Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers salary in the US
From the median paycheck to the top 10%, this page breaks down earnings for landscaping and groundskeeping workers using American Community Survey records.
How much do landscaping and groundskeeping workers earn?
Half of all landscaping and groundskeeping workers in the United States earned more than $29,328 a year, and half earned less — 44% less than the $52,508 median for all US earners aged 25 and older. It places 149th of 171 on median earnings — part of the bottom quarter, where part-time schedules are common. Behind these numbers are 46,422 survey records — a large enough sample to break the results down further below.
| Position | Annual earnings |
|---|---|
| Top 10% start at | $60,915 |
| Top 25% start at | $42,453 |
| Median (top 50%) | $29,328 |
| Bottom 25% earn below | $15,512 |
How wide is the pay range?
The top 25% of landscaping and groundskeeping workers earn at least $42,453, and the top 10% start near $60,915 — about 2.1 times the median. At the other end, a quarter of landscaping and groundskeeping workers earned $15,512 or less, which partly reflects part-time and part-year work — the survey counts everyone with earnings, not only full-time staff. Put differently, the middle earner makes 1.9× what someone at the 25th percentile does.
Earnings by age
Mid-career workers out-earn new entrants, but not dramatically — the median goes from $28,153 (25–34) to $31,484 (45–54). After the peak, the 65+ group's median falls to $15,742 (50% lower), largely because more older workers cut back their hours.
Men and women
By sex, the medians are $29,831 (men) and $20,989 (women) — a 30% difference. About 9% of the sampled workers are women, going by raw survey counts. Because these are annual totals, more part-time work in one group widens the gap; the survey doesn't adjust for that.
| Group | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| Men | $29,831 | 42,444 |
| Women | $20,989 | 3,978 |
Does education change the pay?
The education premium is steep: $32,527 at the median for workers with a bachelor's degree against $20,305 for those with a master's degree. 31,096 of the records belong to people with a high school education or less, the biggest single group; we suppress levels with fewer than 100.
| Education | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| High school or less | $29,047 | 31,096 |
| Some college / associate | $29,831 | 10,576 |
| Bachelor's | $32,527 | 3,871 |
| Master's | $20,305 | 698 |
| Professional degree | $24,392 | 120 |
| Doctorate | Not shown (<100 records) | 61 |
Where the most work, and what they earn there
Most of the sample comes from California, Texas, Florida, New York, and North Carolina, the five states where this occupation is most common in the data. Pay differs noticeably even across these five: $31,484 in California versus $25,381 in Texas. 47 states have 100+ records for this job; elsewhere the sample is too small to publish, and none of the figures adjust for local prices.
| State | Median earnings | Survey records |
|---|---|---|
| California | $31,484 | 6,648 |
| Texas | $25,381 | 3,842 |
| Florida | $28,638 | 3,693 |
| New York | $30,808 | 2,143 |
| North Carolina | $28,638 | 1,652 |
Occupations with similar pay
For comparison, these jobs have medians within a few thousand dollars: cleaners of vehicles and equipment ($29,328), packers and packagers, hand ($29,328), couriers and messengers ($28,960), and janitors and building cleaners ($28,833). The jobs differ in training and working conditions; matching medians just means the typical paycheck is comparable.
| Occupation | Median earnings | vs. this job |
|---|---|---|
| Cleaners Of Vehicles And Equipment | $29,328 | 0% |
| Packers And Packagers, Hand | $29,328 | 0% |
| Couriers And Messengers | $28,960 | −1% |
| Janitors and Building Cleaners | $28,833 | −2% |
| Bartenders | $29,831 | +2% |
About these figures
How to read these numbers: they are annual personal earnings (wages plus self-employment income) for people aged 25+ who reported working as landscaping and groundskeeping workers, pooled over 2020–2024 and adjusted to 2024 dollars. Part-time and part-year workers are included. Every group shown has at least 100 survey records; 46,422 records sit behind the headline median.
See where your pay ranks among landscaping and groundskeeping workers
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Open the calculatorSource: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-Year Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) — personal earnings (PERNP) in 2024 dollars, person-weighted
Reference statistics only — not financial advice.