- The middle half earn between $17.23 and $21.40 an hour.
- North Carolina ranks 37th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- North Carolina pays more than 2 of its 4 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 32,730 landscapers on payrolls in North Carolina.
- At the state median wage, a landscaping business needs to bill about $102.59 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Landscaper pay in North Carolina, 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 | $14.70 | $30,580 | $14.98 |
| 25th percentile | $17.23 | $35,830 | $17.40 |
| Median | $18.22 | $37,910 | $18.82 |
| 75th percentile | $21.40 | $44,510 | $22.52 |
| 90th percentile | $22.83 | $47,490 | $27.28 |
| Average (mean) | $19.04 | $39,600 | $20.33 |
Pay is bunched up in North Carolina. The top tenth earn $22.83 an hour or more, about 1.6 times the $14.70 at the bottom tenth. Nationally that gap is 1.8 times, so the step from the bottom of the scale to the top is shorter here than in most places.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $0.28 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $4.45 less than the national top tenth.
The average, $19.04, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How North Carolina compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $37,910 in North Carolina against $39,150 nationally, $1,240 less.
In the state ranking, North Carolina sits 37th, between Georgia ($18.25) and New Mexico ($18.06). The range runs from $15.21 in Mississippi to $23.46 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, North Carolina is in the middle: Georgia and Virginia pay more, and South Carolina and Tennessee pay less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against North Carolina |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina | $18.22 | $37,910 | |
| Georgia | $18.25 | $37,970 | +$0.03 an hour |
| South Carolina | $17.65 | $36,710 | −$0.57 an hour |
| Tennessee | $17.80 | $37,020 | −$0.42 an hour |
| Virginia | $18.46 | $38,410 | +$0.24 an hour |
How many landscapers work in North Carolina
About 32,730 landscapers work on payrolls in North Carolina, 3.4% of the 952,640 nationwide, the 8th largest count among the states.
That is 6.6 of every 1,000 jobs in North Carolina, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a landscaping business in North Carolina should charge
Say you run a landscaping business in North Carolina and pay the state median of $18.22 an hour. Here is the labor rate calculator's math on 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 | $18.22 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $40,797 |
| Break-even rate | ($40,797 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $87.20 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $87.20 ÷ 0.85 | $102.59 |
That is $102.59 per billable hour, 5.6 times the wage, and $1.05 less than the $103.64 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $21.40 in North Carolina, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $108.17.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $17.23, the rate only drops to $100.85.
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 North Carolina
- Licensing. What North Carolina asks for before you can work on your own: Landscaping license in North Carolina.
- 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.