Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

Low pay & highrisk
Moderate Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (5)

Lower estimated automation risk

First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers
29% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better
29.8 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Directly reuses crew coordination, site work, equipment, seasonal planning, quality checks, safety, and customer communication.

Maintenance and Repair Workers, General
38% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better More jobs
20.5 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies property upkeep, hand and power tools, inspections, minor repairs, work orders, safety, and customer service.

Forest and Conservation Workers
46% automation risk | Moderate Risk
Pays better
12.3 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Uses outdoor terrain, vegetation management, tools, safety, conservation tasks, field observation, and crew work.

Tree Trimmers and Pruners
51% automation risk | Moderate Risk
Pays better
7.7 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Transfers outdoor equipment, plant health, pruning, ladders, job-site hazards, cleanup, and property-care standards.

Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
50% automation risk | Moderate Risk
Pays better
8.9 pts lower View career
Why it fits

Applies plant care, chemicals, labels, equipment, safety procedures, weather timing, and site records with certification.

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
3.6/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

58% (Moderate Risk)

Moderate Risk (41-60%): This occupation may be meaningfully affected by automation. Some parts of the role may be suitable for AI, software, or robotics, while others still rely on human skill, judgement, trust, or real-world context. People in this range may benefit from building skills that complement automation and reduce replacement risk.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Assisting and caring for others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide hands-on help, emotional support, or personal care to people—work that depends on empathy, trust, and responding to individual needs in the moment.
Jobs that also use this strength

Thinking creatively

Quite important
Why this matters
Coming up with original ideas and designs—creating new concepts, products, systems, or artistic work. This kind of open-ended invention and taste-based judgment is harder to automate end-to-end than routine, rule-based tasks.
Jobs that also use this strength

Decision-making and problem solving

Quite important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 172 votes

43% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 58% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

Sentiment

Based on user votes over time

View sentiment trend

How opinions have changed over time

Pay & outlook

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers was $38,090 ($18 per hour).

The median annual wage for Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers was 23.1% lower than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Moderate growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers' job openings is expected to rise 3.6% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 943,430 people employed as 'Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers' within the United States.

This represents around 0.6% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 163 people are employed as 'Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers'.

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What people are saying (10)

Leave a comment
GKWillie (Uncertain)
07 Feb 2026 21:46
Possible to animate this in the short term, probably high probability. Viablility financially of this kind of tech reaching this kind of position before the world goes up in zeros and ones? not to likely.
Sullivan (Moderate)
21 Oct 2025 20:27
Yes for mowing grass and simple tasks but some fields have accessibility particularities. Add to this the maintenance costs of the robot or fees to update.
Steve (Low)
07 Nov 2024 01:08
I think that ai and robots will take over some horticulture jobs such as greens keeping and lawn mowing non management jobs. But will be an Important aid to horticulturist, landscapers and garden maintenance workers.

To keep your job you need to learn more then the basics.
Ratte (Low)
07 Jul 2024 19:23
Because a robot that trims hedges, mows the lawn, and pulls weeds in partially hard-to-reach places or by hand would be extremely expensive to build.
Growbag (Low)
31 Mar 2024 11:18
Most people won't be able to afford to buy a robot gardener and if they can it will still be considerably more expensive than hiring a gardener for a few hours per month. The payback time won't be financially feasible. There is a long way to go before a robot can expertly prune and train a climbing rose for example.

Emily (Low)
02 Jul 2023 21:58
Who the hell should trust a robot with blades that spin at 250 miles an hour?
kaitlin (Low)
14 Jun 2023 13:55
Gardeners fall into this category and there is an intuitive, non-repetitive, element that requires a gentle touch as well as client interactions to assess their garden needs and dreams.
kevin (Highly likely)
18 May 2020 10:03
because it says that we are doomed
Nick Drewiega
06 Sep 2019 12:41
95% on Landscaping
lean
30 Jul 2020 09:28
Well, the risk is so high
Leave a reply about this occupation
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Job description

Landscape or maintain grounds of property using hand or power tools or equipment. Workers typically perform a variety of tasks, which may include any combination of the following: sod laying, mowing, trimming, planting, watering, fertilizing, digging, raking, sprinkler installation, and installation of mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units.

O*NET-SOC code: 37-3011.00