Commercial landscaping recruiters serving Nashville.
The Oracle River North campus and East Bank public realm both call for design-build landscape work at a scale Nashville has not previously seen.
Design-build work, at a scale this city hasn't seen before.
Metro pay for every role we recruit is in the table below. What the hub does name: corporate campus and mixed-use development driving the high end, with irrigation specialists and crew leads who have campus-scale experience as the scarce roles.
We recruit across the full org chart for commercial landscaping contractors in Nashville against that documented context.
A 13-building corporate campus, and a 550-acre riverfront district.
Two named projects, both requiring design-build scale.
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Planned at up to 13 buildings plus a pedestrian bridge connecting to Germantown - corporate campus construction at this scale means years of design-build landscape demand once vertical work begins.
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Residential, hospitality, and infrastructure surrounding the new stadium, phased through the 2030s - a public-realm scale of landscape work Nashville has not previously seen.
What commercial landscaping roles pay in Nashville.
In the Nashville metro, BLS puts the median for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $37,910 a year, 3% below the $39,150 national median. Among the 112 metros BLS publishes for this occupation, Nashville ranks 63rd on pay. Most of the market sits between $30,840 and $48,020. Of the other field roles, landscape designer / architect pays the most locally, at a $99,470 median. BLS does not publish Nashville pay for tree trimmer / arborist, 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 | Nashville median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landscape / Grounds Crew MemberLandscaping and Groundskeeping Workers (37-3011) | $37,910 | $30,840–$48,020 | $39,150 | −3% | 6,270 |
| Grounds Crew SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers (37-1012) | $55,680 | $39,350–$82,150 | $58,430 | −5% | 620 |
| Tree Trimmer / ArboristTree Trimmers and Pruners (37-3013) | – | – | $50,960 | – | – |
| Licensed Pesticide ApplicatorPesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation (37-3012) | $49,600 | $49,380–$59,970 | $46,340 | +7% | – |
| Landscape Designer / ArchitectLandscape Architects (17-1012) | $99,470 | $56,160–$150,900 | $79,870 | +25% | 130 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Nashville 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 Nashville commercial landscaping hiring actually plays out in 2026.
Why this is design-build work at an unprecedented scale for Nashville
The hub states this directly - Oracle River North and East Bank both call for design-build landscape work at a scale the city hasn't previously seen, not routine commercial maintenance.
Why campus-scale experience is the scarce credential
The hub names irrigation specialists and crew leads with campus-scale experience as the scarce roles - a designer who has only handled smaller commercial sites isn't equipped for a 13-building corporate campus.
What this means for sourcing
We source against verified campus-scale design-build 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 Nashville commercial landscaping clients, these are the highest-volume roles we've recruited for in the last 24 months.
- Design-build landscape designer (campus-scale)
- Irrigation specialist
- Landscape crew foreman
- Grounds maintenance manager
For the broader picture across every commercial trade in Nashville, see the Nashville 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 Nashville, plainly.
Same approach we use in every market - but tuned for what works in Nashville's commercial landscaping segment specifically:
- Same-day intake call. We get the role, the project context, the budget, your dealbreakers. For Nashville landscaping work, we also confirm whether the role sits within Oracle campus or East Bank district scope, or standard commercial grounds work.
- Candidate sourcing within 48 hours. We pull from our existing Nashville commercial landscaping candidate network, filtered for verified campus-scale design-build credentials.
- Vetted short list (week one to several weeks). Three to five candidates. We verify real large-scale 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 Nashville documented general context.
Nashville runs 7% 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 Nashville's commercial landscaping market compares
In 2023 the Nashville metro had 749 landscaping companies (counted by business location), with about 5,893 people on their payrolls. Average pay at those firms was $51,438, 6.5% above the national average of $48,279 for the same kind of employer. Headcount grew 6.1% over the year, faster than the 2.2% national increase, so local employers were adding people quicker than most of the country. The number of these employers rose 5.2%, more firms competing for the same crews. 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, Nashville ranks 34th for headcount, 57th for median pay and 59th for concentration for landscaping and groundskeeping workers.
| 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 Nashville, 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, Nashville metro. Employers are counted by business location.
How Nashville's commercial landscaping market has changed since 2018.
The number of landscaping companies in Nashville rose from 602 in 2018 to 749 in 2023, up 24%, ahead of the 13% national rise. Headcount at those firms went up 22%, to about 5,893 people. Average annual pay there went from $36,252 to $51,438 (+42%), faster than the 31% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscaping companies: business locations | 602 | 749 | +24% |
| Landscaping companies: employment | 4,840 | 5,893 | +22% |
| Landscaping companies: average annual pay | $36,252 | $51,438 | +42% |
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 Nashville.
What is driving commercial landscaping demand in Nashville right now?
Oracle's multi-billion-dollar River North campus (up to 13 buildings) and the 550-acre East Bank redevelopment are the named drivers.
Why is campus-scale experience so important in Nashville right now?
The metro's own data names irrigation specialists and crew leads with campus-scale experience as the scarce roles, given the unprecedented scale of the Oracle and East Bank projects.
What do landscaping and groundskeeping workers earn in Nashville?
BLS puts the Nashville median for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $37,910 a year, 3% below the $39,150 national median. That ranks 63rd of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $30,840 to $48,020 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. No other Tennessee metro we cover pays more for this work.
Is it hard to hire landscaping and groundskeeping workers in Nashville?
It is about average. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers are as common in Nashville as they are nationally (location quotient 0.93), with about 6,270 in the metro. The 749 landscaping companies here average about 7.9 employees per location, mostly small shops, so candidates often know every employer in town by name. With 24% more of those firms than in 2018, more employers are competing for the same crews.
Which commercial landscaping roles pay the most in Nashville?
Of the roles we recruit for, Landscape Designer / Architect pays the most in Nashville, a $99,470 median. Landscape / Grounds Crew Member is the lowest-paid field role at $37,910. Relative to national pay, Landscape Designer / Architect is the strongest-paying role here (25% above). Grounds Crew Supervisor trails national pay the most (5% below).
How many landscaping companies operate in Nashville?
BLS counted 749 landscaping companies in Nashville in 2023, employing about 5,893 people between them. Up from 602 in 2018, a 24% increase against 13% growth nationally. That averages 7.9 people per location, so most are small shops. They pay an average of $51,438, 7% above the $48,279 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Nashville for landscaping and groundskeeping workers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Huntsville (100 miles, about 1,550, $37,510 median), Chattanooga (113 miles, about 1,460, $36,190 median) and Louisville (155 miles, about 3,130, $37,820 median).
Hiring commercial landscaping talent in Nashville?
Tell us the role. We'll tell you timeline and where we'd source the candidate - in under 30 minutes.