds)

1 Runoff reduction (rainfall interception)

1 Property values

Costs analyzed:

1 Tree purchase and planting

1 Pruning

1 Irrigation 

1 Pest and disease prevention and control

1 Removal and disposal 

1 Sidewalk repair

1 Leaf litter cleanup

1 Liability, legal aspects, and administration

Project partners included the city of Santa Monica 

Community and Cultural Services Department, Public 

Landscape Division; Local Government Commission; 

University of California, Davis, Department of Land, 

Air, and Water Resources; USDA Forest Service, Pacific 

Southwest Research Station. 

Resources:

Anderson, L.M.; Cordell, H.K. 1998. Residential property 

values improve by landscaping with trees. Southern Journal 

of Applied Forestry. 9: 162–166.

McPherson, E.G.; Simpson, J.R.; Peper, P.J.; Scott, K.I.; 

Xiao, Q. 2000. Tree guidelines for coastal southern California 

communities. Sacramento, CA: Local Government Commission. 

144 p.

Neely, D., ed. 1998. Valuation of landscape trees, shrubs, 

and other plants. 7th ed. Urbana, IL: International Society 

of Arboriculture. 50 p.

Sullivan, W.C.; Kuo, F.E. 1996. Do trees strengthen urban communities, reduce domestic violence? Arborist News. 5: 33–34.

Wolf, K.L. 1999. Nature and commerce: human ecology in 

business districts. In Kollin, C., ed. Building cities of green: 

proceedings of the 1999 national urban forest conference. 

Washington, DC: American Forests: 56–59.

Pacific Southwest Research Station 

scientists show that...

It pays to care for trees

Santa Monica, California, is the reference city for 

the i-Tree Streets program's Southern California 

Coast climate region. Base data were collected there 

during the summer of 1999. To learn how to use this 

information to calculate costs and benefits for any 

community in the Southern California Coast (shown 

on the map in brown), refer to the Tree Guidelines 

for Coastal Southern California Communities at 

http://www.fs.fed.us/psw/programs/uesd/uep/tree_

guides.php. To learn more about i-Tree Streets, visit 

http://www.itreetools.org. 

May 2011

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its 

pro-grams and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, 

and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, 

sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or 

part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not 

all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, 

audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202)720-2600 (voice 

and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office 

of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or 

call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. 

United States

Department

of Agriculture

Forest

Service

Pacific Southwest

Research Station

Cover photo by Drew Potocki
Healthy trees mean:

Healthy people

Each year, 100 large, 

mature street trees

1 Remove 7 tons of 

carbon dioxide (CO2)

1 Remove 328 pounds 

of other air pollutants

1 Catch about 212,000 

gallons of rainwater

Homeowner savings

One well-placed large tree

1 Provides average savings of $9 on 

home air conditioning costs each year

Healthy communities

Tree-filled neighborhoods

1 Report lower levels of 

domestic violence

1 Are safer and more sociable

1 Reduce stress of body 

and mind 

1 Decrease need for 

medication, and speed 

recovery times

Better business

In tree-lined commercial 

districts, shoppers report

1 More frequent shopping

1 Longer shopping trips

1 Willingness to pay more 

for parking

1 Willingness to spend 12 

percent more for goods

Higher property values

Trees increase the resale 

value of houses

1 Each large front yard tree adds 1 

percent to the sales price of a house

1 Large specimen trees can add 

10 percent to property value

It pays to care for trees

A large tree in the Southern California Coast Region will provide $3,720 in

environmental and other benefits over its lifetime. That’s over a 325-percent return on investment!

Trees produce benefits for us when 

we plant and nurture them in our 

urban environments. The Urban 

Ecosystems and Social Dynamics 

Program at the USDA Forest Service 

Pacific Southwest Research Station 

is assessing the ways that trees pay 

us back and their value to us.

Properly cared 

for, trees are 

valuable and 

growing assets 

worth over 

three times the

investment.

One large public tree, 40 years after

planting , averaged:

Annual benefits .......................................... 93

Annual costs ................................................$28

Annual net benefit ................................... $65

Over 40 years, 100 large public trees total:

Benefits ..............................................$372,000

Costs ....................................................$113,560

40-year net benefit ........................ $258,440

Landscape trees provide benefits that far exceed 

the costs of planting and care over their lifetime.

Environmental and aesthetic benefits, such as 

energy savings, stormwater runoff reduction, 

cleaner air, and higher property values, are 

consistently many times greater than tree 

care costs.

The greatest benefits are air quality improvement 

and higher property values. 

Walt Warriner

Drew Potocki

Walt Warriner

Los Angeles Urban Forestry Division

The Value of a Tree on the 

Southern California Coast 

$3,720