Landscaping crew pay and seasonal retention

What landscaping crews earn

The median hourly pay for US grounds maintenance workers was $19.27 in May 2025^[1]. The occupation is large, at about 1.3 million jobs, and about 162,500 openings a year are projected over the decade to 2035^[4][2]. Employment is projected to grow 5% over that decade^[5], so most of those openings come from people leaving the occupation, not from growth. Turnover is normal in this trade.

At the company level, landscaping services establishments paid an average of $51,286 per employee in annual payroll in 2023^[6]. That average mixes seasonal laborers with year-round managers, irrigation techs and office staff, so use it to check your total payroll per head rather than to set a laborer's rate.

The seasonal swing in numbers

No home service trade swings like landscaping. Employment in landscaping services went from 756,000 in January 2025 to 1,014,200 in July 2025, a rise of about 34%^[3]. The pattern repeated in 2026, with employment peaking at 1,016,900 in July after 776,400 in February^[7].

Payroll follows the same curve. Landscaping services paid only 19.3% of their 2023 annual payroll in the first quarter, compared with 25.9% across all industries^[8]. In practice, that means you hire a quarter or more of your crew every spring. Each person you get back from last year is one you do not have to recruit, screen and train while the phones are ringing.

Laborer, crew leader and specialist pay

A simple pay structure with visible steps helps laborers see a reason to come back. Most companies settle on three or four levels.

Specialist steps matter because some of the work requires a license. Most states require licensing for workers who apply pesticides^[9]. A licensed applicator is harder to replace than a laborer, and paying for the license plus a rate step tells the whole crew that the company invests in people who stay.

End-of-season and return bonuses

A retention bonus works when it is simple, written and paid on time. The most common design pays a bonus to everyone still employed on the last day of the season, sometimes split so part is paid at the end of the season and part when the worker returns in spring. Both pieces need clear eligibility rules, and both count as pay when you work out overtime for the weeks they cover. A bonus announced in advance to encourage steady work is not discretionary, so it belongs in the regular rate^[10].

1. 01

   Set the eligibility rule

   Example: employed on the last scheduled day of November, with no more than three unexcused absences.

2. 02

   Choose the amount

   Example: a fixed amount per week worked, so a laborer who started in May earns less than one who started in March.

3. 03

   Add a return portion

   Example: a second payment after the first four weeks back next season.

4. 04

   Put it in writing at hire

   Hand each new hire the bonus rules on the first day so they can count on it.

5. 05

   Track it weekly

   Show the accrued bonus on pay stubs; it becomes a reason not to leave in August.

Production pay for maintenance routes

Some landscaping companies pay mowing crews a set amount per property or a bonus when a route is finished under its budgeted hours. This rewards a crew that works efficiently and plans the route well. It also creates the same risks as piece rate in other trades: skipped edging, rushed blowing and missed trash pick-up, which turn into client complaints and lost accounts.

• Budget hours per property from measured visits, not from the price.
• Pay the route bonus only if the crew passes a random quality check on a set share of properties that week.
• Count a complaint or a return visit against the bonus for that route.
• Keep a base hourly rate for every hour, so rain days and breakdowns do not leave the crew with nothing.
• Include any route bonus in the weekly regular rate when overtime is due.

Recruiting for the spring rush

Recruiting in March is easier when last season's crew is already lined up. Ask every returning crew member for referrals and pay a referral bonus after the new hire completes a set number of weeks. Post your pay levels in job ads, because a laborer comparing ads on a phone will skip the one that hides the rate. Put new hires on the same crew as a strong leader for their first two weeks and check in with them at the end of week one, when most early quits happen. The first week is also when you hand out the bonus rules, so a new hire sees a reason to stay to the end of the season from day one.

Overtime and drive time

Summer weeks in landscaping often run past 40 hours. The overtime premium is owed on the regular rate, which includes production bonuses and promised retention payments for the weeks they cover. Travel from job site to job site during the workday must be counted as hours worked^[11], so drive time between properties belongs on the timesheet. Crews that start at the yard and load the truck are also working from that point, and the clock should start there. When crew leaders run their own timesheets, check them against GPS or route data each week.

Keeping crews through the winter

Solo operators are a large share of the trade: there were 516,572 landscaping nonemployer businesses against 117,969 employer establishments in 2023^[12]. Experienced crew leaders who are laid off every winter are prime candidates to start their own mowing route. A few ways to keep core staff on payroll or at least in touch:

• Snow removal, holiday lighting or tree work to keep core crews working through winter.
• Shop weeks for equipment repair and training in January and February.
• A guaranteed minimum number of hours a week for crew leaders year-round.
• Texts every few weeks in winter to laid-off staff, with the start date and rate for next season.
• Early-commit offers: a raise or bonus for confirming your return by a set date.

Some companies also use seasonal visa programs for peak months; our guide to H-2B visas for landscaping explains the timeline and limits.

Pricing has to fund the pay plan

Pay raises that are not priced in come out of margin. When you change crew pay, recalculate your billable hourly rate with the new wages, payroll taxes, workers' compensation and drive time. Our guide to calculating a billable hour rate walks through the math, and the same numbers will tell you how many visits a crew must complete each day for the route to pay for itself.

A yearly pay review calendar

1. December: review the season. Compare return rates, overtime hours and complaints by crew, and note who earned a level step.
2. January: check new state and local minimum wage rates that take effect in the new year and adjust the base if needed.
3. February: send return offers with the new rate and the bonus rules, and set the date by which people confirm.
4. March: post job ads with pay levels for the roles you still need to fill.
5. July: mid-season check on bonus accruals, overtime and crew leader workload, while there is still time to fix problems.