It would be an understatement to say that the landscaping business is growing. Similar to moving companies, landscaping businesses are also reliant on the real estate industry. As U.S. citizens start moving to new homes and start making themselves feel at home, the yards and lawns tend to become important. That’s where landscaping businesses have an opportunity to grow.
Here’s something interesting: 81% of the American homes have a lawn. 55% of U.S. households, totaling 71.5 million households in the USA, have a garden. That’s just the residential part of the U.S. population that needs help from skillful landscapers. In fact, the commercial and urban setting also needs landscapers to keep the cities green and pretty if you are thinking of starting a landscaping business in the USA.
Lawn care or landscaping business can be rewarding for those who love to take care of gardens and lawns. But before you jump in, here’s the complete industry overview of the
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| The business model is simple. Landscaping has constant demand in the market. You can choose your own clients and projects. | It’s a competitive industry. The profit margin is low and the startup cost is moderately high. Landscapers have long days of hard work. |
Industry: Landscaping Industry Size & Trends
It’s important to note that the health of the landscaping business depends heavily on the housing and property market. The next line of metric it relies on is the per capita income, and the disposable income homeowners have.
These services are discretionary, so even homeowners with a pretty good lawn may not want these services under certain circumstances. This industry also relies on institutional and commercial clients; their revenue potential is higher for each service they provide.
Industry Overview: Landscaping in Recent Times
It’s important to track some critical metrics when considering landscaping businesses in the USA. The COVID-19 pandemic era resulted in a construction industry boom, giving a massive push to the residential landscaping business.
Low interest rates for residential real estate properties caused many U.S. residents to buy homes, which fueled the landscaping business industry. But, recently, residential real estate rates have increased, cooling down the market and landscaping.
The residential real estate market is connected to the landscaping businesses without a doubt. However, the success of the landscaping business depends on the income of the households. Gradually, the number of high-income U.S. individuals is growing, opening new opportunities for landscapers to gain high-paying clients.
The growing population in the U.S. also drives growth for landscaping businesses. Single-family houses that have a lawn that needs proper landscaping are the growth drivers for smaller landscaping businesses.
There are more than 600 thousand landscaping businesses in the U.S. The growing number of businesses keeps the market competitive. Landscapers often get high prices. Competition keeps pressuring businesses to lower pricing, reducing anticipated profit margins in the process.
Industry Size & Growth
Size: The U.S. landscaping business has a huge market size, estimated at $182.76 in 2024. An insight from the Mordor intelligence suggests that the landscaping business industry will grow up to $221.19 billion by 2029.
Landscaping businesses provide different types of services, and those usually include lawn care, landscape maintenance, landscape design, construction, irrigation, caring for trees, and installation of trees. Most businesses in the landscaping industry provide these services for residential and commercial properties. With all these services included in the landscaping industry, it’s natural for it to have a high valuation.
Growth: The landscaping industry is growing, and experts are looking at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4% between 2023 and 2030. The growth is fueled by multiple factors like urbanization, increased disposable income, sustainable and eco-friendly landscaping practices, etc.
Number of Businesses: Currently, more than 660 thousand landscaping businesses are operational in the USA.
Employment: more than 1 million people find employment in the landscaping industry in the USA.
Trends & Challenges
Here are some common trends and industry challenges related to the landscaping industry –
Landscaping Business Trends:
Native gardening: Many communities and localities in the U.S. are interested in native gardening. This trend is all about growing a location-specific plant species that easily grows in a particular weather and soil. Growth for these plants is natural, and they require less fertilizers and pesticides. Landscapers. As cost-effective and eco-friendly gardening becomes more prominent in some areas, it tends to affect landscapers and the types of services they should provide.
Xeriscaping: another trend affecting the landscaping business industry is xeriscaping. This is a drought-tolerant landscaping technique that lowers the need for water for gardening. In fact, this also involves plants that require less water and the use of practical turf. Efficient irrigation practices also make it easy to maintain gardens.
If you are planning to start a landscaping business, this is one trend you must be aware of – homeowners now want to grow edible plants. They are showcasing their beautiful garden, which is also the source of their veggies and other food.
Many house owners see their gardens as a place to spend quality time. So, a big beautiful lawn or a backyard is on the Wishlist of many homeowners. In addition, customers are more concerned about the use of pesticides in their gardens.
It’s crucial to know about these landscaping trends since most high-paying landscaping services are required by residential clients. Residential clients are the key to a landscaping business’s growth, especially for small landscaping startups.
Landscaping Business Challenges:
Although the need for landscapers is growing, some potential challenges and threats still continue to threaten small business owners.
Labor shortage: the biggest challenge faced by landscaping business owners is the shortage of labor. In fact, some owners also have to turn down the business due to a lack of trained and skillful laborers. Due to the seasonal nature of some gardening and lawn care needs, it’s difficult to find laborers who would love to work as a landscaper.
High entry barrier: High entry barrier indeed is a challenge for new owners who want to start a landscaping business. There are many businesses providing their services to various types of clients in the USA.
Fuel cost fluctuation: Fuel cost fluctuation also affects the profit of a landscaping business. Transport is a part of a landscaping business. Service providers have to carry equipment to their clients’ places, and a growing fuel cost can increase overhead costs.
