Occupations · Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in landscaping or groundskeeping activities. Work may involve reviewing contracts to ascertain service, machine, and workforce requirements; answering inquiries from potential customers regarding methods, material, and price ranges; and preparing estimates according to labor, material, and machine costs.
O*NET 30.3 Database (USDOL/ETA) · occupation code 37-1012.00
What it pays
A single “average salary” hides the spread. This is the whole distribution — the gap between the bottom and top bar is usually the number that matters.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 · national, cross-industry · annual wage
Pay over time
Median up 66% between 2003 and 2024, before inflation. The band shows the 10th to 90th percentile.
BLS OEWS, one release per year. Before May 2011 only national estimates were published, so geography detail starts there.
Where the jobs are
| Metro area | Median wage | Employed |
|---|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | $75,100 | 5,800 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | $56,030 | 4,500 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI | $54,440 | 3,190 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | $51,070 | 3,060 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | $50,470 | 3,040 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | $47,160 | 2,860 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | $46,280 | 2,710 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | $54,420 | 2,560 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX | $48,270 | 2,270 |
| Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO | $61,150 | 2,080 |
| Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ | $48,890 | 2,070 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $49,090 | 2,010 |
BLS OEWS May 2024, metropolitan estimates · the 12 areas with the most people in this occupation
Typical education to enter: High school diploma or equivalent · BLS Employment Projections 2024–34
What people in this job actually do
Ordered by how important the work is rated.
- Establish and enforce operating procedures and work standards that will ensure adequate performance and personnel safety.
- Schedule work for crews, depending on work priorities, crew or equipment availability, or weather conditions.
- Tour grounds, such as parks, botanical gardens, cemeteries, or golf courses, to inspect conditions of plants and soil.
- Monitor project activities to ensure that instructions are followed, deadlines are met, and schedules are maintained.
- Direct activities of workers who perform duties, such as landscaping, cultivating lawns, or pruning trees and shrubs.
- Inspect completed work to ensure conformance to specifications, standards, and contract requirements.
- Plant or maintain vegetation through activities such as mulching, fertilizing, watering, mowing, or pruning.
- Negotiate with customers regarding fees for landscaping, lawn service, or groundskeeping work.
- Direct or perform mixing or application of fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, or fungicides.
- Train workers in tasks such as transplanting or pruning trees or shrubs, finishing cement, using equipment, or caring for turf.
- Prepare service estimates based on labor, material, and machine costs and maintain budgets for individual projects.
- Identify diseases or pests affecting landscaping and order appropriate treatments.
O*NET 30.3 task ratings, importance scale
Skills that matter most
Importance, rated 1 to 5.
O*NET 30.3 skills, importance scale
Software and tools
A dot marks what O*NET flags as in demand.
O*NET 30.3 software skills · hot-technology flag
What this work is actually like
Conditions rated against the average across all occupations — only what makes this job different is listed.
O*NET 30.3 Job Zones
Working conditions that stand out
O*NET 30.3 work context, frequency scale · observed 2021-08
How people actually get in
Share of workers by the education they hold.
O*NET 30.2 education, training and experience · observed 2021-08
What kind of person the work suits
Occupational interest profile, rated 1 to 7.
O*NET 30.2 occupational interests (RIASEC)
Tasks O*NET flags as emerging
- Repair irrigation systems.
O*NET 30.3 emerging tasks
What you take with you
Skills rated for how well they transfer into other occupations.
O*NET 30.3 transferable skills, importance scale
Knowledge the work draws on
Abilities it leans on
O*NET 30.3 abilities and knowledge, importance scale
How this job is advertised
The same work is posted under many titles — this is what to search for.
O*NET 30.3 job titles reported for this occupation
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What changed since 2015
Comparing O*NET release 20.1 (2015-10-01) with 30.3 (2026-05-01). Signs, not colour alone, carry the meaning.
Now listed 2
No longer listed 1
Diff across the O*NET releases held here in full since October 2015, following occupations through merges and retirements. O*NET re-surveys occupations on a rolling cycle, so “no change” can also mean “not re-surveyed”.
Related jobs
O*NET 30.3 related occupations
Also called
O*NET 30.3 alternative titles
The same work in Europe
| ESCO occupation | ISCO | Match |
|---|---|---|
| landscape gardener | 6113.6 | close |
| horticulture production manager | 6113.2 | close |
| horticulture production team leader | 6113.3 | close |
| landscape architect | 2162.1 | close |
Official ESCO ↔ O*NET crosswalk (ESCO Secretariat with USDOL/ETA)
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