Commercial Irrigation recruiters serving Denver.
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers in Denver earn a $46,270 median, 18% above the national figure, and about 10,900 of them work in the metro. BLS counts 1,045 business locations of landscaping companies across the metro. Below: local pay for every role we staff and the state licensing rules that apply.
Positions we recruit for in Denver.
BLS counts about 19,060 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Denver metro, the largest group being landscaping and groundskeeping workers (about 10,900). Relative to the size of the local economy, landscaping and groundskeeping workers are more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.11). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Irrigation hub.
Irrigation Technician / Installer
Denver: 10,900 employed · $46,270 median, 11th-highest of 112 metros
Certified Irrigation Technician (CIT)
Irrigation System Designer
Denver: 390 employed · $82,010 median, 31st-highest of 78 metros
Backflow Prevention Specialist
Denver: 5,750 employed · $63,900 median, 46th-highest of 112 metros
Irrigation Service / Repair Technician
Irrigation Foreman / Crew Lead
Denver: 2,020 employed · $61,410 median, 25th-highest of 112 metros
Irrigation Project Manager
Denver: 7,250 employed · $128,850 median, 17th-highest of 111 metros
Irrigation Estimator
Denver: 3,690 employed · $89,820 median, 7th-highest of 111 metros
Smart / Controller Systems Technician
Landscape Water Management Auditor
Hiring the same trade in another market? We recruit it in Des Moines, IA, Detroit, MI, Durham, NC too.
What Commercial Irrigation roles earn in Denver.
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers in Denver earn a median $46,270, 18% over the $39,150 national figure, and 11th of 112 metros. Pay runs $37,840 at the tenth percentile to $60,060 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is landscape architects, at $82,010 against $79,870 nationally.
| Role | Denver 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) | $46,270 | $37,840–$60,060 | $39,150 | +18% | 10,900 |
| Irrigation System DesignerLandscape Architects (17-1012) | $82,010 | $60,290–$135,190 | $79,870 | +3% | 390 |
| Backflow Prevention SpecialistPlumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (47-2152) | $63,900 | $48,640–$102,770 | $63,800 | 0% | 5,750 |
| Irrigation Foreman / Crew LeadFirst-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers (37-1012) | $61,410 | $47,280–$83,980 | $58,430 | +5% | 2,020 |
| Irrigation Project ManagerConstruction Managers (11-9021) | $128,850 | $83,960–$204,220 | $114,990 | +12% | 7,250 |
| Irrigation EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $89,820 | $59,800–$135,230 | $78,740 | +14% | 3,690 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Denver 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 Denver's commercial irrigation market has changed since 2018.
The number of landscaping companies in Denver rose from 901 in 2018 to 1,045 in 2023, up 16%, close to the 13% national change. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Denver, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscaping companies: business locations | 901 | 1,045 | +16% |
| Landscaping companies: employment | 9,610 | – | – |
| Landscaping companies: average annual pay | $43,175 | – | – |
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
Denver runs 11% more commercial irrigation workers per job than the country as a whole — above the national concentration. More per job means more people to reach, and more employers reaching 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 Denver's commercial irrigation market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Denver ranks 18th for headcount, 9th for median pay and 31st for concentration for landscaping and groundskeeping workers. Pay here is among the highest we see, so offers need to start near the top of the range.
What this means for hiring:For commercial irrigation employers in Denver, the local pool is deeper than most, so a well-run search can usually fill field roles from inside the metro.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Denver metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Irrigation licensing in Colorado.
Colorado's HB25-1077 (2025) lets licensed plumbers and certified cross-connection control technicians inspect, test and repair backflow prevention devices, and exempts testing and repair from plumbing licensure. Installing or removing devices still generally requires a plumbing license.
Licensing authority: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Confirm current rules with the agency.
What else is competing for Denver crews.
Not commercial irrigation work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Denver in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- National Western Center redevelopment (Denver)$1B+ campus programPhased through late 2020s
Large mixed-use civic/agricultural campus. Steel erection, MEP, and heavy sitework crews in steady demand across multiple building phases.
- UCHealth / Anschutz Medical Campus expansions (Aurora)Multi-phase healthcare build-outOngoing 2024-2027
Hospital and research construction is the tightest specialty market in metro Denver. Medical-gas plumbers, controls techs, and clean-space mechanical PMs in short supply.
- Aerospace corridor facilities (Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems - formerly Ball Aerospace, acquired Feb 2024)Specialized industrial build-outRolling
Mission-critical and cleanroom-grade construction along the Front Range aerospace corridor pulls the most experienced industrial mechanical and electrical crews out of the general pool.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The Denver market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial irrigation, and what kills offers in Denver.
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 Denver.
What do landscaping and groundskeeping workers earn in Denver?
BLS puts the Denver median for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $46,270 a year, 18% above the $39,150 national median. That ranks 11th of 112 metros with published figures, in the top quarter. Pay is bunched together here, $37,840 to $60,060 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed.
Is it hard to hire landscaping and groundskeeping workers in Denver?
It is about average. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers are as common in Denver as they are nationally (location quotient 1.11), with about 10,900 in the metro. With 16% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial irrigation roles pay the most in Denver?
Of the roles we recruit for, Irrigation Project Manager pays the most in Denver, a $128,850 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Irrigation System Designer at $82,010, 36% below it. Irrigation Technician / Installer is the lowest-paid field role at $46,270. Relative to national pay, Irrigation Technician / Installer is the strongest-paying role here (18% above).
How many landscaping companies operate in Denver?
BLS counted 1,045 landscaping companies in Denver in 2023. Up from 901 in 2018, a 16% 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.
Can Denver employers recruit landscaping and groundskeeping workers from nearby metros?
Not easily. None of the other metros we cover within 300 miles of Denver has published BLS figures for landscaping and groundskeeping workers, so a search here mostly has to be won locally or by relocating someone from farther away.
We have not closed a commercial irrigation search in Denver 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 Denver than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Commercial HVAC Service TechnicianA millwright who also runs commercial HVAC - four days to hire.
The seat is open. The pipeline should not be.
1,045 landscaping companies in Denver are drawing on the same 10,900 landscaping and groundskeeping workers. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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