Landscaper Salary by State: Hourly and Yearly Pay (BLS May 2025)

• All employees
• Production and nonsupervisory (crew-level) employees

Source: BLS Current Employment Statistics, NAICS 561730, series CEU6056173003 and CEU6056173008, annual averages of not-seasonally-adjusted data.

Show the numbers

	All employees	Production and nonsupervisory (crew-level) employees
2015	17.40	15.75
2016	17.94	16.17
2017	18.67	16.64
2018	19.53	17.50
2019	20.15	18.10
2020	21.27	19.29
2021	22.76	20.52
2022	24.90	22.68
2023	25.35	23.10
2024	26.32	24.03
2025	27.63	25.40

Every figure on this page comes from federal statistics, not job ads or self-reported salary submissions. The core source is the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) release for May 2025, published May 15, 2026, which is the newest edition. Where we add trend lines, the source is the BLS payroll census (QCEW) and the monthly payroll survey (CES). If you are deciding whether to take a crew job, ask for a raise, or set a wage for your own crew, start with the state table and the supervisor section.

How much do landscapers make an hour?

The national median is $18.82 an hour: half of landscaping and groundskeeping workers (BLS occupation code 37-3011) earn more, half earn less (BLS OEWS national file, May 2025). The mean is higher, $20.33, because a long upper tail of experienced and high-cost-area workers pulls the average up. For a job seeker the median is the better yardstick.

Pay point	Hourly	Yearly	Monthly	Weekly
10th percentile	$14.98	$31,150	$2,596	$599
25th percentile	$17.40	$36,190	$3,016	$696
Median (50th)	$18.82	$39,150	$3,262	$753
75th percentile	$22.52	$46,830	$3,902	$901
90th percentile	$27.28	$56,730	$4,728	$1,091
Mean (average)	$20.33	$42,290	$3,524	$813

It is tempting to read the 10th percentile as a starting wage and the 90th as a veteran wage. Treat that loosely: OEWS does not record tenure, so the 90th percentile also captures workers in high-wage metros and at employers that pay a premium. Note where the top sits: the crew 90th percentile ($27.28) is just under the supervisor median ($28.09), which is why the usual route above it is a supervisor title or a specialty such as tree work.

Landscaper salary per month and per week

At the median, $39,150 a year works out to about $3,263 a month or $753 a week before taxes. Those conversions assume the 2,080-hour, 52-week year that BLS uses for every annual figure (BLS OEWS FAQ). In northern states where crews are laid off for part of the winter, actual take-home over a calendar year can be well below that. Overtime in peak season pushes the other way, and OEWS leaves overtime premiums out entirely (see the method note below).

Pay by job title: crew member, supervisor, tree trimmer, applicator, architect

“Landscaper” covers several distinct BLS occupations. The table puts all five side by side, with the full pay range for each.

Occupation (SOC)	U.S. workers	10th pct hourly	Median hourly	90th pct hourly	Median yearly
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers (37-3011)	952,640	$14.98	$18.82	$27.28	$39,150
Pesticide handlers, sprayers and applicators (vegetation) (37-3012)	27,050	$17.10	$22.28	$29.53	$46,340
Tree trimmers and pruners (37-3013)	55,160	$18.24	$24.50	$38.61	$50,960
First-line supervisors (crew leaders, foremen) (37-1012)	130,760	$19.50	$28.09	$41.18	$58,430
Landscape architects (17-1012)	19,600	$26.33	$38.40	$62.59	$79,870

Three things stand out. Tree work pays: the median tree trimmer earns $24.50 an hour, $5.68 more than a general crew member, which reflects climbing, saw and rigging risk. Spray technicians earn $22.28 at the median; applying pesticides for hire is regulated by each state, so check the applicator rules in our licensing requirements by state. Landscape architects, at $79,870, are a separate design profession rather than a step on the crew ladder.

The supervisor pay jump: about 49 percent

The single biggest raise in this trade is a title change. First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service and groundskeeping workers (37-1012) earn a median $28.09 an hour, $58,430 a year. That is 49.3 percent above the $18.82 crew-member median, or about $19,280 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). There are 130,760 of these jobs nationally, roughly one for every seven crew workers.

Inside landscaping companies alone (NAICS 561730, which excludes golf courses, cities and property managers) the gap is a little narrower: supervisors earn $27.31 against $19.49 for crew, a 40.1 percent premium (BLS OEWS industry-specific estimates for NAICS 561730, May 2025).

