First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers
SOC Code: 37-1012.00
Building & Grounds CleaningFirst-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers lead the crews that design, install, and maintain outdoor spaces for residential properties, commercial campuses, parks, and athletic facilities, earning a median salary of $56,170 per year. These supervisors blend horticultural knowledge with management skills to deliver aesthetically pleasing and functionally sound landscapes while meeting client expectations and production schedules. As property owners and municipalities invest more in outdoor aesthetics, sustainability, and green infrastructure, qualified landscaping supervisors are essential to translating design visions into maintained realities.
Salary Overview
Median
$56,170
25th Percentile
$46,350
75th Percentile
$70,320
90th Percentile
$83,080
Salary Distribution
Job Outlook (2024–2034)
Growth Rate
+2.3%
New Openings
23,200
Outlook
Slower than average
Key Skills
Knowledge Areas
What They Do
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Prepare or maintain required records, such as work activity or personnel reports.
- Investigate work-related complaints to verify problems and to determine responses.
Tools & Technology
★ = Hot Technology (in-demand)
Education Requirements
Typical entry-level education: Bachelor's Degree
Related Careers
Top Career Pivot Targets
View all 34 →Careers with the highest skill compatibility from First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers.
A Day in the Life
A landscaping supervisor's day begins early, often before dawn during peak season, with a review of the day's job schedule, weather conditions, and crew assignments across multiple client properties. They load trucks with the correct equipment, materials, and supplies—mowers, trimmers, blowers, mulch, plants, and irrigation components—needed for each job on the route. At each work site, supervisors walk the property with crew members, outlining the day's tasks and quality standards for mowing patterns, edging precision, planting specifications, and cleanup expectations. They monitor work progress, provide hands-on instruction to less experienced workers, and frequently perform physical work alongside their crews to maintain production pace. Client communication is a significant part of the role, as supervisors discuss project progress, address concerns, upsell additional services, and coordinate schedules for upcoming work like seasonal plantings or irrigation startups. Equipment maintenance and repair occupy time between jobs—supervisors ensure mowers are sharpened, trimmers are restrung, and trucks are fueled and mechanically sound. Safety enforcement is continuous, covering everything from eye and ear protection to proper chain saw operation and chemical application procedures. The day ends with completing timesheets, recording materials used, updating job completion status in scheduling software, and planning the next day's route and crew assignments.
Work Environment
Landscaping supervisors work almost entirely outdoors, exposed to extreme temperatures, sun, rain, wind, and the full range of seasonal weather conditions throughout the year. The physical demands are significant—supervisors walk, bend, lift, and perform manual labor alongside their crews for much of the workday, often covering multiple properties. Work hours are dictated by daylight and seasons, with spring and summer bringing long days starting at dawn and peak production demands, while winter offers slower schedules or transitions to snow removal operations. Noise from mowers, blowers, chain saws, and other power equipment is constant, requiring hearing protection and making verbal communication challenging on site. The work involves exposure to chemicals including fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, necessitating proper application training and protective equipment. Vehicle operation—trucks, trailers, utility vehicles—is a daily component, with supervisors often driving between multiple job sites and managing fleet logistics. The culture is team-oriented and physically active, attracting people who prefer outdoor work and take pride in creating and maintaining beautiful landscapes.
Career Path & Advancement
Most landscaping supervisors start as groundskeeping laborers, lawn maintenance crew members, or nursery workers, building foundational skills in mowing, planting, pruning, and equipment operation. A high school diploma is the typical minimum requirement, with many professionals gaining additional knowledge through vocational programs, community college certificates in horticulture or landscape management, or associate degree programs. Pesticide applicator licensing, issued through state agriculture departments, is required for supervisors overseeing chemical treatments and represents an important career credential. After three to five years of demonstrated skill and reliability, workers advance to crew leader and then to full supervisor responsible for multiple crews or job sites. Professional certifications from the National Association of Landscape Professionals, such as Landscape Industry Certified Technician or Manager, provide industry-recognized credentials that support advancement. Career progression leads to branch manager, operations director, or regional management positions within larger landscaping companies. Many experienced supervisors start their own landscaping businesses, leveraging their technical expertise, client relationships, and crew management experience to build independent operations.
Specializations
Landscape maintenance supervisors focus on routine property care including mowing, edging, pruning, fertilization, and seasonal cleanups for portfolios of residential and commercial clients. Landscape installation supervisors manage crews building new landscapes from design plans, including grading, hardscaping with pavers and retaining walls, planting, and irrigation system installation. Irrigation supervisors specialize in designing, installing, maintaining, and repairing sprinkler and drip irrigation systems, requiring knowledge of hydraulics, water management, and controller programming. Tree care and arboriculture supervisors lead crews performing tree pruning, removal, health assessment, and storm damage response, often requiring International Society of Arboriculture certification. Athletic field and sports turf supervisors maintain playing surfaces for stadiums, golf courses, and recreational facilities, requiring specialized knowledge of turfgrass management, soil science, and sports surface standards. Snow and ice management supervisors lead winter operations including plowing, salting, and de-icing for commercial and municipal clients during the off-season. Sustainable landscaping supervisors specialize in native plant installations, rainwater management, xeriscaping, and environmental restoration projects aligned with green infrastructure principles.
