Statewide pay Government data
Landscapers in California earn a statewide median of $45,560 a year, 21% above the typical U.S. metro, ranking #11 of 50 states and DC. About 106,180 people work in the trade statewide.
Statewide pay range
States ranked near California
See all states on the landscapers nationwide.
Pay by city Government data
BLS publishes landscaper pay for 25 California metros. The highest-paying is Napa at $48,540, followed by San Jose and San Francisco.
Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025 (metro-level). Real pay: BEA price parities, 2024. How we calculate
Pay outside the cities Government data
BLS also reports pay for California's rural (nonmetropolitan) regions.
BLS OEWS nonmetropolitan areas, May 2025.
The job (national)
Landscape or maintain grounds of property using hand or power tools or equipment. Workers typically perform a variety of tasks, which may include any combination of the following: sod laying, mowing, trimming, planting, watering, fertilizing, digging, raking, sprinkler installation, and installation of mortarless segmental concrete masonry wall units.
Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4.7% from 2025 to 2035, with about 149,500 openings a year. Typical training: short-term on-the-job training.
Nationally, landscapers have 165 injuries or illnesses serious enough to miss work per 10,000 full-time workers, 1.9× the rate for all jobs (87). The most common cause is being struck by or caught in objects and equipment.
What the work is like Government data
How often landscapers deal with each condition, from surveys of workers in the job.
Getting started usually takes some preparation (high school plus months of training).
O*NET 31.0 Work Context and Job Zones (U.S. Department of Labor), national.
Registered apprenticeships Government data
Of landscaper apprentices in California who finished or left a registered program in fiscal years 2020–2024, 61% completed (U.S.: 52%), about 31 graduates a year. The typical program runs 4,000 hours, about 2 years of full-time work. Search open registered programs near you on the official Apprenticeship Finder.
U.S. Department of Labor, RAPIDS apprentice records (Completion Rate Analysis), FY2020–2024 exits.
Licensed contractors Government data
California had 11,876 active C-27 Landscaping contractor licenses in October 2026. A California contractor license is required to bid jobs of $1,000 or more in labor and materials; working as an employee doesn't need one.
California Contractors State License Board, License Master file, October 2026 (active licenses only).
Serious injuries & deaths reported to OSHA Government data
California runs its own workplace-safety program (an OSHA State Plan), so its injury reports aren't in the federal dataset. Nationally, in states federal OSHA covers, landscaping companies filed 1,135 severe injury reports from 2015 to 2024; the most common cause was contact with objects and equipment (44%). OSHA also opened 119 fatality investigations at landscaping companies in California over the same years (federal and state programs).
OSHA Severe Injury Reports, January 2015–December 2024 (states under federal OSHA only).
Fatality investigations: OSHA Fatality Inspection Data, events 2015–2024, all states.
Where to train in California Government data
43 schools in California offer horticulture and landscaping programs below the bachelor's level. Many people in this trade learn through an apprenticeship instead; a program can shorten it or get you hired as a helper.
| School | Credential | Yearly cost | Recent grads | First-year pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mt San Antonio College Walnut, CA · Public | Certificate | $12,136 | 77 | — |
| College of the Desert Palm Desert, CA · Public | Certificate | $24,207 | 47 | — |
| Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA · Public | Certificate | $33,837 | 27 | — |
| Merritt College Oakland, CA · Public | Associate degree | $15,408 | 23 | — |
| Merritt College Oakland, CA · Public | Certificate | $15,408 | 19 | — |
| Fullerton College Fullerton, CA · Public | Associate degree | $11,021 | 17 | — |
| Cuyamaca College El Cajon, CA · Public | Associate degree | $16,589 | 14 | — |
| Santa Rosa Junior College Santa Rosa, CA · Public | Associate degree | $17,006 | 13 | — |
U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (data updated October 2026). Cost is the school's average yearly cost of attendance before financial aid; earnings are the median for graduates one year after finishing, shown only where the school has enough graduates to publish. “—” means not published.
Licensing in California Official source
The main state licensing office in California is the Contractors State License Board. Licenses all trades by classification (e.g. C-10 electrical; C-36 plumbing). It can point you to the right license for landscapers.
Official California licensing site ↗
Requirements for landscapers vary by state and sometimes by city; always confirm with the official agency.
Union membership
In 2025, 14.9% of wage and salary workers in California were union members, above the U.S. rate of about 10% (#8 of 51 states and D.C.), and 16.7% were covered by a union contract. These figures cover all jobs in the state, not only landscapers.
BLS Union Members, 2025 (Current Population Survey), table 5.
Cities in California
All trades in California.