tree city USA sign
Growing communities

A city that takes care of its trees takes care of its people. Since 1976, the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA program has recognized and supported the cities and leaders who create places to play, room to breathe, and beauty on every block.

Our four standards have empowered more than 3,500 cities to create and maintain tree cover. From Sibley, North Dakota (population 20) to New York City, and everywhere in between, Tree City USA helps communities demonstrate and promote their commitment to a greener place to call home.

Leadership in Action

Commitment requires accountability. We’ve crafted our four core standards to be inclusive of all sizes of communities while ensuring consistency across all our partners. 

Build Your Team

Tree City USA partners will delegate tree care to a combination of professional foresters or arborists, city departments, and citizen-led tree boards. This official designation ensures accountability, consistency, and clarity in tree maintenance decisions on city-owned property.

Set Your Standards

A public tree care ordinance creates consistent guidelines around planting, maintaining, and removing trees in public spaces. This official policy creates visibility to your efforts and transparency for citizens. These ordinances should be flexible and evolving, accounting for long-term needs and changing landscapes.

Establish a Dedicated Forestry Budget

Trees aren’t an expense, they’re an investment in the health, comfort, and viability of a community. That’s why Tree City USA partners allocate a $2 per capita minimum budget towards community forestry, helping to cover expenses around planting and maintaining green spaces.

Celebrate Arbor Day

Party like it’s 1872! That’s when communities across the country began celebrating Arbor Day, and our Tree Cities take part with everything from official proclamations to week-long celebrations. These events can help bring visibility and credit to tree management efforts and can be used to honor dedicated volunteers or civil servants.

3,577

Recognized Tree Cities

998K+

Trees planted annually

$1.7B+

Invested in trees this year

47%

Of the U.S. lives in a Tree City

Put Your City on the Map

We started with 42 communities in 16 states. Nearly half a century later, Tree City USA partners can be found in all 50 states, making an enormous impact across America. 

 

Explore the map to find communities that share your commitment to trees.

Hear from Leaders Like You

An important badge of honor for our community…it recognizes our commitment to growing and maintaining our urban forest.

Gordon Matassa
Urban Forestry Project Coordinator (Oakland, California)

We are not only beautifying our community, but also improving our stormwater management to mitigate flooding in this low-lying area.

Jamie Shorkey
Landscape Plan Reviewer (Kenner, Louisiana)

We hope to keep the flag flying at City Hall as a sign of the value we place on our canopy for aesthetics, a healthy environment, and an economic resource.

Connie Baggett
Director of Program Management (Brewton, Alabama)

Tree City USA Partners

Tree City USA is an Arbor Day Foundation Program in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and the National Association of State Foresters.

Apply today

Let’s Dig In

Your first step towards becoming a Tree City starts here. Fill out the application and you’ll be on your way to being a nationally recognized conservation leader.

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