State	Crew median hourly	Supervisor median hourly	Supervisor median yearly	Jump
California	$21.90	$30.42	$63,270	+39%
Florida	$17.84	$24.66	$51,290	+38%
Texas	$17.66	$22.90	$47,630	+30%
New York	$21.56	$34.02	$70,760	+58%
Pennsylvania	$18.99	$26.66	$55,450	+40%
Georgia	$18.25	$26.36	$54,830	+44%
Colorado	$22.00	$29.25	$60,840	+33%
North Carolina	$18.22	$27.37	$56,930	+50%
Ohio	$18.38	$26.77	$55,680	+46%
Michigan	$18.33	$28.29	$58,840	+54%
Maryland	$18.93	$26.31	$54,730	+39%
Illinois	$21.05	$25.65	$53,340	+22%

The premium varies a lot by state. In New York, Michigan and North Carolina a supervisor earns more than 50 percent over a crew member (New Jersey, just outside this list, is at 66 percent; BLS OEWS state estimates, May 2025). Illinois has the narrowest gap of these 12 states, 22 percent, largely because its crew median is already high ($21.05); Texas is next at 30 percent, so moving up there is worth less in dollars than it is in New York or Michigan. What gets you the title is mostly documented skill: running a crew, reading plans, an irrigation or applicator credential, and a clean driving record. Our guide to becoming a landscaper sets out that path step by step.

Landscaper pay by state: all 50 states and DC

Massachusetts pays landscaping workers the highest median of any state, $23.40 an hour ($48,670). The District of Columbia is a hair higher at $23.46, but with only 800 workers it is a city labor market, not a state one. Mississippi is lowest at $15.21, 35 percent below Massachusetts, with West Virginia next at $15.50 (BLS OEWS state file, May 2025).

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Rank	State	Workers	Median hourly	Median yearly	10th pct hourly	90th pct hourly
1	District of Columbia	800	$23.46	$48,790	$18.74	$31.97
2	Massachusetts	22,880	$23.40	$48,670	$18.17	$29.89
3	Alaska	1,080	$22.93	$47,690	$16.13	$30.19
4	Washington	22,550	$22.57	$46,950	$18.03	$29.34
5	Minnesota	17,610	$22.41	$46,610	$14.67	$29.47
6	Vermont	2,700	$22.23	$46,230	$17.59	$29.78
7	Maine	6,410	$22.10	$45,970	$16.73	$27.70
8	Hawaii	7,040	$22.08	$45,920	$16.45	$27.01
9	Colorado	21,990	$22.00	$45,760	$17.44	$28.94
10	Connecticut	13,490	$21.99	$45,740	$17.23	$28.20
11	California	106,180	$21.90	$45,560	$17.68	$29.42
12	Montana	4,270	$21.80	$45,350	$15.47	$28.53
13	Oregon	11,870	$21.65	$45,040	$17.25	$28.34
14	New Hampshire	6,050	$21.58	$44,890	$16.61	$28.56
15	New York	47,600	$21.56	$44,840	$16.80	$28.81
16	Rhode Island	4,040	$21.51	$44,730	$17.59	$27.83
17	Illinois	34,780	$21.05	$43,790	$15.39	$29.42
18	Idaho	7,980	$20.00	$41,600	$14.89	$27.94
19	New Jersey	30,470	$19.88	$41,360	$17.05	$26.47
20	Wisconsin	18,970	$19.82	$41,230	$14.34	$28.05
21	North Dakota	2,100	$19.61	$40,790	$15.14	$27.69
22	Utah	12,850	$19.59	$40,740	$15.45	$27.49
23	Pennsylvania	34,850	$18.99	$39,500	$14.32	$25.64
24	Maryland	17,440	$18.93	$39,380	$17.30	$26.68
25	Kansas	9,480	$18.91	$39,330	$14.27	$23.70
26	Nebraska	7,280	$18.82	$39,140	$14.26	$27.86
27	Arizona	22,450	$18.71	$38,910	$17.08	$23.32
28	Iowa	8,800	$18.71	$38,920	$13.69	$28.09
29	Nevada	9,980	$18.66	$38,820	$15.29	$28.99
30	Missouri	18,310	$18.52	$38,520	$14.71	$24.25
31	Virginia	25,180	$18.46	$38,410	$15.00	$24.03
32	Wyoming	1,790	$18.42	$38,310	$14.31	$22.73
33	Ohio	34,420	$18.38	$38,220	$13.79	$23.59
34	Michigan	32,330	$18.33	$38,120	$14.41	$23.88
35	Indiana	19,260	$18.30	$38,070	$13.88	$23.95
36	Georgia	25,510	$18.25	$37,970	$13.80	$22.89
37	North Carolina	32,730	$18.22	$37,910	$14.70	$22.83
38	New Mexico	5,030	$18.06	$37,560	$14.36	$23.49
39	Delaware	4,130	$17.96	$37,350	$15.82	$22.41
40	Florida	86,040	$17.84	$37,100	$14.74	$22.78
41	Tennessee	18,250	$17.80	$37,020	$14.17	$22.91
42	Texas	63,430	$17.66	$36,740	$13.85	$23.03
43	South Carolina	15,600	$17.65	$36,710	$13.75	$22.60
44	Kentucky	8,920	$17.63	$36,670	$13.43	$23.68
45	Arkansas	6,610	$17.20	$35,770	$12.84	$21.78
46	Oklahoma	9,280	$17.20	$35,770	$13.48	$22.47
47	Alabama	12,020	$17.13	$35,630	$12.68	$22.73
48	South Dakota	2,980	$17.01	$35,370	$13.99	$22.45
49	Louisiana	8,510	$16.76	$34,870	$11.88	$20.52
50	West Virginia	3,340	$15.50	$32,240	$12.18	$20.49
51	Mississippi	4,940	$15.21	$31,630	$11.72	$21.82

