Commercial landscaping recruiters serving Austin.
Corporate campus development from Apple and Tesla keeps landscape designers busy, and Central Texas drought-tolerant xeriscape expertise is a genuine differentiator for premium roles.
Two Fortune-tier campuses, and a drought-tolerant specialty.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. What the hub does name: corporate campus development from Apple and Tesla, plus a heavy pipeline of new commercial and mixed-use construction, with Central Texas drought-tolerant and xeriscape expertise as a genuine differentiator for premium roles.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial landscaping contractors in Austin against that documented context.
Tesla and Apple, both expanding at once.
Two concurrent corporate campus scopes, running in the same labor market.
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A continuous manufacturing build-out east of Austin, rolling through 2027, requiring industrial-campus grounds work as the site continues expanding.
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Class-A corporate construction in the north submarket, requiring high-end landscape design to match the same finish standard as the buildings themselves.
What commercial landscaping roles pay in Austin.
In the Austin metro, BLS puts the median for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $38,370 a year, in line with the $39,150 national median. Among the 112 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Austin ranks 57th on pay. Most of the market sits between $31,260 and $49,800. Of the other field roles, landscape designer / architect pays the most locally, at a $91,140 median. BLS does not publish Austin pay for licensed pesticide applicator, which it withholds where a metro's sample is too small to be reliable. National benchmarks by role are in the 2026 Commercial Landscaping Salary Guide.
| Role | Austin median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape / Grounds Crew MemberLandscaping and Groundskeeping Workers (37-3011) | $38,370 | $31,260–$49,800 | $39,150 | −2% | 7,600 |
| Grounds Crew SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers (37-1012) | $48,380 | $39,270–$72,500 | $58,430 | −17% | – |
| Tree Trimmer / ArboristTree Trimmers and Pruners (37-3013) | $45,200 | $36,940–$56,700 | $50,960 | −11% | 700 |
| Licensed Pesticide ApplicatorPesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation (37-3012) | – | – | $46,340 | – | 90 |
| Landscape Designer / ArchitectLandscape Architects (17-1012) | $91,140 | $41,420–$128,020 | $79,870 | +14% | – |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Austin metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile. Headcount is shown for field occupations only; management, estimating and supervisory codes are counted across every industry in the metro.
What candidates expect. What credentials matter. What kills offers.
We don't tell prospective clients who their competitors are hiring - that's a discipline our clients value, and we'll honor it on a call. What we will share publicly: how Austin commercial landscaping hiring actually plays out in 2026.
Why xeriscape expertise is a genuine differentiator for premium roles
The hub names Central Texas drought-tolerant and xeriscape expertise directly as commanding premium rates - a designer without local drought-adapted plant knowledge is a lower-tier hire here.
Why two Fortune-tier corporate campuses drive concurrent demand
Tesla's Gigafactory expansion and Apple's campus build-out are both moving at once - two distinct corporate landscape scopes running in the same labor market.
What this means for sourcing
We source against verified xeriscape and corporate-campus project history, not resume claims, given the specific scope named by the hub.
Realistic timelines
Standard commercial landscaping roles: 4-6 weeks intake to signed offer, consistent with the region's broader hiring timeline. First slate of vetted candidates within 48 hours regardless.
The commercial landscaping positions we fill, most often.
Across all Austin commercial landscaping clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months.
- Commercial landscape designer (xeriscape/drought-tolerant)
- Corporate campus grounds crew lead
- Landscape crew foreman
- Grounds maintenance manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Austin, see the Austin metro overview. To learn more about commercial landscaping generally (across all 100+ markets we serve), see our Commercial Landscaping industry page.
How we recruit commercial landscaping in Austin, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Austin's commercial landscaping segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Austin landscaping work, we also confirm whether the role sits within Tesla or Apple campus scope, or standard commercial grounds work.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Austin commercial landscaping candidate network, filtered for verified xeriscape design credentials and relevant project history.
- Vetted short list (week one to several weeks). Three to five candidates. We verify real design portfolios and drought-tolerant planting experience rather than a line on a resume - timeline depends on the project scope involved.
