Landscaping Services
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 113,000 landscaping services firms in the US provide planting, fertilizing, mowing, leaf and snow blowing, edging and trimming, construction, cleaning, and pest removal services for commercial and residential customers. Landscaping for commercial properties makes up 53% of industry sales. Residential areas account for 33% of sales, but are often the sole focus of small landscaping firms.
Ongoing Equipment Costs
Landscaping firms need money to purchase, maintain, and repair quickly depreciating equipment.
Worker Documentation
Landscaping services rely on unskilled, low-wage workers to keep overhead low.
Industry size & Structure
An average landscaping service has 7 employees and generates $1 million in annual revenue.
- The US has about 113,000 landscaping firms that employ 887,000 workers and generate about $130.7 billion in annual sales.
- 86% of firms have fewer than 10 employees.
- Some companies operate as franchises, but most are operated independently.
- Segments include commercial, residential, construction, pest extermination, and design.
- Large companies include TruGreen, BrightView, Davey Tree Expert, Lawn Doctor, and US Lawns.
Industry Forecast
Landscaping Services Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 18, 2025 - Green Industries to Gain Momentum in 2025
- Providers of lawn care and landscaping – “Green” services - experienced some challenges in 2024, but conditions are expected to improve in 2025, according to a recently released Home Service Economic Report by Jobber, a job tracking and customer management software firm. New work scheduled dipped into negative territory in Q2 2024 as some firms reported an emerging hesitance to pay for landscape work. However, new scheduled work returned to low single-digit, year-over-year growth in the year's second half. Median year-over-year revenue growth followed a similar pattern, dipping to about 2% in Q2 2024 compared to YOY growth of about 13% in 2023. Like the pattern with new work bookings, revenue growth improved in Q3 and Q4. Some firms adjusted pricing to manage weaker demand. While landscaping spending is expected to improve in 2025, attracting and retaining workers remains challenging.
- The number of building permits issued for privately-owned housing units, a demand driver for landscaping services, decreased 1.2% in February 2025 from January and declined 6.8% year-over-year. February’s monthly drop was primarily driven by a 4.3% reduction in permitting for housing projects with five or more units, while single-family permits were down 0.2%. February permitting for buildings with five or more units fell 15.7% compared to February 2024, and single-family permitting was off by 4.3% over the same period. Total housing starts grew by 11.2% month-over-month but fell 2.9% year-over-year in February. Starts increased 12.1% in February over January for projects with five or more units, while single-family starts rose 11.4% over the same period. Single-family starts dropped 2.3% in February compared to a year earlier, and developments with five or more units were down by 6.6% from February 2024.
- Some software firms offer AI-enabled field services management platforms that can help improve the efficiency of landscaping firms, according to Landscape Management. One such system, Zuper, can optimize routes to minimize travel time, reduce fuel consumption, and improve on-time service delivery. The system can also automate dispatching by helping match jobs with personnel skills based on past work data. Zuper’s other features include predictive analytics for equipment maintenance needs and analyzing customer feedback to identify service trends.
- Landscaping firms often employ immigrant workers, and these workers may have varying immigration status. US companies should brace for an increase in immigration enforcement as the Trump administration enters the White House, according to Bloomberg Law. Trump campaigned on a stricter immigration stance, which could bring an increase in immigration-related investigations, audits, and worksite enforcement. Some legal experts suggest a key enforcement area is likely to be greater scrutiny of Form I-9. Employers must have employees fill out an I-9 to verify work authorization status and identity. Form I-9 compliance enforcement – in the form of audits – hit an all-time high during Trump’s first term, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement fines for I-9 errors can range from about $280 to nearly $27,900. Some legal experts suggest that firms conduct internal audits to ensure compliance. Landscaping firms that hire undocumented immigrants, typically at reduced wages to lower their operating costs, could experience labor turnover and higher labor costs if their undocumented workers are detained or leave the country and the firm is forced to replace them with documented immigrants or US citizens.
Get A Demo
Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence Platform
See for yourself why over 60,000 users trust Vertical IQ for their industry research and call preparation needs. Our easy-to-digest industry insights save call preparation time and help differentiate you from the competition.
Build valuable, lasting relationships by having smarter conversations -
check out Vertical IQ today.