Three patterns in the table. First, the high-pay band is New England, the Pacific Northwest, Colorado, Minnesota and Alaska: mostly high-cost states, and several with short growing seasons. Second, the three biggest employers (California 106,180 workers, Florida 86,040, Texas 63,430) sit in three different pay tiers: California pays $21.90, Florida $17.84, Texas $17.66. Third, the spread inside a state is often wider than the spread between states. In Minnesota the 10th percentile is $14.67 and the 90th is $29.47, a two-to-one ratio.

For industry size, establishment counts and growth by state, see our landscaping industry by state data page.

Landscaper salary in Texas

Texas landscapers earn a median $17.66 an hour ($36,740), 42nd of 51 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). The big metros run a little higher: Austin $18.45, Dallas-Fort Worth $18.12, Houston $17.44 (BLS OEWS metro estimates, May 2025). The border metros are the lowest-paying metros in the 50 states: Brownsville-Harlingen ($13.51) and McAllen-Edinburg-Mission ($13.97). Texas supervisors earn $22.90, and tree trimmers $19.17, both well below their national medians.

Landscaper pay in the 25 largest metro job markets

New York-Newark-Jersey City has the most landscaping jobs of any metro, 50,410, at a $21.89 median. Among the 25 largest markets, Boston pays the most ($23.57) and Houston the least ($17.44).

Swipe the table sideways to see every column.

Rank	Metro area	Workers	Median hourly	Median yearly	90th pct hourly
1	New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ	50,410	$21.89	$45,530	$28.64
2	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	27,860	$21.46	$44,650	$28.57
3	Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN	25,160	$21.77	$45,280	$29.45
4	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	21,170	$17.99	$37,430	$23.18
5	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	19,750	$18.12	$37,680	$22.91
6	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD	17,700	$20.26	$42,130	$26.78
7	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	17,140	$20.53	$42,700	$26.96
8	Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ	16,850	$18.82	$39,140	$23.76
9	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	15,300	$18.51	$38,500	$23.09
10	Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH	15,120	$23.57	$49,030	$29.99
11	Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX	14,840	$17.44	$36,280	$22.45
12	Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	13,190	$20.99	$43,650	$28.00
13	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	12,990	$18.67	$38,820	$25.42
14	San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	12,270	$23.10	$48,040	$37.38
15	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	11,820	$22.67	$47,160	$29.88
16	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA	11,780	$23.31	$48,480	$30.24
17	Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	11,430	$17.46	$36,310	$22.22
18	Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO	10,900	$22.25	$46,270	$28.87
19	San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	10,870	$21.90	$45,560	$28.06
20	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL	9,860	$17.89	$37,210	$22.77
21	St. Louis, MO-IL	9,600	$18.77	$39,040	$26.58
22	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	8,400	$18.57	$38,630	$23.22
23	Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX	7,600	$18.45	$38,370	$23.94
24	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	7,480	$19.05	$39,620	$26.68
25	Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	7,410	$21.69	$45,110	$30.38

Looking past the biggest 25 to every metro with at least 1,000 landscaping workers, the highest medians are Boston ($23.57), Barnstable Town on Cape Cod ($23.56), Kahului-Wailuku in Maui ($23.35), Seattle ($23.31), San Jose ($23.24) and San Francisco-Oakland ($23.10). The lowest of that group are El Paso ($14.73) and Jackson, Mississippi ($14.79) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Among metros with at least 500 supervisors, the top-paying are San Francisco-Oakland ($37.02), Portland ($36.98) and Seattle ($36.78).

Who pays landscapers more: companies, cities, golf courses or schools

About 60 percent of landscaping and groundskeeping workers (573,760 of 952,640) work for landscaping-services companies. The rest keep grounds for golf courses, cities, schools, cemeteries, hotels and property managers, and pay differs by employer type (BLS OEWS industry estimates, May 2025).

