Costs
How much does it cost to hire a landscaper?
Short answer: the official May 2025 national median wage for landscaping and groundskeeping workers is $18.82 an hour. On a 40-hour, 2,080-hour year at that median, wages are $39,145.60 and federal employer payroll taxes are $3,036.64. Official new-employer state unemployment tax on that wage ranges from $112.50 in Nebraska to $1,154.80 in Nevada among states with a published rate, so employer payroll taxes total $3,149.14 to $4,191.44 before workers’ comp. Local pay will differ from the national median, and this page does not invent a national insurance rate.
Key takeaways
- Official May 2025 OEWS figures for Landscaping and groundskeeping workers (37-3011): median $18.82 an hour, mean $20.33 an hour, annual mean $42,290.00, employment 952,640. Source: official BLS May 2025 national wage table, also listed in the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- Federal employer taxes on $39,145.60 of wages are $3,036.64: $2,427.03 Social Security, $567.61 Medicare, and $42.00 net FUTA (IRS Publication 15, IRS Topic 751, IRS Topic 759).
- Official 2026 new-employer SUTA on this wage ranges from $112.50 (Nebraska) to $1,154.80 (Nevada) among states with a published rate in the DOL January 2026 table. See the state payroll-tax index.
On this page
Prefill the calculator Opens at the official BLS median of $18.82 an hour and 40 hours. Choose your state for the official unemployment wage base, and add a workers’ comp quote.
Open the calculator with this wageOfficial BLS pay for landscaping and groundskeeping workers
The wage used in the table is the official national median hourly wage of $18.82. The table below converts that official median hourly wage to a 2,080-hour year; that conversion is a planning assumption, not a separate official annual median. The official mean is $20.33 an hour, or $42,290.00 a year. Those figures are national and include experienced leads and newer hires; your market may be higher or lower. They are a planning baseline, not a wage you must offer.
Employer payroll taxes on that median wage
| Line (one year at the official national median) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Wages at the official median ($18.82/hour × 2,080) | $39,145.60 |
| Employer Social Security (6.2%) | $2,427.03 |
| Employer Medicare (1.45%) | $567.61 |
| FUTA (0.6% net, first $7,000) | $42.00 |
| State unemployment tax, official published new-employer range (Nebraska–Nevada) | $112.50–$1,154.80 |
| Employer payroll taxes, federal plus official SUTA range | $3,149.14–$4,191.44 |
| Workers’ compensation | Local quote; no national rate invented |
Workers’ comp, overtime, benefits, and payroll tools are left out on purpose. Insurance is priced by class and state; see workers’ comp cost for a first employee. Overtime, when it applies, follows the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Official state unemployment examples
| Official new-employer SUTA example | SUTA | Federal + SUTA |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana (2.50% on first $9,500) | $237.50 | $3,274.14 |
| Texas (2.70% on first $9,000) | $243.00 | $3,279.64 |
| Florida (2.70% on first $7,000) | $189.00 | $3,225.64 |
Those three states are shown because this site already documents their official new-employer rates. Your state may differ; use the calculator or the state index rather than copying an example from a state you do not operate in.
What is different about hiring a landscaper
This is the national page. Official May 2025 OEWS figures for landscaping and groundskeeping workers are a mean of $20.33 an hour ($42,290 a year) and a median of $18.82. The worked table below uses the official median and 2,080 hours so it lines up with the other national trade pages. Seasonal crews often work fewer hours; if you hire only for the growing season, enter the hours you will actually pay.
A separate, Indiana-specific page uses the official mean wage and adds verified ICRB class 0042 advisory rates: cost to hire a first landscaping employee in Indiana. This national page does not copy that insurance number into other states. Equipment, fuel, and winter downtime are real costs and are not payroll taxes.
Related trade pages: roofer, painter, carpenter, or the overall first-hire cost guide.
Change the wage or hours The official median is a starting point. Enter what you will actually pay.
Open the calculatorFrequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire a landscaper?
Using the official May 2025 BLS median wage of $18.82 an hour, a 2,080-hour year is $39,145.60 in wages and $3,036.64 in federal employer payroll taxes, plus official state unemployment tax of $112.50 to $1,154.80 among states with a published new-employer rate, before workers' comp. Local pay and insurance change the total.
What is the official BLS wage for landscaping and groundskeeping workers?
The May 2025 OEWS national figures are a median of $18.82 an hour, a mean of $20.33 an hour, and an annual mean of $42,290.00, with employment of 952,640.
How is this different from the Indiana landscaper page?
This page uses the official national BLS wages and official payroll taxes only. The Indiana page uses the official national mean wage plus verified Indiana SUTA and ICRB class 0042 advisory workers' comp rates. Use the Indiana page if the work is in Indiana and you want that insurance example.
Figures on this page were checked against the linked official IRS, DOL, USCIS, ACF, and (where used) Indiana ICRB pages in November 2026. Examples are planning estimates, not a tax, legal, or insurance outcome. Confirm with your agencies, accountant, and carrier before you hire or classify a worker.