How much do landscapers make in 2026?
Landscapers are counted in the BLS landscaping and groundskeeping workers series: OEWS May 2025 puts the SOC 37-3011 national median at $39,150 a year ($18.82 an hour), with the bottom 10% near $31,150 and the top 10% at $56,730. It is a very large occupation — over 950,000 workers — with a narrow pay band, which reflects work that is mostly learnable quickly and priced competitively. Seasonality is the second defining fact: in much of the country maintenance work compresses into a growing season, with snow and ice work filling part of the winter in northern markets, so annual earnings depend on the employer's year-round workload as much as on the hourly rate. Movement above the median comes from specific skills rather than time served: irrigation installation and repair, pesticide applicator certification, equipment operation, hardscape construction and crew leadership with the ability to run a route and price extras. Employment is projected to grow 3.6% through 2034 with roughly 158,200 openings a year. → Full landscaper career guide, career path, credentials & placement →
Note: $39,150 blends every experience level and every setting in this occupation. For pay by level alone, see Pay by Level below.
- Landscapers earn a national median $39,150/yr ($18.82/hr) (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 37-3011); the P10 to P90 range is $31,150 to $56,730.
- The landscaping and groundskeeping series is very large with a narrow $31,150 to $56,730 band, reflecting quickly learnable, competitively priced work.
- Seasonality is a real income variable: maintenance compresses into the growing season, and northern crews depend on snow and ice work to fill the winter.
- Irrigation, applicator certification, hardscape and crew leadership with pricing responsibility are the specific skills that move pay above the median.
US Landscaper Pay Distribution · BLS OEWS May 2025
Pay by Level · BLS OEWS May 2025
How much do landscapers earn at each level?
BLS OEWS publishes one blended wage for the whole occupation and does not break pay out by credential or practice level. The levels below distribute the published percentile range across the credential tiers this role actually hires at.
Level medians are aligned to the BLS OEWS May 2025 percentile distribution for SOC 37-3011; GlobalCybers does not yet publish a verified placement sample for this role, so no verified median is shown.
Methodology & Sources
How the numbers on this page are built
Published (BLS): BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 37-3011, United States national estimate. Public, methodologically rigorous, but sampled on a rolling 3-year basis and published ~10 months after collection — so it reflects wages that are already 1–2 years old by the time you read them.
Level and certification medians: distributed across the published BLS percentile range for this SOC code (P10 through P90) according to the credential tiers this occupation actually hires at. They are modeled reference points, not separately surveyed wages.
State and metro figures: modeled — the BLS national median multiplied by the GlobalCybers state wage index, and for metros by the published metro index for that state. They are estimates of local pay, not BLS state or metropolitan-area observations, and are labelled as modeled in the tables below.
No verified placement sample:GlobalCybers does not yet publish a placement median for this role, so no "verified" figure appears anywhere on this page.
Pay by Career Level
How much does a landscaper earn at each career stage?
Landscaping pay follows specific certified or technical skills and crew responsibility. Each median is anchored to the BLS OEWS distribution for SOC 37-3011.
By State
Which states pay landscapers the most in 2026?
These are modeled state estimates — the BLS national median scaled by the GlobalCybers state wage index — not BLS state observations. Climate is the dominant local factor: year-round growing seasons support continuous maintenance employment, while northern markets have a compressed season offset partly by snow and ice contracts. State pesticide applicator licensing and irrigation or contractor licensing requirements also determine which higher-paid work a crew can legally perform, and minimum wage levels compress the bottom of this band.
6 of 51 state guides shown, ranked by median. Bar is relative to California ($45,020), the highest-paying state shown. See all role salary guides →
By Metro
Which cities pay landscapers the most?
Modeled metro estimates: the national median scaled by the state wage index and then by that state's published metro index. They estimate local wage levels and are not BLS metropolitan-area observations.
BLS OEWS MSA estimates, May 2025. Nominal pay — weigh each metro against its cost of living before relocating.
Certification Impact
Which certifications raise a landscaper’s pay the most?
Median annual pay before and after each credential, based on GlobalCybers placement data cross-referenced with BLS. License upgrades move the needle most; stackable certs add on top.
Impacts are not additive, the licensing rows share the same career ladder. Browse all 167 certifications →
Trade Comparison
How does landscaper pay compare to related roles?
BLS OEWS national median across the closest trades. Landscapers sit mid-pack on median but carry one of the widest P10–P90 spreads, licensing and specialization drive the upside.
BLS OEWS May 2025. Verify landscaper wages on BLS.gov →
Take-Home Pay
What does a landscaper actually take home after taxes?
The medians above are gross base wage.
Estimates use 2026 federal brackets, standard deduction, and 7.65% FICA. Actual take-home varies with filing status, deductions, and local tax.
FAQ
Landscaper Salary, Frequently Asked Questions
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