- The middle half earn between $18.05 and $23.33 an hour.
- New York ranks 15th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- New York pays more than 2 of its 5 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 47,600 landscapers on payrolls in New York.
- At the state median wage, a landscaping business needs to bill about $108.45 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Landscaper pay in New York, bottom to top
BLS calls this group landscaping and groundskeeping workers. It covers lawn crews, planting and hardscape helpers and groundskeepers at schools, parks and offices.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $16.80 | $34,950 | $14.98 |
| 25th percentile | $18.05 | $37,550 | $17.40 |
| Median | $21.56 | $44,840 | $18.82 |
| 75th percentile | $23.33 | $48,520 | $22.52 |
| 90th percentile | $28.81 | $59,920 | $27.28 |
| Average (mean) | $21.93 | $45,620 | $20.33 |
From the bottom tenth ($16.80) to the top tenth ($28.81), the top of the scale pays about 1.7 times the bottom in New York, close to the 1.8 times spread for landscapers nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $16.80 against $14.98 at the bottom tenth, and $28.81 against $27.28 at the top.
The average, $21.93, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How New York compares with other states
Over a full year, the New York median of $44,840 is $5,690 more than the national $39,150.
In the state ranking, New York sits 15th, between New Hampshire ($21.58) and Rhode Island ($21.51). The range runs from $15.21 in Mississippi to $23.46 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, New York is in the middle: Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont pay more, and New Jersey and Pennsylvania pay less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in New York. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against New York |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $21.56 | $44,840 | |
| Connecticut | $21.99 | $45,740 | +$0.43 an hour |
| Massachusetts | $23.40 | $48,670 | +$1.84 an hour |
| New Jersey | $19.88 | $41,360 | −$1.68 an hour |
| Pennsylvania | $18.99 | $39,500 | −$2.57 an hour |
| Vermont | $22.23 | $46,230 | +$0.67 an hour |
How many landscapers work in New York
BLS estimates 47,600 landscapers on payrolls in New York, 5.0% of the 952,640 nationwide. Only 3 states have more.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 4.9 per 1,000 jobs, 0.80 times the national share.
What a landscaping business in New York should charge
Higher wages in New York go straight into the price. Take a landscaping business in New York paying the state median of $21.56 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its starting numbers (40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit).
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $21.56 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $48,275 |
| Break-even rate | ($48,275 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $92.18 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $92.18 ÷ 0.85 | $108.45 |
That is $108.45 per billable hour, 5 times the wage, and $4.81 more than the $103.64 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $23.33 in New York, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $111.56.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $18.05, the rate only drops to $102.29.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as a landscaper in New York
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how landscaping companies run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 37-3011, landscaping and groundskeeping workers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: landscaper salary by state.