Employer type	Landscaping workers employed	Median hourly	Median yearly
Landscaping services companies (NAICS 561730)	573,760	$19.49	$40,530
Golf courses, country clubs and other recreation (NAICS 7139)	91,890	$17.40	$36,190
Local government (excl. schools, hospitals)	84,380	$18.92	$39,360
Real estate and property management	28,570	$18.91	$39,340
Employment and staffing agencies	15,850	$17.67	$36,740
Cemeteries and other death care	12,390	$18.21	$37,880
Colleges and universities	11,820	$19.65	$40,870
Hotels and resorts	10,080	$18.43	$38,340
K-12 schools	13,980	$22.56	$46,930

K-12 schools pay the most of any sizable employer type, $22.56 at the median, and school and city grounds jobs are often year-round, which can matter more than the hourly rate in a seasonal trade. Golf courses and other recreation employers pay the least in the table, $17.40. Landscaping companies ($19.49) sit slightly above the all-employer median of $18.82. If you are comparing offers, a public-sector grounds job at a lower hourly rate can still out-earn a seasonal crew job once you count paid winter weeks and benefits.

Is landscaping pay going up? The 2015–2025 trend

Yes, faster than inflation. Average annual pay per worker at private landscaping companies rose 60.0 percent in ten years, from $32,684 in 2015 to $52,284 in 2025 (BLS QCEW 2015, QCEW 2025, NAICS 561730). Average hourly earnings in the industry rose 58.8 percent over the same years, from $17.40 to $27.63 (BLS CES series CEU6056173003).

Year	Private industry jobs (QCEW)	Avg annual pay (QCEW)	Avg hourly earnings, all staff (CES)	Avg hourly earnings, crew-level staff (CES)	Avg weekly hours (CES)
2015	713,552	$32,684	$17.40	$15.75	37.2
2017	762,743	$35,159	$18.67	$16.64	37.5
2019	807,069	$38,451	$20.15	$18.10	37.1
2020	806,398	$41,158	$21.27	$19.29	36.9
2021	836,041	$43,663	$22.76	$20.52	37.5
2022	860,032	$46,148	$24.90	$22.68	37.3
2023	878,894	$48,279	$25.35	$23.10	37.1
2024	900,726	$50,368	$26.32	$24.03	38.0
2025	912,821	$52,284	$27.63	$25.40	39.0

Adjusted for inflation the gain is smaller but real. From 2019 to 2025, crew-level hourly earnings rose 40.3 percent ($18.10 to $25.40) while consumer prices rose 25.9 percent (BLS CPI-U, U.S. city average, annual averages), a real gain of about 11 percent. The biggest single-year jump was 2021 to 2022, when crew-level pay rose $2.16 an hour.

Why the CES averages ($25.40 for crew-level staff in 2025) sit above the OEWS median ($18.82): CES is a mean, includes overtime pay, and covers every nonsupervisory employee of landscaping companies, office and sales staff included, while OEWS is a median of straight-time rates for one occupation across all industries. Both are right about different things. For a job offer, compare against OEWS. For “is pay rising,” use CES and QCEW.

Demand should hold up. BLS projects grounds maintenance employment to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, adding 60,100 jobs, faster than the average for all occupations (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Grounds Maintenance Workers).

Do landscapers make good money?

For an entry-level job that needs no degree, the pay is middling; for a career that leads to supervision or a specialty, it is decent. The numbers:

• The $18.82 landscaper median is 23.2 percent below the $24.51 median for all U.S. occupations (BLS OEWS, May 2025).
• It is $3.84 below construction laborers ($22.66), the closest outdoor alternative for someone without a credential (same source).
• A supervisor at the median ($28.09) out-earns the all-occupation median by $3.58 an hour.
• Tree trimmers ($24.50) land at roughly the all-occupation median without a degree.

The trade-off is seasonality and physical wear. In northern states, hours peak in the growing season and drop in winter, so the yearly figure depends on what the employer does in the off months (snow removal, tree work, hardscape). Ask any prospective employer how many weeks a year they paid you last season, not just the hourly rate. Current openings are on our landscaping jobs board, and the careers hub collects the rest of our pay and training coverage.

How much do self-employed landscapers and owners make?

No federal survey publishes owner income for landscaping, and OEWS excludes the self-employed and owners of unincorporated firms by design (BLS OEWS technical notes, May 2025). The closest primary figure is revenue, not pay. The Census Bureau counted 537,970 landscaping businesses with no paid employees in 2024, with average receipts of $37,227 each (Census Nonemployer Statistics, 2024). That is gross revenue before fuel, equipment, insurance, dump fees and self-employment tax, and many of these are part-time side businesses: 65.5 percent took in less than $25,000.

For a solo operator, the realistic way to compare is to subtract costs from revenue and divide by hours worked, then hold that against the $18.82 employee median plus the employer-paid benefits you no longer get. Our guide to bidding landscaping jobs shows how to build those costs into a price.

Wage figures on this page are general information from federal statistics, not an offer of employment, legal or tax advice. Overtime and minimum-wage rules vary by state; check with your state labor department for the rules that apply to you.