Pros & Cons
Advantages
- ✓Working outdoors in natural settings creating and maintaining beautiful landscapes provides a quality of life that indoor careers cannot replicate.
- ✓The median salary of $56,170 can increase substantially with overtime, performance bonuses, and profit-sharing in companies that reward productive supervisors.
- ✓No four-year college degree is required, with advancement driven by demonstrated skill, work ethic, and professional certifications.
- ✓Strong entrepreneurial pathways exist, with many supervisors successfully launching their own landscaping businesses with relatively modest startup costs.
- ✓Daily variety in job sites, clients, and seasonal tasks prevents monotony and keeps the work perpetually engaging.
- ✓Growing demand for sustainable landscaping and outdoor living installations creates expanding career opportunities and increasing project complexity.
- ✓Physical activity built into the workday provides health benefits and eliminates the need for separate exercise routines.
Challenges
- ✗Exposure to extreme heat, cold, rain, and sun causes physical discomfort and long-term health risks including skin damage and heat-related illness.
- ✗The seasonal nature of the work in many climates creates income fluctuations, with peak season overwork followed by slow winter months.
- ✗Physical demands including lifting, bending, and repetitive equipment use lead to chronic back, knee, and shoulder problems over a career.
- ✗Early morning start times, often before 6:00 AM during peak season, combined with long days create fatigue and limit personal time.
- ✗Managing labor shortages and high turnover among crew members requires constant recruiting, training, and motivational effort.
- ✗Chemical handling and exposure to fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides poses health risks if safety protocols are not rigorously followed.
- ✗Competition from low-cost, unlicensed operators undercuts pricing and creates market pressure that affects earnings for legitimate businesses and their supervisors.
Industry Insight
Sustainability and water conservation are reshaping landscape design and maintenance practices, with drought-tolerant plantings, smart irrigation controllers, and organic lawn care programs gaining popularity among environmentally conscious property owners. Labor shortages remain the landscaping industry's most pressing challenge, with companies competing aggressively for reliable workers and elevating pay rates and benefits to attract and retain crews and the supervisors who manage them. Technology adoption is accelerating, with robotic mowers, GPS fleet tracking, drone mapping for large properties, and cloud-based scheduling software modernizing operations and creating new efficiency expectations. Municipal green infrastructure programs that manage stormwater through bioswales, rain gardens, and permeable surfaces are creating specialized opportunities for landscaping supervisors with environmental design knowledge. The outdoor living trend—fire pits, outdoor kitchens, pergolas, and hardscaped entertainment areas—is expanding the scope of landscape installation services and increasing project values. Climate change is shifting plant hardiness zones and extending or shortening growing seasons, requiring supervisors to continuously update their horticultural knowledge and adapt maintenance schedules. Property owners increasingly expect year-round landscape management contracts including snow removal, holiday lighting, and seasonal color rotations, providing revenue stability and reducing the traditional seasonal employment cycle.
How to Break Into This Career
Starting as a lawn care crew member, grounds maintenance laborer, or nursery worker provides hands-on experience with the equipment, techniques, and physical demands of landscaping work. Demonstrating reliability, physical stamina, attention to detail, and a willingness to learn diverse skills across mowing, planting, hardscaping, and irrigation quickly earns advancement consideration. Obtaining a state pesticide applicator license expands job responsibilities and supervisory eligibility, as licensed applicators are required for chemical treatments. Pursuing training through the National Association of Landscape Professionals or enrolling in horticulture and landscape management programs at a community college provides technical knowledge that distinguishes candidates. Earning a commercial driver's license allows supervisors to operate larger trucks and tow equipment trailers, increasing their operational value to employers. Seeking employment with established landscaping companies that offer training programs and career ladders provides structured advancement opportunities compared to small independent operators. Building skills in estimating, scheduling, and client communication during crew member years prepares workers for the business management aspects of supervisory roles.
Career Pivot Tips
Landscaping supervisors develop versatile skills in project management, crew leadership, client relations, and business operations that transfer well beyond the green industry. Their experience managing labor crews, equipment fleets, and production schedules positions them for operations management roles in construction, facility maintenance, and municipal public works departments. Horticultural and environmental knowledge opens pathways to careers in parks and recreation management, conservation, urban forestry, and environmental consulting. Sales and client relationship skills translate to account management and business development positions in related industries like building materials, outdoor furnishings, and property management. Supervisors with irrigation expertise can pivot to water management, utility coordination, and environmental engineering support roles. Equipment management and fleet maintenance experience applies to roles in fleet management, rental equipment companies, and heavy equipment dealers. Entrepreneurial supervisors frequently start their own landscaping companies, property maintenance services, garden centers, or specialty businesses like holiday lighting installation, leveraging their technical knowledge and client networks. Teaching and training experience transfers to vocational education, cooperative extension, and community college landscape technology programs.
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