Commercial landscaping recruiters serving Chattanooga.
Standard institutional and corporate landscaping demand tied to the region's three concurrent hospital campuses.
Three hospitals, not the Volkswagen plant.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. What the hub does name: standard institutional and corporate landscaping demand tied to the region's three concurrent hospital campuses - not Volkswagen's $4.3B assembly facility that drives other trades on the same page.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial landscaping contractors in Chattanooga against that documented context.
Three overlapping hospital timelines.
Named healthcare campuses, not a single automotive plant.
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Erlanger East's new 52,000 sq ft patient building, Parkridge Medical Center's new patient tower, and CommonSpirit's 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital - three hospital-scale projects running at the same time in one metro, all named directly by the hub.
What commercial landscaping roles pay in Chattanooga.
In the Chattanooga metro, BLS puts the median for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $36,190 a year, 8% below the $39,150 national median. Among the 112 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Chattanooga ranks 101st on pay. Most of the market sits between $29,280 and $46,750. Of the other field roles, grounds crew supervisor pays the most locally, at a $50,980 median. BLS does not publish Chattanooga pay for 3 of the roles below, 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 | Chattanooga median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape / Grounds Crew MemberLandscaping and Groundskeeping Workers (37-3011) | $36,190 | $29,280–$46,750 | $39,150 | −8% | 1,460 |
| Grounds Crew SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers (37-1012) | $50,980 | $37,290–$79,200 | $58,430 | −13% | 150 |
| Tree Trimmer / ArboristTree Trimmers and Pruners (37-3013) | – | – | $50,960 | – | – |
| Licensed Pesticide ApplicatorPesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation (37-3012) | – | – | $46,340 | – | – |
| Landscape Designer / ArchitectLandscape Architects (17-1012) | – | – | $79,870 | – | – |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga commercial landscaping hiring actually plays out in 2026.
Why we don't tie this page to Volkswagen's plant
Volkswagen's $4.3B assembly facility is the metro's largest named project, driving real premiums for advanced-manufacturing electricians. The hub's own landscaping mini names the region's three hospital campuses instead, so that's what we report.
Why three overlapping hospital timelines matter for grounds work
With Erlanger East, Parkridge, and CommonSpirit Memorial all building in overlapping windows, institutional landscaping demand here isn't tied to a single project's schedule - it's three concurrent opportunities.
What this means for sourcing
We source against verified institutional/healthcare-campus landscaping experience, 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 Chattanooga commercial landscaping clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months.
- Healthcare campus grounds crew lead
- Institutional landscape designer
- Landscape crew foreman
- Grounds maintenance manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Chattanooga, see the Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Chattanooga's commercial landscaping segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Chattanooga landscaping work, we also confirm which of the three hospital campuses the role sits within, or whether it's standard institutional grounds work.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Chattanooga commercial landscaping candidate network, filtered for verified institutional/healthcare-campus credentials where relevant.
- Vetted short list (week one to several weeks). Three to five candidates. We verify real institutional-campus grounds work 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 Chattanooga's documented general context.
Chattanooga runs 11% fewer commercial landscaping workers per job than the country as a whole — below the national concentration. Fewer per job means the people you want are already working, and usually for someone who would rather keep them.
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 Chattanooga's commercial landscaping market compares
In 2023 the Chattanooga metro had 142 landscaping companies (counted by business location), with about 1,370 people on their payrolls. Average pay at those firms was $46,872, in line with the national average of $48,279 for the same kind of employer. Headcount fell 0.1% over the year even as it grew 2.2% nationally, which usually means people leaving the trade or moving to other markets rather than a lack of work. 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, Chattanooga ranks 93rd for headcount, 91st for median pay and 74th for concentration for landscaping and groundskeeping workers. Pay here is among the lowest we see, which makes relocation offers from higher-paying metros a real retention risk.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville | 6,270 | $37,910 | 0.93 | 749 |
| Memphis | 3,100 | $36,500 | 0.83 | 325 |
| Knoxville | 3,020 | $36,040 | 1.16 | 352 |
| Chattanooga | 1,460 | $36,190 | 0.89 | 142 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial landscaping employers in Chattanooga, the local pool is thin and local employers have been cutting headcount. Senior hires often come from outside the metro or from adjacent trades, so start searches earlier than you would elsewhere.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Chattanooga metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Chattanooga's commercial landscaping market has changed since 2018.
The number of landscaping companies in Chattanooga rose from 120 in 2018 to 142 in 2023, up 18%, ahead of the 13% national rise. Headcount at those firms went up 8%, to about 1,370 people. Average annual pay there went from $33,747 to $46,872 (+39%), faster than the 31% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscaping companies: business locations | 120 | 142 | +18% |
| Landscaping companies: employment | 1,270 | 1,370 | +8% |
| Landscaping companies: average annual pay | $33,747 | $46,872 | +39% |
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 Chattanooga.
How many hospital projects are underway in Chattanooga right now?
Three, concurrently: Erlanger East's $122M patient building, Parkridge Medical Center's $98M patient tower, and CommonSpirit Memorial Hospital's 40-bed rehabilitation facility - all named in the metro's own landscaping data.
What is driving commercial landscaping demand in Chattanooga right now?
Standard institutional and corporate landscaping demand tied to the region's three concurrent hospital campuses.
What do landscaping and groundskeeping workers earn in Chattanooga?
BLS puts the Chattanooga median for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $36,190 a year, 8% below the $39,150 national median. That ranks 101st of 112 metros with published figures, in the bottom quarter. Pay is bunched together here, $29,280 to $46,750 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. Within Tennessee, Nashville pays more, at $37,910.
Is it hard to hire landscaping and groundskeeping workers in Chattanooga?
It is about average. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers are as common in Chattanooga as they are nationally (location quotient 0.89), with about 1,460 in the metro. The 142 landscaping companies here average about 9.6 employees per location. With 18% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial landscaping roles pay the most in Chattanooga?
Of the roles we recruit for, Grounds Crew Supervisor pays the most in Chattanooga, a $50,980 median. Landscape / Grounds Crew Member is the lowest-paid field role at $36,190. Grounds Crew Supervisor trails national pay the most (13% below).
How many landscaping companies operate in Chattanooga?
BLS counted 142 landscaping companies in Chattanooga in 2023, employing about 1,370 people between them. Up from 120 in 2018, a 18% increase against 13% growth nationally. That averages 9.6 people per location. They pay about the national average of $48,279.
Which nearby metros compete with Chattanooga for landscaping and groundskeeping workers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Huntsville (76 miles, about 1,550, $37,510 median), Knoxville (101 miles, about 3,020, $36,040 median) and Atlanta (104 miles, about 15,300, $38,500 median). Knoxville has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Atlanta pays 6% more, which is where Chattanooga employers tend to lose people.
Hiring commercial landscaping talent in Chattanooga?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you timeline and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.