How Much Do Landscapers Make?
BLS counts employees only, and 20% of grounds maintenance workers work for themselves, so the official pay figure leaves them out. A one-person landscaping business grosses less than the employee median, and that is before fuel, equipment and insurance.
We found no lawn care owner who published a full year's net income without also selling courses, so this page uses official figures only. Below are three figures side by side, a ZIP code tool and a calculator.
Which of these you would be depends on whether you work on a crew, run your own route, or run crews.
Employed landscapers in Seattle earn a median of $48,480, against $39,150 nationally
Every US ZIP code is matched. 527 of 528 BLS areas publish a landscaper median, and one area shows its state figure. Census publishes one-person landscaping receipts for 3,020 counties. The tool says which figure it shows.
Sources: BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 37-3011, by area, employees only; Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024, NAICS 56173, by county, gross receipts before costs (Census publishes landscaping at five digits); Census ZIP-to-county file; USDA rural-urban codes. Census receipts are not pay, and no agency publishes self-employed pay by area, so with a ZIP code the calculator below moves the mowing price with that area's pay level for employees. The lookup runs in your browser. It loads a small file for the first three digits of your ZIP code from this site and sends nothing else.
Massachusetts pays employed landscapers a median of $48,670; Mississippi pays $31,630
The table shows the national figure, the highest and lowest states, and the states with the most people employed in this job. The first column is what employees earn. The second is what one-person businesses gross before any costs, so the two columns describe different people and a gap between them is not a pay cut or a raise.
| State | Employed landscapers, median a year (BLS May 2025) | One-person landscaping business, average gross (Census 2024) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $39,150 | $37,226 |
| Highest five | ||
| District of Columbia | $48,790 | $29,933 |
| Massachusetts | $48,670 | $58,544 |
| Alaska | $47,690 | $32,852 |
| Washington | $46,950 | $40,830 |
| Minnesota | $46,610 | $39,600 |
| Lowest five | ||
| Mississippi | $31,630 | $22,606 |
| West Virginia | $32,240 | $25,954 |
| Louisiana | $34,870 | $21,891 |
| South Dakota | $35,370 | $27,514 |
| Alabama | $35,630 | $29,030 |
| Most people employed in this job | ||
| California | $45,560 | $39,555 |
| Florida | $37,100 | $40,826 |
| Texas | $36,740 | $33,532 |
| New York | $44,840 | $42,021 |
| Pennsylvania | $39,500 | $43,018 |
| Illinois | $43,790 | $32,817 |
First column: BLS OEWS May 2025 state medians for SOC 37-3011, employees only. Second column: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024, NAICS 56173, average gross receipts of one-person businesses, before expenses. The District of Columbia's $48,790 is the highest figure, on a small area.
A one-person landscaping business grosses $37,226, below the $39,150 employee median
Two official surveys cover this work, and they count different people. BLS counts employees and reports wages. Census counts one-person businesses and reports gross receipts, before any costs come out. Neither figure corrects the other: they describe two ways of working.
What owners with crews take home is not public. NALP's 2025 Financial Benchmark Report, built on 2024 data from 142 organizations and 344 locations, is sold, and its free announcement prints no owner pay. A one-person route grosses less than the employee median before costs, so an owner earns more than that median only by adding lawns, weeks or a crew. Test that with your own numbers in the calculator below.
Work out what a season of mowing brings in before tax
Put in your own price, lawns and weeks. Nothing in the boxes is a measured figure; each one is an example for you to change.
- Mowing income in a season$40,500
- Your share$40,500
- Card fees− $1,215
Checked November 2026. Fuel, equipment, insurance and truck costs are not deducted, so subtract yours. Lawns and weeks are examples. With a ZIP code, the price follows that area's pay level.
Home landscaping workers are on the IRS list of tipped jobs, entry 402
The IRS list is the firmest fact available on tips in this work. It names home landscaping workers and gives no amount.
Entry 402 reads "Home landscaping and groundskeeping workers. Landscape or maintain grounds using hand or power tools. Lawn mower, gardener, tree trimmer, weed sprayer 37-3011". The entry sets no tip amount.
