California timber prices
What your standing timber is worth in California — published stumpage values by species, and a free calculator that turns them into a figure for your own land.
Quick answer
These are stumpage prices for California — what a landowner is paid for timber standing on the stump, before it is cut. The most recent published figure for douglas-fir is $10–$350 per thousand board feet, reported by California Department of Tax and Fee Administration for July–December 2026. Delivered or mill log prices are a different and much higher number, because they include the cost of cutting and hauling the wood. TimberClear lists 256 California foresters, buyers, loggers and mills who work this timber. What a particular stand brings is settled by a timber cruise, not by a price list.
If you own woodland in California and you are wondering what it is worth, the number you want is the stumpage price — what a buyer pays you for timber while it is still standing. The most recent published figure for douglas-fir in California is $10–$350 per thousand board feet, reported by California Department of Tax and Fee Administration for July–December 2026. The full table is below.
Two prices get quoted in this business and they are not the same. Stumpage is what reaches you. Delivered, sometimes called the mill or log price, is what a mill pays once the wood has been cut, limbed and hauled to the yard — and the difference between them is the cost of doing all that work. Delivered prices are easier to find online, they are a good deal higher, and a landowner who mistakes one for the other walks into a sale expecting money that was never on the table. Everything on this page is stumpage.
California stumpage prices by species
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, July–December 2026 · Scribner short-log scale
| Timber | per thousand board feet |
|---|---|
| Redwood | $510–$1,050 |
| Douglas-fir | $10–$350 |
| Ponderosa pine | $10–$90 |
| White fir / true fir | $70–$220 |
| Incense cedar | $40–$150 |
Source: California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, July–December 2026. These are stumpage prices — what a landowner is paid for standing timber.
What is an acre of timber worth in California?
At these prices, one mature, normally stocked acre of mostly large trees, sold in one harvest, works out to roughly $1,130 to $8,320 for pine and other softwood. Smaller trees, a thinner stand or a partial cut bring less. It's a ballpark, not an appraisal.
What is your timber worth?
The table above is the price. The calculator turns it into a figure for your land — it asks your acreage, your species, how big the trees are and how thick they stand, then works the estimate from the prices above. About a minute, and no email needed to see it.
What are my trees worth in California?
A price list cannot answer that on its own, and any site that tells you otherwise is guessing. Three things decide what an acre brings, and only you can see them: how big the trees are, how thickly they are growing, and what species they are.
Our free timber value calculator asks those three questions and works an estimate from California's own published prices, the ones in the table on this page. It gives you a range rather than a single figure, because a range is the honest shape of the answer. It takes about a minute and it does not ask for your email to show you the number.
How California timber is measured
California timber is sold by the thousand board feet, written MBF.
The figures here are measured on the Scribner short-log scale. A board-foot price means nothing without knowing which scale it was written on, so it is worth asking of any bid you receive.
Worth knowing about the California market
California reissues this schedule every six months and breaks the state into nine timber value areas. Redwood is worth several times anything else in the state.
How much forest California has, and who owns it
California has 31.6 million acres of forest land. 8.7 million acres nonindustrial private, across 81,259 owners.
A Timberland Production Zone is a rolling restriction, not a fixed term — every anniversary adds another year to the ten-year clock unless the owner files a notice of rezoning, so the countdown never starts until you start it deliberately.
Sources: apps.fs.usda.gov · law.justia.com
Do I need a permit to cut timber in California?
California has the strictest regime in the country. If you intend to sell any wood product you need an approved harvest document — normally a Timber Harvesting Plan prepared by a Registered Professional Forester, approved by CAL FIRE after multi-agency and public review, and carried out by a Licensed Timber Operator.
Lighter-touch alternatives exist — a Nonindustrial Timber Management Plan or Working Forest Management Plan, which never expire and transfer with the land — plus short exemptions for dead and dying trees, fuel reduction and conversions under three acres. Exemptions last only a year and carry acreage and stump-diameter limits.
Source: fire.ca.gov
Timberland Production Zone (TPZ): what California charges to hold woodland
Land zoned TPZ is legally restricted to growing and harvesting timber and is assessed on that restricted use rather than its development potential.