- Offer and close. Standard roles close in 4-6 weeks. We help with offer math against Austin documented general context.
Austin sits at about the national rate for commercial landscaping — neither unusually deep nor unusually thin.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 , Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers. Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Austin's commercial landscaping market compares
In 2023 the Austin metro had 610 landscaping companies (counted by business location), with about 8,497 people on their payrolls. Average pay at those firms was $55,515, 15% above the national average of $48,279 for the same kind of employer. Headcount grew 5.9% over the year, faster than the 2.2% national increase, so local employers were adding people quicker than most of the country. That works out to 24 per 100,000 residents against 37 nationally. Fewer local employers means experienced people are easier to identify, but many work for firms based outside the metro.
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Austin ranks 23rd for headcount, 52nd for median pay and 55th for concentration for landscaping and groundskeeping workers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 19,750 | $37,680 | 0.80 | 1,629 |
| Houston | 14,840 | $36,280 | 0.74 | 1,026 |
| Austin | 7,600 | $38,370 | 0.96 | 610 |
| San Antonio | 3,760 | $35,630 | 0.55 | 467 |
| El Paso | 1,200 | $30,640 | 0.58 | 88 |
| McAllen | 680 | $29,060 | 0.37 | 33 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial landscaping employers in Austin, the pool is about the national norm for its size and local employers are adding people, so expect competing offers on experienced candidates and keep the process short.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Austin metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Austin's commercial landscaping market has changed since 2018.
The number of landscaping companies in Austin rose from 496 in 2018 to 610 in 2023, up 23%, ahead of the 13% national rise. Headcount at those firms went up 27%, to about 8,497 people. Average annual pay there went from $40,930 to $55,515 (+36%), faster than the 31% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscaping companies: business locations | 496 | 610 | +23% |
| Landscaping companies: employment | 6,685 | 8,497 | +27% |
| Landscaping companies: average annual pay | $40,930 | $55,515 | +36% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Frequently asked — commercial landscaping hiring in Austin.
What is driving commercial landscaping demand in Austin right now?
Tesla's Gigafactory Texas expansion and Apple's multi-billion-dollar Austin campus build-out are the named drivers.
Why does xeriscape expertise command a premium in Austin?
The metro's own data names Central Texas drought-tolerant and xeriscape expertise as a genuine differentiator commanding premium rates on top-tier corporate campus roles.
What do landscaping and groundskeeping workers earn in Austin?
BLS puts the Austin median for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $38,370 a year, about the same as the $39,150 national median. That ranks 57th of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $31,260 to $49,800 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. No other Texas metro we cover pays more for this work.
Is it hard to hire landscaping and groundskeeping workers in Austin?
It is about average. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers are as common in Austin as they are nationally (location quotient 0.96), with about 7,600 in the metro. The 610 landscaping companies here average about 14 employees per location. With 23% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial landscaping roles pay the most in Austin?
Of the roles we recruit for, Landscape Designer / Architect pays the most in Austin, a $91,140 median. Landscape / Grounds Crew Member is the lowest-paid field role at $38,370. Relative to national pay, Landscape Designer / Architect is the strongest-paying role here (14% above). Grounds Crew Supervisor trails national pay the most (17% below).
How many landscaping companies operate in Austin?
BLS counted 610 landscaping companies in Austin in 2023, employing about 8,497 people between them. Up from 496 in 2018, a 23% increase against 13% growth nationally. That averages 14 people per location. They pay an average of $55,515, 15% above the $48,279 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Austin for landscaping and groundskeeping workers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are San Antonio (74 miles, about 3,760, $35,630 median), Houston (147 miles, about 14,840, $36,280 median) and Dallas-Fort Worth (182 miles, about 19,750, $37,680 median). Houston has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Austin out-pays San Antonio and Houston, an advantage when recruiting from there.
We have not closed a commercial landscaping search in Austin yet. Here is what we have closed.
These are other trades in the same market. We would rather show you the searches we have actually run in Austin than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Chiller Service TechnicianChillers from one ton to 5,000-ton centrifugals, for data-center clients - placed in twelve days.
Hiring commercial landscaping talent in Austin?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you timeline and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.