How Much Do Landscapers Make?

Many reports cite hourly rates of around $12–$27 for landscaping services. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that $17.92 is the mean rate for landscaping and groundskeeping workers (with $37,270 as the mean salary).

However, these figures are based on full-time employees’ pay as opposed to freelancers’, so they’re not necessarily a good guideline for someone who wants to set up their own landscaping business or side hustle.

If you’re doing landscaping work independently, your rates will likely be higher. In most fields, freelancers earn higher pay than traditional employees because they also are responsible for their own business expenses, such as health insurance and taxes.

Independent landscaper rates on popular job boards

To get an idea of what you can realistically expect to make with this side hustle, you can look at data provided by platforms that feature landscaping jobs.

Angi Leads (formerly HomeAdvisor) is a platform that connects homeowners with providers of home services. According to Angi Leads, for small jobs “like reseeding a lawn or laying sod,” landscapers often charge between $50 to $100 per hour. Prices for larger jobs (e.g., adding swimming pools or play areas) are typically set on a per-project basis, not an hourly basis.

Another odd job platform called Thumbtack provides the following hourly rates for various gardening services, which are also often included in landscaping services:

Gardening Service Prices on Thumbtack

Factors influencing landscapers’ rates

There are several factors that will affect how much you earn as a landscaper:

• Your location: If you live in an area with a high cost of living, you can charge more for landscaping services. For example, according to the BLS, the average hourly range for landscapers in the District of Columbia is $23.39, whereas in Texas, it’s $16.09.
• Your experience: With landscaping, as with any type of work, the more experience you have and the more skilled you are, the more you can charge for your services.
• The type of services you offer: As we’ve mentioned, different types of landscaping services will pay differently. If your work is more complex and features intricate designs, large-scale installations, or difficult terrain, you can command higher rates.
• The time of year: Winter is a slower period for landscaping work. As such, you may earn less during the colder months of the year.
• How you get work: If you’re working for someone else, such as a landscaping company, you won’t keep all of the profits from your projects. If you’re using a third-party platform to find work (such as Thumbtack), you’ll also lose some money to fees and commissions.

Moreover, although it won’t directly affect your rates, when you calculate your profits, you’ll need to factor in overhead expenses. This is especially true if you’re working for yourself instead of for a company or agency. The cost of insurance, running a vehicle, and equipment maintenance will all eat into your bottom line.

When you’re working for yourself, you’re responsible for setting your own rates and finding enough work to keep you going. Try these tips to earn more from your landscaping side hustle:

Diversify your services

This is a particularly useful strategy during times of year when landscapers tend to get less work (usually winter). In these periods, add more niche seasonal services to your repertoire, such as holiday lighting installations or snow removal.

It should be easy to land this kind of work once you have a base of clients who like and trust you. Just mention the winter work that you do and leave a business card that they can use to contact you.

It’s also worth trying to upsell or cross-sell additional services to clients who seem receptive. For example, if you’re working on a lawn maintenance project, you could also offer tree pruning or seasonal flower planting.

Learn new techniques

Investing in training and education will keep you up to date with trends in the landscaping industry. This will help you to learn about new techniques that can command higher prices.

The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) offers several landscaping programs that can be completed remotely. They’re broken down into early-career, mid-career, and “career mastery” groups.

Move away from using third-party platforms

Platforms like Thumbtack or Angi Leads can be a great way to find new jobs when you’re starting out, but they will reduce your profits due to the commissions or other fees they often take.

As soon as possible, you should strike out on your own. This will get easier once you’ve worked a few jobs and built your reputation a bit.

Like we just mentioned, you can make more money as an independent landscaper than you can working for an agency or freelancing on an online platform. Your earning potential will be higher for several reasons:

• You can keep all of your business’s profits: Although you’ll be responsible for any initial investments and operational costs your business requires, you’ll also get to keep all of your profits.
• You can set your own pricing strategy: You’ll also be free to adjust prices based on market demand, project complexity, and other factors.
• You can leverage your expertise: If you have specialized skills that clients will be willing to pay more for, you’ll be able to market them better when you’re in the driver’s seat.
• It allows you to scale up: You can choose to hire more people and scale up your operations, taking on more projects and boosting your revenue. You can also explore other income streams beyond landscaping services (e.g., selling landscaping products, offering workshops or classes, or providing consultation services).
• You’ll get tax benefits: Business owners often get tax deductions and credits. This means you’ll get to keep more of what you make.

Aside from money-making potential, running your own business has other advantages. You’ll learn a lot, get greater creative freedom, and have more flexibility in terms of when and where you work. Naturally, it’ll also be challenging, but if you do it right, the rewards will outweigh the downsides.

The costs of starting a landscaping business

If you want to start a landscaping business, there are a lot of costs you should bear in mind. Make sure to factor these into the business plan that you come up with:

• Business registration and legal fees: Registering your business can cost up to $300. 1 You may also need to hire an attorney if you need help setting up contracts with clients (although this is less likely if you only have a small business, like a sole proprietorship or partnership, i.e., a one- or two-man show).
• Licenses and permits: In some states, you’ll need to pay for licenses and permits to operate a landscaping business. The costs for these will vary depending on your jurisdiction.
• Insurance: It’s very important to get liability insurance in case anything gets damaged or someone gets hurt while you’re working. You can expect insurance to cost between $30–$45 per month.
• Equipment, tools, and other materials: Landscaping has quite a few overhead costs, due to the equipment you’ll need (e.g., lawnmowers, trimmers, blowers, and shovels). You’ll also need to buy seeds, plants, soil, mulch, and other materials.
• Vehicle-related costs: If you don’t already have a van or truck, you’ll probably need to get one to transport your equipment and materials. This means you’ll need to factor in the cost of buying and insuring a vehicle (or renting one). Even if you already have a vehicle, using it for your business will mean spending more money on gas and maintenance.
• Advertising and promotion: You’ll need to spend money on marketing your business to potential clients through websites, online ads, flyers, and other promotional strategies.
• Labor: If you hire employees or contractors to help you with your business, you’ll need to pay their salaries, benefits, training expenses, and more.
• Software and technology: You might also want to buy software and other tools for tasks such as scheduling, invoicing, and client management.

Setting up a landscaping business will be a challenge. If you’re just dipping your toes into this side hustle, you might want to stick with doing odd jobs on service-oriented platforms, like Angi Leads and Thumbtack.

However, if you decide that you like landscaping enough to turn it into your new career, there’s no question that launching a business can be worth it.