Landscaping and groundskeeping workers earned a median $18.82 an hour in May 2025, and first-line supervisors earned $28.09, according to BLS OEWS. That $9.27 gap between the two medians is the pay step from working on a crew to running one.
This section covers the trade from the worker’s side: what each role pays by state and metro, how people get started without a degree, which certifications and state licenses lead to higher-paid work, and what the path to running your own crew or business looks like. Pay figures come from federal wage data and are dated; license requirements link to the agency that sets them.
Pay is not flat across the country. The state median for landscaping workers runs from $15.21 an hour in Mississippi to $23.40 in Massachusetts in the same BLS release, so a move or a commute across a state line can matter as much as a promotion. Seasonal work, overtime rules and year-round contracts also change what a job is worth over a full year.
Read landscaper salary by state for pay detail and how to become a landscaper for the career ladder, or browse open landscaping jobs posted by employers.