Source: law.justia.com
What the CAL FIRE will do for you, free
Forestry Assistance Specialists advise landowners, and the California Forest Improvement Program pays cost-share on ownerships of 20 to 5,000 forested acres — covering a forester-written management plan, reforestation, thinning, pruning and habitat work.
Worth taking. A state service forester does not bid on your timber and does not take a commission, so the advice comes without a stake in the outcome. They will not run your sale for you — that is a consulting forester's job — but they will tell you what you have before anybody makes you an offer.
Source: fire.ca.gov
Getting the best price for your timber
The single biggest lever is competition. One buyer who turns up and makes an offer has no reason to bid against himself. A sealed-bid sale, run by a consulting forester who invites several buyers to price the same marked timber, routinely moves the final number by a wide margin — and it costs you a share of the sale rather than money up front.
Before any of that, have the timber cruised. A cruise is a forester walking your land and measuring what is actually standing, so you are selling a known quantity instead of taking somebody's word for it.
Because California sells by the board foot, ask which log rule any bid is written on before you compare it to another. The figures on this page are Scribner short-log. The same trees scaled under a different rule produce a different board-foot count, and two honest offers can look further apart, or closer together, than they really are.
And put the terms in writing before anybody starts: what gets cut, what stays, what the land looks like when they leave, and when you get paid.
TimberClear lists 256 California foresters, buyers, loggers and mills. Every listing is free and complete, including the phone number the business already publishes. We have not vetted, verified or endorsed any of them — the listing tells you who they are and what counties they cover, and the choosing is yours.
256 California timber businesses
Foresters, buyers, loggers and mills, with the counties each one covers. Free and complete.
Compare states side by side
Pick any states and see their prices next to each other.
Timber price questions in California
What are timber prices in California right now?
California Department of Tax and Fee Administration reports douglas-fir at $10–$350 per thousand board feet for July–December 2026. That is a stumpage price — what the landowner receives for standing timber. Prices for the other products in California are listed on this page, and they move every quarter.
What is stumpage value?
Stumpage is the price paid for timber while it is still standing — the money that reaches the landowner. It is not the same as a delivered or mill log price, which is what a mill pays once the wood has been cut, limbed and hauled to the yard. The gap between the two is the cost of doing that work, and it is large. A delivered price quoted as though it were stumpage will make timber look worth far more than it is.
How much is an acre of timber worth in California?
It depends on three things the price list cannot tell you: how big the trees are, how thickly they are growing, and whether they are sawtimber or pulpwood size. Sawtimber is worth several times what pulpwood is worth per ton. TimberClear's free timber value calculator asks those questions and works the estimate from California's own published prices. It gives a range, never a single figure, because only a cruise settles what a stand is really worth.
Do I need a permit to cut timber in California?
California has the strictest regime in the country. If you intend to sell any wood product you need an approved harvest document — normally a Timber Harvesting Plan prepared by a Registered Professional Forester, approved by CAL FIRE after multi-agency and public review, and carried out by a Licensed Timber Operator. Lighter-touch alternatives exist — a Nonindustrial Timber Management Plan or Working Forest Management Plan, which never expire and transfer with the land — plus short exemptions for dead and dying trees, fuel reduction and conversions under three acres. Exemptions last only a year and carry acreage and stump-diameter limits.
Is there a property tax break for timberland in California?
California runs Timberland Production Zone (TPZ). Land zoned TPZ is legally restricted to growing and harvesting timber and is assessed on that restricted use rather than its development potential.
Who can help me manage my timber in California for free?
The CAL FIRE. Forestry Assistance Specialists advise landowners, and the California Forest Improvement Program pays cost-share on ownerships of 20 to 5,000 forested acres — covering a forester-written management plan, reforestation, thinning, pruning and habitat work.
How do I get the best price for my timber in California?
Get more than one offer. A sealed-bid sale run by a consulting forester puts buyers in competition with each other, and that is the single biggest lever a landowner has. Have the timber cruised first so you know what you are selling, and put the terms in writing before anybody starts cutting. TimberClear lists 256 California businesses, free and complete, and has not vetted or endorsed any of them.