Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
We asked New Yorkers what they paid for a Christmas tree. These prices don't exactly 'sleigh.'
By
Joe Hong
Published Dec 17, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Emily Wilkerson
By
Joe Hong
Published Dec 17, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
We asked, and you delivered: More than 400 readers sent us their Christmas tree prices — and among reader submissions and data collected by our staff, we found that the average price for a Christmas tree in New York City is $116.
The cheapest was a fun-sized, 1-foot-tall tree from Trader Joe’s for $10. The priciest was a 9-foot-tall Fraser on the Upper West Side for $633. And while the prices in between are all over the map, Gothamist readers seem to agree that prices are way too high.
“Ten years ago, we were shocked that trees were $100,” said Adam Benn, an East Harlem resident. “Now we’re shocked that they’re double the price.”
If prices keep rising, Benn said, his family might go “Charlie Brown” and opt for a smaller tree. But Benn, a parent of a 12-year-old, said he can’t imagine not getting a tree. Other parents said Christmas isn’t Christmas without one. And while Benn remains loyal to his neighborhood vendor, other New Yorkers are more willing to forgo their local stands for better deals.
And for good reason: The average price for a tree at Home Depot and Lowes was about half of the overall average citywide.
Multiple Christmas tree vendors declined to be interviewed for this article. According to a survey conducted by the Real Christmas Tree Board, a research organization for tree growers, suppliers did not anticipate a short supply of trees this year. The survey also found that 84% of wholesalers did not expect to raise prices.
Lola the cat in front of her Christmas tree.
Anjali Sundaram
Some New Yorkers were willing to drive across boroughs or state lines for deals. The citywide average price of a 6- to 7-foot tree was $116. But in Jersey City and Long Island City, Home Depots had trees that size for $40.
Prices outside of Manhattan were generally more likely to be cheaper. The median price for a tree in Manhattan was $120, compared with $99 in Brooklyn and $75 in the Bronx.
Rebecca Holt-Gilmore, a West Harlem resident, said she saw a tree at her neighborhood stand for $225. But during one of her trips to her property in Vermont, she saw an 11-foot tree for $65. She bought three additional trees for friends and family and drove them down to the city in the bed of her husband’s truck.
Holt-Gilmore gives her husband and her kids a new ornament every Christmas that reference something that happened in the previous year. One of her sons had become obsessed with making pasta this year, so she got him an ornament with an image of a box of pasta.
“This way, when they leave home they’ll have ornaments to bring with them,” Holt-Gilmore said. “I think the trees are integral to the spirit of Christmas.”
But if prices continue rising, she worries that the iconic Christmas tree will become less obtainable for New Yorkers.
“Everyday people are getting gouged on Christmas,” she said. “It makes me sad more than anything.”
Kiley Lambert contributed reporting.
Tagged
new york city
Joe Hong
Joe Hong is the investigative data reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered K-12 education for several newsrooms across California. His reporting has led to local reforms in juvenile justice system as well as a state law requiring universal screening for dyslexia. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC tow companies busted for ripping off drivers must give $67K in refunds, city says
Mayor Mamdani has expanded enforcement on towing scams, but the unlicensed towing industry remains largely unregulated.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 2, 2026
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
DOC negligence factored in death at Rikers' Bellevue hospital outpost, jail officials say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says
By
Stephen Nessen
NYPD still searching for man who threw burning substance on victim in East Harlem
By
Ryan Kost
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .