Landscaping Contractor Pricing: Set a Rate That Holds All Season

Landscaping contractor pricing starts at the wage floor

Landscaping contractor pricing has a floor, and the floor is what the work pays. The median hourly wage for grounds maintenance workers was $19.27 in May 2025, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $15.01 an hour, the highest 10 percent more than $28.10.

That pool is deep, at 1,299,200 jobs in 2025. But it is not one rate, because BLS breaks the median hourly wage out by the work itself:

Read that spread as a map. Spraying pays more than three dollars an hour above mowing and bed work, and tree work nearly six, because both carry a credential and real risk. So price them separately.

The crew hour is what you actually sell

Your billing rate is never the wage. Payroll taxes, workers comp, liability, the truck, the trailer, and the mowers all ride on the same hour. In short, that gap is labor burden.

Then there is the drive. The Fair Labor Standards Act counts travel from job site to job site during the workday as work time, per the Department of Labor. Ordinary home to work travel does not count. So a route with eight stops does not sell eight hours of mowing. It sells a crew day, and you pay for the windshield time inside it.

SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a photo into an itemized, branded estimate in about 6 seconds, material, labor, and fee lines already broken out.

Season is a pricing input, not an excuse

BLS is blunt about the calendar. Crews may be busier or work longer hours in the spring, summer, and fall. That is when planting, mowing, and trimming activities are most frequent. Some jobs are seasonal, too. Meanwhile you carry crews, insurance, and equipment payments across twelve months. So either the in season rate funds the quiet months, or your agreements spread the revenue across them.

Spray work carries a license, so it never prices like mowing

The moment a crew applies chemicals, the job changes. Federal law requires certification for any person who applies or supervises the use of restricted use pesticides, in accordance with EPA regulations and state, territorial, and tribal laws. States do the certifying, and you need a certification in each state where you apply.

The rule sets hard terms. The minimum age is 18 for certification and for anyone using those products under direct supervision. Recertification runs on a maximum interval of five years, and noncertified applicators have to complete training first. In addition, many states require certification for every commercial applicator. So that credential is a moat, and moats belong in the price.

Shape the maintenance agreement before you price it

A maintenance agreement is not a discount on visits. It is a year of crew capacity sold in advance, so price it on annual crew hours.

Count the visits by service, not by month. Mowing and edging run a weekly cycle in season. Bed work and cleanups land a few times a year. Fertilizer and weed control follow their own schedule, and states may require licensing for the workers who apply them. Add those hours up, load them, add materials, then divide by twelve. Hardscape sits outside this, and our hardscape pricing guide covers patios, walls, and pavers.

Build your landscaping contractor pricing in this order

1. Start at the loaded crew hour

   Take the wages you pay, add taxes, insurance, vehicles, trailers, and equipment, then divide by the hours the crew can truly bill.

2. Price the route, not the stop

   Build the whole crew day, paid drive time included, then spread it across the stops it serves.

3. Split out the gated services

   Spraying and tree work carry credentials and higher wages. Give each its own rate, not a line buried in a mow price.

4. Apply margin last

   Margin goes on after labor, materials, and fees are on the page. Applied earlier, it hides a cost you forgot.