Commercial landscaping recruiters serving Kansas City.
Corporate campus and institutional maintenance form the base, with stormwater detention work attached to the large impervious footprints going up in the logistics and data center corridors.
A new industrial corridor, and watershed compliance.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. What the hub does name: corporate campus and institutional maintenance as the base, with stormwater detention work attached to large impervious footprints in the logistics and data center corridors, and crew leads who can build to local watershed standards as the differentiated profile.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial landscaping contractors in Kansas City against that documented context.
A $3.1B hyperscale campus, next to a battery plant.
Large impervious footprint, requiring dedicated stormwater compliance.
-
A hyperscale campus adjacent to the Panasonic battery plant, creating a large impervious footprint that requires dedicated stormwater detention grounds work built to local watershed standards.
What commercial landscaping roles pay in Kansas City.
In the Kansas City metro, BLS puts the median for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $41,450 a year, 6% above the $39,150 national median. Among the 112 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Kansas City ranks 36th on pay. Most of the market sits between $34,050 and $50,460. Of the other field roles, landscape designer / architect pays the most locally, at a $79,640 median. National benchmarks by role are in the 2026 Commercial Landscaping Salary Guide.
| Role | Kansas City median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape / Grounds Crew MemberLandscaping and Groundskeeping Workers (37-3011) | $41,450 | $34,050–$50,460 | $39,150 | +6% | 6,660 |
| Grounds Crew SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers (37-1012) | $60,420 | $39,780–$79,250 | $58,430 | +3% | 720 |
| Tree Trimmer / ArboristTree Trimmers and Pruners (37-3013) | $50,670 | $44,090–$69,720 | $50,960 | −1% | – |
| Licensed Pesticide ApplicatorPesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation (37-3012) | $48,350 | $41,030–$62,840 | $46,340 | +4% | 170 |
| Landscape Designer / ArchitectLandscape Architects (17-1012) | $79,640 | $51,990–$114,670 | $79,870 | 0% | 130 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Kansas City 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 Kansas City commercial landscaping hiring actually plays out in 2026.
Why local watershed-standard detention work is the differentiated profile
The hub names crew leads who can build and maintain detention systems to local watershed standards as the differentiated profile - a general landscaping crew without that specific regulatory knowledge doesn't qualify for this scope.
Why the De Soto corridor creates a new stormwater-scale market
The $3.1B data center campus adjacent to the Panasonic plant creates the same scale of impervious surface driving stormwater demand as the corridor's industrial buildout - a market that didn't exist a few years ago.
What this means for sourcing
We source against verified watershed-compliant detention system 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 Kansas City commercial landscaping clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months.
- Detention systems crew lead (watershed compliance)
- Corporate/institutional campus grounds crew lead
- Landscape crew foreman
- Grounds maintenance manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Kansas City, see the Kansas City 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 Kansas City, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Kansas City's commercial landscaping segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Kansas City landscaping work, we also confirm whether the role requires watershed-compliant detention experience or standard commercial grounds work.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Kansas City commercial landscaping candidate network, filtered for verified detention-system and watershed-compliance credentials.
- Vetted short list (week one to several weeks). Three to five candidates. We verify real stormwater-compliance project history 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 Kansas City documented general context.
Kansas City 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 Kansas City's commercial landscaping market compares
In 2023 the Kansas City metro had 804 landscaping companies (counted by business location), with about 6,852 people on their payrolls. Average pay at those firms was $49,572, in line with the national average of $48,279 for the same kind of employer. Headcount grew 3.6% 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 36 per 100,000 residents, close to the 37 national rate.
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Kansas City ranks 31st for headcount, 32nd for median pay and 51st for concentration for landscaping and groundskeeping workers.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | 9,600 | $39,040 | 1.17 | 1,090 |
| Kansas City | 6,660 | $41,450 | 0.99 | 804 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial landscaping employers in Kansas City, 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, Kansas City metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Kansas City's commercial landscaping market has changed since 2018.
The number of landscaping companies in Kansas City rose from 748 in 2018 to 804 in 2023, up 7%, behind the 13% growth nationally. Headcount at those firms went up 20%, to about 6,852 people. Average annual pay there went from $36,550 to $49,572 (+36%), faster than the 31% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscaping companies: business locations | 748 | 804 | +7% |
| Landscaping companies: employment | 5,717 | 6,852 | +20% |
| Landscaping companies: average annual pay | $36,550 | $49,572 | +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 Kansas City.
What is driving commercial landscaping demand in Kansas City right now?
The $3.1B De Soto data center campus, adjacent to the Panasonic battery plant, is the named driver - its large impervious footprint requires dedicated stormwater detention work.
Why does watershed compliance matter for Kansas City landscaping crews?
The metro's own data names crew leads who can build and maintain detention systems to local watershed standards as the differentiated profile, given the scale of impervious surface in the logistics and data center corridors.
What do landscaping and groundskeeping workers earn in Kansas City?
BLS puts the Kansas City median for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $41,450 a year, 6% above the $39,150 national median. That ranks 36th of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $34,050 to $50,460 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.5x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. No other Missouri metro we cover pays more for this work (St. Louis: $39,040).
Is it hard to hire landscaping and groundskeeping workers in Kansas City?
It is about average. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers are as common in Kansas City as they are nationally (location quotient 0.99), with about 6,660 in the metro. The 804 landscaping companies here average about 8.5 employees per location.
Which commercial landscaping roles pay the most in Kansas City?
Of the roles we recruit for, Landscape Designer / Architect pays the most in Kansas City, a $79,640 median. Landscape / Grounds Crew Member is the lowest-paid field role at $41,450. Relative to national pay, Landscape / Grounds Crew Member is the strongest-paying role here (6% above).
How many landscaping companies operate in Kansas City?
BLS counted 804 landscaping companies in Kansas City in 2023, employing about 6,852 people between them. Up from 748 in 2018, a 7% increase against 13% growth nationally. That averages 8.5 people per location. They pay about the national average of $48,279.
Which nearby metros compete with Kansas City for landscaping and groundskeeping workers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Omaha (165 miles, about 3,870, $45,970 median), Wichita (178 miles, about 1,760, $38,260 median) and Des Moines (180 miles, about 2,230, $45,180 median). Omaha pays 11% more, which is where Kansas City employers tend to lose people.
We have not closed a commercial landscaping search in Kansas City 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 Kansas City than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Commercial HVAC Service TechnicianA technician who has run his own HVAC business - customer instincts on top of the wrench work.
Hiring commercial landscaping talent in Kansas City?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you timeline and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.