- The middle half earn between $17.23 and $24.22 an hour.
- North Dakota ranks 21st of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- North Dakota pays more than 1 of its 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 2,100 landscapers on payrolls in North Dakota.
- At the state median wage, a landscaping business needs to bill about $105.03 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Landscaper pay in North Dakota, 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 | $15.14 | $31,480 | $14.98 |
| 25th percentile | $17.23 | $35,830 | $17.40 |
| Median | $19.61 | $40,790 | $18.82 |
| 75th percentile | $24.22 | $50,380 | $22.52 |
| 90th percentile | $27.69 | $57,600 | $27.28 |
| Average (mean) | $21.04 | $43,750 | $20.33 |
From the bottom tenth ($15.14) to the top tenth ($27.69), the top of the scale pays about 1.8 times the bottom in North Dakota, close to the 1.8 times spread for landscapers nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $15.14 against $14.98 at the bottom tenth, and $27.69 against $27.28 at the top.
The average wage, $21.04, sits 7% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical landscaper makes.
How North Dakota compares with other states
Over a full year the gap to the national median is small: $40,790 in North Dakota against $39,150 nationally, $1,640 more.
In the state ranking, North Dakota sits 21st, between Wisconsin ($19.82) and Utah ($19.59). The range runs from $15.21 in Mississippi to $23.46 in the District of Columbia.
Against its neighboring states, North Dakota is in the middle: Minnesota and Montana pay more, and South Dakota pays less.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against North Dakota |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | $19.61 | $40,790 | |
| Minnesota | $22.41 | $46,610 | +$2.80 an hour |
| Montana | $21.80 | $45,350 | +$2.19 an hour |
| South Dakota | $17.01 | $35,370 | −$2.60 an hour |
How many landscapers work in North Dakota
North Dakota has one of the smaller workforces in the trade: 2,100 landscapers on payrolls, 0.2% of the 952,640 nationwide.
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 North Dakota should charge
Say you run a landscaping business in North Dakota and pay the state median of $19.61 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 | $19.61 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $43,909 |
| Break-even rate | ($43,909 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $89.27 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $89.27 ÷ 0.85 | $105.03 |
That is $105.03 per billable hour, 5.4 times the wage, and $1.39 more than the $103.64 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $24.22 in North Dakota, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $113.12.
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 Dakota
- 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.