Employees and the self-employed can both claim it. The deduction phases out above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income, or $300,000 on a joint return. For the self-employed it cannot exceed the net income of the business, and the tips must be voluntary.
The IRS says the report is due by the 10th of the next month.
NALP sells its 2025 benchmark report, and the free announcement prints no wage figure.
The lowest-paid tenth of employed landscapers earn under $31,150
BLS reports $31,150 a year at the 10th percentile and $36,190 at the 25th for employed landscaping and groundskeeping workers, May 2025. The self-employed are not surveyed, so these figures say nothing about a first year on your own route.
BLS describes this as the usual way in. It covers the whole grounds maintenance group, which is wider than landscapers alone.
BLS puts it this way: "States may require licensing for workers who apply pesticides and fertilizers." The ZIP code tool above adds a licensing line for California, Oregon, Louisiana, Arizona and Florida, the states we checked.
The projection covers grounds maintenance workers as a whole and does not say what those jobs will pay.
Measured by us in November 2026. Landscaping courses drew 217 phrasings, plus 140 that name a place; we measured that row and left it off the chart.
Landscaper pay questions
If you run your own lawn care route, let customers book and pay online between mows.
Set up your services and prices once, then share one booking link with your customers.
- A booking page that works as the link in your bio.
- Each service with its own length and price, like a weekly mow, a spring cleanup or a hedge trim.
- A deposit at booking, or a card on file for later.
- Tap to Pay on iPhone, to take a card in person.
Sources
Where every number on this page comes from, by publisher and release. We did not use salary aggregators, job boards or course sellers.
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers (37-3011), national, state and area, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-05-15 Employees only; the self-employed are not surveyed. 527 of 528 BLS areas publish a median; the other one shows its state figure.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Grounds Maintenance Workers, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-09-14 Covers the whole grounds maintenance group, which is wider than landscapers alone.
- Nonemployer Statistics 2024: Landscaping Services (NAICS 56173), national, state and county, U.S. Census Bureau, 2026-09-29 Gross receipts of businesses with no paid employees, before costs and tax. Published for 3,020 of 3,204 counties.
- 2025 Financial Benchmark Report announcement, NALP, 2026-11-08 2024 data from 142 organizations and 344 locations. The report is sold, not published; the free announcement prints no owner-pay or wage figure.
- Occupations that customarily and regularly received tips on or before Dec. 31, 2024, Internal Revenue Service, 2026-06-28 Entry 402: Home landscaping and groundskeeping workers. Example titles: lawn mower, gardener, tree trimmer, weed sprayer.
- One Big Beautiful Bill Act: tax deductions for working Americans and seniors (no tax on tips), Internal Revenue Service, 2026-11-09 Qualified tips deductible for 2025 through 2028, up to $25,000; for the self-employed no more than net income from the trade; phases out above $150,000 of modified AGI ($300,000 joint); tips must be voluntary.
- Topic no. 761, Tips: withholding and reporting, Internal Revenue Service, 2026-11-09 Employees who receive $20 or more in cash tips in a calendar month report them to the employer by the 10th of the following month.
- Stripe pricing, standard US card rate, Stripe, 2026-10-25 the card processor kiwilaunch uses; quoted for the 3% card fee in the calculator
- Fast Facts: Landscaping, California Contractors State License Board (CSLB), 2026-11-08 Licensed contractor threshold and the C-27 position on regular maintenance gardeners.
- Frequently asked questions: maintenance, Oregon Landscape Contractors Board, 2026-11-08 What a maintenance business can do without a license.
- Nurseries and landscaping, Louisiana's agriculture department, 2026-11-08 Lawn cutting, edging and hand-weeding are not regulated; other landscape work is licensed by type.
- Arizona Revised Statutes 32-1121, Arizona State Legislature, 2026-11-08 Contractor statute exemption for a person working as a gardener.
- Pest Control FAQ: limited certification, Florida agriculture department (FDACS), 2026-11-08 Lawn and ornamental pesticide certification by exam, with fees and recertification.
Not tax, legal or financial advice. Prices, pay and what you keep vary by state and city, licensing rules differ by state, and the tax rules on tips have conditions. A tax professional who knows your situation can answer for you.