Building and grounds
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers
Directly supervise and coordinate activities of workers engaged in landscaping or groundskeeping activities. Work may involve reviewing contracts to ascertain service, machine, and workforce requirements; answering inquiries from potential customers regarding methods, material, and price ranges; and preparing estimates according to labor, material, and machine costs.
Median pay
$58,430
Growth to 2035
+4%
about as fast as average
Openings a year
23,900
Time to qualify*
2 years
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- None
- Prior experience
- Less than 5 years
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Exposure to disease
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers: 65% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Establish and enforce operating procedures and work standards that will ensure adequate performance and personnel safety.
- Schedule work for crews, depending on work priorities, crew or equipment availability, or weather conditions.
- Tour grounds, such as parks, botanical gardens, cemeteries, or golf courses, to inspect conditions of plants and soil.
- Monitor project activities to ensure that instructions are followed, deadlines are met, and schedules are maintained.
- Direct activities of workers who perform duties, such as landscaping, cultivating lawns, or pruning trees and shrubs.
- Inspect completed work to ensure conformance to specifications, standards, and contract requirements.
- Plant or maintain vegetation through activities such as mulching, fertilizing, watering, mowing, or pruning.
- Direct or perform mixing or application of fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides, or fungicides.
Also called: Field Manager · Golf Course Superintendent · Grounds Crew Supervisor · Grounds Foreman · Grounds Maintenance Supervisor · Grounds Manager · Grounds Supervisor · Groundskeeper Supervisor
Outlook and AI
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers held 243,300 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 253,000 by 2035 (+4%, about as fast as average; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
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- First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers vs. First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
- First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers vs. First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers