Commercial Irrigation recruiters serving Dallas-Fort Worth.
Dallas-Fort Worth has about 19,750 landscaping and groundskeeping workers, 5th of the 112 we cover, and still 20% fewer per job than the country - so they are rarely short of offers. BLS counts 1,629 business locations of landscaping companies across the metro. Below: local pay for every role we staff, the state licensing rules that apply and the nearby markets competing for the same people.
Positions we recruit for in Dallas-Fort Worth.
BLS counts about 35,290 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, the largest group being landscaping and groundskeeping workers (about 19,750). Relative to the size of the local economy, landscaping and groundskeeping workers are less concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 0.80). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Irrigation hub.
Irrigation Technician / Installer
Dallas-Fort Worth: 19,750 employed · $37,680 median, 70th-highest of 112 metros
Certified Irrigation Technician (CIT)
Irrigation System Designer
Dallas-Fort Worth: $97,280 median, 9th-highest of 78 metros
Backflow Prevention Specialist
Dallas-Fort Worth: 11,980 employed · $61,250 median, 65th-highest of 112 metros
Irrigation Service / Repair Technician
Irrigation Foreman / Crew Lead
Dallas-Fort Worth: 3,560 employed · $47,850 median, 104th-highest of 112 metros
Irrigation Project Manager
Dallas-Fort Worth: 17,110 employed · $103,550 median, 80th-highest of 111 metros
Irrigation Estimator
Dallas-Fort Worth: 6,200 employed · $79,290 median, 42nd-highest of 111 metros
Smart / Controller Systems Technician
Landscape Water Management Auditor
What Commercial Irrigation roles earn in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers in Dallas-Fort Worth earn a median $37,680, 4% under the $39,150 national figure, and 70th of 112 metros. Pay runs $30,330 at the tenth percentile to $47,640 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is landscape architects, at $97,280 against $79,870 nationally.
| Role | Dallas-Fort Worth median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Irrigation Technician / Installer · Certified Irrigation Technician (CIT) · Irrigation Service / Repair TechnicianLandscaping and Groundskeeping Workers (37-3011) | $37,680 | $30,330–$47,640 | $39,150 | −4% | 19,750 |
| Irrigation System DesignerLandscape Architects (17-1012) | $97,280 | $63,640–$123,550 | $79,870 | +22% | – |
| Backflow Prevention SpecialistPlumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (47-2152) | $61,250 | $39,350–$82,230 | $63,800 | −4% | 11,980 |
| Irrigation Foreman / Crew LeadFirst-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers (37-1012) | $47,850 | $38,060–$75,340 | $58,430 | −18% | 3,560 |
| Irrigation Project ManagerConstruction Managers (11-9021) | $103,550 | $66,580–$166,770 | $114,990 | −10% | 17,110 |
| Irrigation EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $79,290 | $47,950–$134,460 | $78,740 | +1% | 6,200 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile; management and office roles are metro-wide. A metro ranking counts only the metros where BLS publishes that occupation.
How Dallas-Fort Worth's commercial irrigation market has changed since 2018.
The number of landscaping companies in Dallas-Fort Worth rose from 1,496 in 2018 to 1,629 in 2023, up 9%, behind the 13% growth nationally. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Dallas-Fort Worth, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscaping companies: business locations | 1,496 | 1,629 | +9% |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Free Commercial Irrigation hiring resources.
Definitive Guide to Commercial Irrigation · 2026 Commercial Irrigation Salary Guide · 3-Step Interview Guide for Commercial Irrigation
Dallas-Fort Worth runs 20% fewer commercial irrigation 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 (nearest published occupation for this trade). Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Dallas-Fort Worth's commercial irrigation market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Dallas-Fort Worth ranks 5th for headcount, 64th for median pay and 87th 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 irrigation employers in Dallas-Fort Worth, the headline number is misleading. About 19,750 landscaping and groundskeeping workers work here, one of the larger workforces we cover, but relative to the size of the local economy the trade is thinner than average, so every other employer is drawing on the same people. Expect to recruit people who are already employed, and to make the case for moving.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Dallas-Fort Worth metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Irrigation licensing in Texas.
Texas licenses landscape irrigators, irrigation technicians and irrigation inspectors at the state level through TCEQ. TCEQ also issues a separate Backflow Prevention Assembly Tester (BPAT) license. The same state rules apply in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, McAllen and El Paso, so candidates licensed there can work in Dallas-Fort Worth without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed a commercial irrigation search in Dallas-Fort Worth 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 Dallas-Fort Worth than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Apprentice ElectricianA tradesman already in our network for nine months, matched to the right opening and hired within a week.
- Electrical Service ManagerTwenty-five years running electrical service departments, with the national accounts to match.
- Electrical SuperintendentFourteen weeks, and worth it: a superintendent who has run USACE electrical work on a remote Pacific atoll.
Nearby markets competing for Dallas-Fort Worth talent.
The closest metro we cover is Austin, about 180 miles away, with roughly 7,600 landscaping and groundskeeping workers (0.4 times Dallas-Fort Worth's 19,750). Pay is close across the region: medians run from $35,630 in San Antonio to $38,370 in Austin, against $37,680 here. Dallas-Fort Worth is the largest market for this work in the region, so nearby metros tend to recruit from here rather than the other way round.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth | – | 19,750 | $37,680 |
| Austin | 182 mi | 7,600 | $38,370 |
| Oklahoma City | 190 mi | 3,940 | $36,760 |
| Houston | 225 mi | 14,840 | $36,280 |
| Tulsa | 237 mi | 2,360 | $36,780 |
| San Antonio | 253 mi | 3,760 | $35,630 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Dallas-Fort Worth crews.
Not commercial irrigation work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Dallas-Fort Worth in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Goldman Sachs Dallas campus$500MOpens 2027
5,000+ permanent jobs, multi-year construction phase driving demand for high-end commercial finish work.
- DFW Airport Terminal F$1.6B2024-2027
Heavy mechanical, electrical, and specialty trade demand. Phased construction means rolling crew needs.
- TxDOT I-635 LBJ East expansion$1.74BSubstantially complete as of mid-2026; only finishing touches (landscaping, sod, paint) remain
A historical example of the heavy civil and paving capacity this metro delivers, not an active current driver at its earlier scale. Operators, foremen, and plant managers were in tightest supply during the main build.
Showing 3 of 5 projects tracked in this metro. The Dallas-Fort Worth market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial irrigation, and what kills offers in Dallas-Fort Worth.
The 4 credentials that gate the work and the 4 things that most often end a commercial irrigation offer are the same in every market, kept in one place: Commercial Irrigation credentials and offer risks, each linked to the body that issues it. What is local is the licensing rule above and the pay further up this page.
Frequently asked - Commercial Irrigation hiring in Dallas-Fort Worth.
What do landscaping and groundskeeping workers earn in Dallas-Fort Worth?
BLS puts the Dallas-Fort Worth median for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $37,680 a year, 4% below the $39,150 national median. That ranks 70th of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $30,330 to $47,640 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 Dallas-Fort Worth?
Yes. Dallas-Fort Worth has 20% fewer landscaping and groundskeeping workers per job than the country as a whole, roughly 19,750 in the metro, so most of the people worth hiring are already employed.
Which commercial irrigation roles pay the most in Dallas-Fort Worth?
Of the roles we recruit for, Irrigation Project Manager pays the most in Dallas-Fort Worth, a $103,550 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Irrigation System Designer at $97,280, 6% below it. Irrigation Technician / Installer is the lowest-paid field role at $37,680. Relative to national pay, Irrigation System Designer is the strongest-paying role here (22% above). Irrigation Foreman / Crew Lead trails national pay the most (18% below).
How many landscaping companies operate in Dallas-Fort Worth?
BLS counted 1,629 landscaping companies in Dallas-Fort Worth in 2023. Up from 1,496 in 2018, a 9% increase against 13% growth nationally. BLS withholds their combined headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers. BLS counts irrigation contractors under landscaping companies.
Which nearby metros compete with Dallas-Fort Worth for landscaping and groundskeeping workers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Austin (182 miles, about 7,600, $38,370 median), Oklahoma City (190 miles, about 3,940, $36,760 median) and Houston (225 miles, about 14,840, $36,280 median).
Deep pool. Heavily fished.
Dallas-Fort Worth has 19,750 landscaping and groundskeeping workers, 5th of the 112 metros we cover, and still 20% fewer per job than the country. The pool is deep and every employer here is fishing it. Let's get to the ones worth moving first.
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