Commercial Irrigation recruiters serving St. Louis.
St. Louis has 17% more landscaping and groundskeeping workers per job than the country as a whole, about 9,600 in the metro. BLS counts 1,090 business locations of landscaping companies across the metro. We recruit Commercial Irrigation talent in St. Louis from a standing, credential-verified pipeline. 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 St. Louis.
BLS counts about 14,560 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the St. Louis metro, the largest group being landscaping and groundskeeping workers (about 9,600). Relative to the size of the local economy, landscaping and groundskeeping workers are more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.17). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Irrigation hub.
Irrigation Technician / Installer
St. Louis: 9,600 employed · $39,040 median, 48th-highest of 112 metros
Certified Irrigation Technician (CIT)
Irrigation System Designer
St. Louis: 70 employed · $66,080 median, 72nd-highest of 78 metros
Backflow Prevention Specialist
St. Louis: 4,060 employed · $77,000 median, 20th-highest of 112 metros
Irrigation Service / Repair Technician
Irrigation Foreman / Crew Lead
St. Louis: 830 employed · $54,440 median, 76th-highest of 112 metros
Irrigation Project Manager
St. Louis: 2,880 employed · $116,680 median, 45th-highest of 111 metros
Irrigation Estimator
St. Louis: 3,170 employed · $78,730 median, 49th-highest of 111 metros
Smart / Controller Systems Technician
Landscape Water Management Auditor
What Commercial Irrigation roles earn in St. Louis.
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers in St. Louis earn a median $39,040, level with the $39,150 national figure, and 48th of 112 metros. Pay runs $33,680 at the tenth percentile to $55,280 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, at $77,000 against $63,800 nationally.
| Role | St. Louis 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) | $39,040 | $33,680–$55,280 | $39,150 | 0% | 9,600 |
| Irrigation System DesignerLandscape Architects (17-1012) | $66,080 | $45,550–$99,650 | $79,870 | −17% | 70 |
| Backflow Prevention SpecialistPlumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (47-2152) | $77,000 | $47,040–$121,230 | $63,800 | +21% | 4,060 |
| Irrigation Foreman / Crew LeadFirst-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers (37-1012) | $54,440 | $40,060–$82,030 | $58,430 | −7% | 830 |
| Irrigation Project ManagerConstruction Managers (11-9021) | $116,680 | $72,450–$169,720 | $114,990 | +1% | 2,880 |
| Irrigation EstimatorCost Estimators (13-1051) | $78,730 | $44,990–$130,680 | $78,740 | 0% | 3,170 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, St. Louis 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 St. Louis's commercial irrigation market has changed since 2018.
The number of landscaping companies in St. Louis rose from 1,030 in 2018 to 1,090 in 2023, up 6%, behind the 13% growth nationally. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in St. Louis, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landscaping companies: business locations | 1,030 | 1,090 | +6% |
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
St. Louis runs 17% 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 St. Louis's commercial irrigation market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, St. Louis ranks 21st for headcount, 44th for median pay and 24th 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 irrigation employers in St. Louis, 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, St. Louis metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Irrigation licensing in Missouri.
Missouri requires backflow prevention assemblies to be tested by certified testers. The certification itself comes from ABPA or ASSE after a written and hands-on exam, not from the state. The same state rules apply in Kansas City, so candidates licensed there can work in St. Louis without re-qualifying. The St. Louis metro crosses a state line, so check the rules in the neighboring state too for crews that work on both sides.
Licensing authority: Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Confirm current rules with the agency.
We have not closed a commercial irrigation search in St. Louis 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 St. Louis than imply a record in this trade that we do not have yet.
- Senior Freight DispatcherA decade of carrier relationships and margin management, placed on a freight desk in three weeks.
- Local CDL Class A DriverScreened, offered, onboarded and driving the same day - two weeks end to end.
- Sprinkler Layout TechnicianNICET Level II and eight years of fire protection design - a specialist, not a generalist.
Nearby markets competing for St. Louis talent.
The closest metro we cover is Indianapolis, about 230 miles away, with roughly 6,980 landscaping and groundskeeping workers (0.7 times St. Louis's 9,600). Kansas City pays the most nearby, a $41,450 median, 6% above St. Louis. That is the number any St. Louis offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move. St. Louis 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis | – | 9,600 | $39,040 |
| Indianapolis | 230 mi | 6,980 | $38,180 |
| Kansas City | 238 mi | 6,660 | $41,450 |
| Memphis | 240 mi | 3,100 | $36,500 |
| Louisville | 242 mi | 3,130 | $37,820 |
| Nashville | 253 mi | 6,270 | $37,910 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for St. Louis crews.
Not commercial irrigation work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into St. Louis in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Energizer Park (formerly CITYPARK) stadium & surrounding district (St. Louis CITY SC)District-scale, ongoingStadium complete; surrounding district build-out ongoing
The stadium itself has been complete since Nov 2022 and was renamed Energizer Park Jan 1, 2025 (naming rights sold) - only the surrounding district is still active. Continued demand for hospitality, mixed-use, and commercial finish trades.
- NGA West campus (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency)$1.7BMain building opened September 26, 2025; staff move-in ongoing
The single largest federal investment in north St. Louis in a generation. Secure-facility construction drove years of specialty MEP, controls, and finish work - and the surrounding redevelopment keeps commercial trades demand elevated past the main building's completion.
- Gateway South riverfront advanced-manufacturing redevelopmentLarge-scale, phasedEarly phases 2025-2027
Reclaiming south-riverfront acreage for advanced manufacturing. Heavy sitework, industrial MEP, and structural trades as parcels come online.
Showing 3 of 6 projects tracked in this metro. The St. Louis market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial irrigation, and what kills offers in St. Louis.
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 St. Louis.
What do landscaping and groundskeeping workers earn in St. Louis?
BLS puts the St. Louis median for landscaping and groundskeeping workers at $39,040 a year, about the same as the $39,150 national median. That ranks 48th of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $33,680 to $55,280 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. Within Missouri, Kansas City pays more, at $41,450.
Is it hard to hire landscaping and groundskeeping workers in St. Louis?
Not by national standards. Landscaping and groundskeeping workers make up 17% more of the St. Louis workforce than they do nationally, about 9,600 people.
Which commercial irrigation roles pay the most in St. Louis?
Of the roles we recruit for, Irrigation Project Manager pays the most in St. Louis, a $116,680 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Backflow Prevention Specialist at $77,000, 34% below it. Irrigation Technician / Installer is the lowest-paid field role at $39,040. Relative to national pay, Backflow Prevention Specialist is the strongest-paying role here (21% above). Irrigation System Designer trails national pay the most (17% below).
How many landscaping companies operate in St. Louis?
BLS counted 1,090 landscaping companies in St. Louis in 2023. Up from 1,030 in 2018, a 6% 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 St. Louis for landscaping and groundskeeping workers?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Indianapolis (230 miles, about 6,980, $38,180 median), Kansas City (238 miles, about 6,660, $41,450 median) and Memphis (240 miles, about 3,100, $36,500 median). Kansas City pays 6% more, which is where St. Louis employers tend to lose people.
Plenty of people. Few of them looking.
St. Louis has one of the deeper pools of landscaping and groundskeeping workers we cover, but the best of them are already working. Let's find the ones ready to move.
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