Government regulations: it’s difficult for businesses to stay compliant with state, local, and federal government regulations while also operating the business with full force. Changing safety standards and environmental compliances affect landscaping businesses.
Margin Profit margin: Landscaping businesses have expenditures at multiple layers. It’s difficult to reach a desirable profit margin since. It requires efficient management and balancing of expenses, service pricing, and revenue.
Unpredictable environmental conditions: Unpredictable environmental conditions and natural disasters are also factors that affect landscaping business operations. As a result, revenue is also affected.
Economic uncertainty: economic downturns and recessions can also affect a landscaping business. During economic downturns, landscaping becomes a discretionary expense to house owners, which causes landscapers to lose clients.
Supply chain issues: Supply chain issues can cause difficulty getting equipment, disrupt landscaping project timelines, and affect the overall efficacy of a project.
Who Is Working In This Industry?
The landscaping industry is usually populated by male landscapers. In the USA, 89% of landscapers are male, and 11% of them are female. Studies suggest that 44% of landscaping workers hold a bachelor’s degree. 25% of the landscapers at least have a high school degree. The average age of landscapers is 41 years.
Startup Cost: How Much Does It Cost To Start A Landscaping Business?
If you want to start a small business with a low startup cost, then landscaping is a good business idea to explore. The startup cost associated with the landscaping business ranges between $7500 to $20000. The biggest expense here is related to a truck. You have to at least own a truck. The other major expenses include buying mowers, trimmers, wheelbarrows, and other gardening equipment.
If you want to launch the business successfully, ensure to gather all the necessary specialty equipment. Perhaps this list here would help you out –
- Gardening tools
- Push mower
- Leaf blower
- Riding mower
- Lawn spreader
- Sprayer
- Edger
- Trimmer
- Water saw
- Plate compactor
- Trailer
- Portable generator
- Heavy-duty truck
| Start up cost | Ballpark range |
| Mower | $300 to $4000 |
| Trimmer/ Edger | $100 to $300 |
| Truck | $400 to $600 |
| Trailer | $5000 to $10000 |
| License | $1000 to $5000 |
| Insurance | $110 to $130 |
| Marketing Tools | $200 to $400 |
| Total | $250 to $500 |
Earning Potential: How Much Can You Earn From A Landscaping Business?
The profit margin and earning potential in the landscaping business depend on the projects you are working on. The salaries of landscapers vary based on locations and your clients as well. The salaries of a landscaper usually range between $23000 to $54000.
The profit margin in this industry is low. The average profit margin ranges between 8% to 12%. So, if you earn $5000000 to $1 million, your profit will be around $50000 to $100000.
It would require your firm to do at least 100 jobs every year to generate $500000 in revenue, with per-service charges of $5000. If your business is able to keep a profit margin of 10%, you can generate $50000 in profit. It would require you to expand your services to increase your overall profit.
Entry Barrier: What Barriers To Entry Are There?
The entry barrier in the landscaping industry is moderately high. Some common and significant challenges include –
Knowledge – high paying clients look for skilled landscapers. They prioritize knowledge, efficiency of service, and expertise.
Equipment costs – the startup cost is moderately high. Some equipment is costly, and its maintenance can be hectic and pricey as well.
Seasonality – colder months of winter mean customers will have less work. It’s difficult to build a good clientele with growing competition as well.
Hiring Workers – There’s a shortage of skilled landscapers. So, it’s also difficult to hire the right laborers to succeed in the business.
Landscaping Business Opportunities: Who Are Your Potential Customers?
The landscaping industry continues to grow, with new businesses popping up every year. If you are also planning to start a landscaping business, here are a few opportunities to know about –
The housing market continues to stay sluggish, with the interest rates being high. This boosts the aging housing stocks, with owners wanting to improve their old homes. Such improvements also include improving the exterior with a better-looking landscape.
Since most landscapers are increasing their fees, you can charge your client with a bigger invoice. There’s an opportunity to raise prices to boost profit margin.
The learning curve isn’t steep in the landscaping industry. Also, there are many free sources for learning the advanced aspects of landscaping. The use of online payment throughout the country has made it easier for landscapers to receive instant payment from their customers.
As you keep following the trends in the landscaping industry, it’ll be easier to stay ahead of the competition and get more high-paying clients.
Frequently Asked Questions
Following are the answers to some of the most asked questions on the internet –
The most common services provided by the landscaping businesses are lawn care and chemical application. 88% of landscaping businesses provide these services. 48% of landscaping business owners report that lawn mowing and maintenance are very profitable for them.
Landscaping businesses are businesses that work with the construction, installation, and maintenance of lawns, gardens, yards, trees, patios, etc. These businesses provide various residential outdoor maintenance services and commercial services of the same nature.
Landscaping Business owners can keep a profit margin of 5% to 20% per job. However, the profit margin one can keep depends on different factors. For example, the amount of work involved in a job and the type of client a business is serving are the most important factors for assessing profitability.
Conclusion
Landscaping is a leisurely work. If you love to do gardening, or if you find lawn mowing enjoyable, you can consider starting a landscaping business. It provides a long-term earning opportunity in the industry if you can cut through the moderately heavy competition. Yes, there’s an initial investment involved with the truck and the other landscaping equipment. If you can manage the initial investment and secure skilled labor, a landscaping business should be enjoyable.
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