Landscaping and Groundskeeping Worker Career Assessment
Outdoor work, good pay, and a winter question to answer
Welcome
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers mow, plant, trim, and maintain lawns and grounds for businesses, parks, schools, and homes.
The North Dakota median is about $19.61 an hour with about 10% growth expected by 2034. Read the section on seasonal work before you plan around it.
This takes about 15 minutes.
What is a Landscaping and Groundskeeping Worker?
You mow, edge, trim, plant, mulch, water, fertilize, prune, remove snow in winter where the employer does that, and keep equipment running. Most crews work a list of properties, so you move several times a day. The work is a mix of routine maintenance and installation jobs — putting in beds, sod, and plantings — and the installation end is where the skill and the better pay are.
The Reality: The honest thing about this job in North Dakota is the calendar. The growing season here is short. Some employers run snow removal through winter and keep you working all year; others lay the crew off in October and rehire in April. Those are two completely different jobs with the same title, and you have to ask which one you are being offered. On the work itself: it is hot, it is sunny, it is dusty, and it is loud — mowers, trimmers, and blowers all shift. Plenty of people genuinely prefer it to being indoors, and they are not wrong. But it is physical, and the sun exposure over twenty years is real.
Your Responsibilities:
- Mow, edge, and trim lawns and grounds
- Plant and maintain trees, shrubs, and beds
- Lay sod, spread mulch, and move soil and rock
- Water, fertilize, and treat for weeds and pests
- Prune and remove branches
- Operate and maintain mowers, trimmers, and small equipment
- Remove snow and ice where the employer does winter work
- Load and unload equipment at each property
- Work safely around equipment, chemicals, and traffic
Grounds that look like nobody had to do anything to them are the result of somebody doing a great deal.
A Day in the Life
7:00 AM — Load the trailer. Check fuel, blades, and trimmer line.
7:30 AM — First property. Mow, edge, blow down.
9:00 AM — Second and third properties. Move, unload, repeat.
10:30 AM — Break and water. It is getting hot.
11:00 AM — An installation job — mulch a bed and set in new shrubs.
12:30 PM — Lunch in the shade.
1:00 PM — Afternoon route. Trimming and cleanup.
4:00 PM — Back to the yard. Blow out the trailer, sharpen a blade, fuel up for tomorrow.
Early starts, several properties a day, and the heat building through the afternoon.
Training in North Dakota
No school needed. Trained on the job within a week or two. You learn the equipment, the properties, and the standards by working on a crew. The plant and horticulture knowledge comes with time, and that is the part that moves you up.
Training Pathways:
- Landscaping and lawn care companies: Hire heavily in spring. Apply in March and April rather than June.
- Cities, parks, schools, and colleges: Usually year-round positions with benefits, because they also handle snow and facilities work in winter. The steadiest end of this work by a wide margin.
- Golf courses: Specialized turf work, often seasonal, and genuinely skilled at the higher levels.
- Toward crew lead and design: Experienced people run crews, quote jobs, and handle installation work. North Dakota two-year colleges offer horticulture and turf courses if you want to go that direction.
Where to Train in North Dakota:
Before You Start: No diploma or experience required for most crew positions. You need to work outdoors in heat, lift, and handle equipment safely. A driving licence helps considerably because crews travel. Some positions require you to be 18 for equipment.
Tip: Most of these jobs need no school, so the cost of starting is not tuition — it is the things you need in the first month. Non-slip shoes, work clothes or a uniform, a way to get to work, and getting through the two or three weeks before the first paycheck arrives. Ask the employer first: many will supply a uniform, some give a shoe allowance, and some pay weekly rather than every two weeks, which matters a lot at the start. After that, ask a career counselor or Job Service North Dakota whether WIOA or other programs can help with what is left over, like work clothes, boots, tools, or getting to work. What can be paid for depends on the program and on your own situation, so ask before you start rather than after.
Certification & Licensing
No licence is required for general crew work. You can start with nothing. One certification matters if you will be applying chemicals, and the employer normally arranges and pays for it.
Worth having:
- Commercial pesticide applicator certification — required to apply pesticides and herbicides commercially; employers normally arrange and pay for it, and it raises your pay
- Equipment and small engine training — provided on the job, and genuinely useful for life
- Driving licence — not always required, but crews travel and it widens what you can be hired for
- Horticulture or turf certificates — available at North Dakota two-year colleges, and the route toward crew lead and design work
The Exams: Pesticide applicator certification involves a written exam. Employers normally provide the study material and the time.
Cost: Nothing to start. Ask the employer before paying for applicator certification yourself.
Keeping It Current: Applicator certification requires periodic renewal and continuing education.
Salary & Job Outlook
North Dakota Landscaping and Groundskeeping Worker Pay (May 2025):
- Starting out (bottom 10–25%): $15.14–$17.23/hour ($31,480–$35,830/year)
- Middle (median — half earn more, half earn less): $19.61/hour ($40,790/year)
- Experienced (top 25–10%): $24.22–$27.69/hour ($50,380–$57,600/year)
What that means: City, park, school, and college grounds positions are usually year-round with benefits and sit in the middle to upper part of this range. The top is crew leads, applicators, and specialized turf work. Note that an hourly rate on seasonal work is not the same as an annual income — eight months at $19.61 is a very different year from twelve months at it. Ask directly whether the position is year-round.
Jobs in North Dakota: About 2,760 people do this work in ND today. By 2034, that should be about 3,050 (about 10% growth). Expect about 400 job openings every year in ND from growth and people retiring or changing jobs. Across the U.S., the change is growing faster than average.
Outlook: Good — about 10% growth in North Dakota by 2034 with roughly 400 openings a year. Commercial development and institutional grounds keep demand steady, and the growth is better than most jobs in this area.
Who Hires in ND: Landscaping and lawn care companies, cities and park districts, school districts and colleges, golf courses, cemeteries, apartment and property management companies, and hospitals.
Work Setting: Outdoors in all conditions during the season. Hot, sunny, dusty, and loud. Early starts. Winter work exists where the employer does snow removal.
Physical Demands: High. Lifting, carrying, kneeling, operating vibrating equipment, and working in heat and sun all day.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, North Dakota, May 2025 (SOC 37-3011); North Dakota and U.S. long-term employment projections 2024–2034, via O*NET OnLine. Numbers are rounded.
Where This Leads
Path 1: Crew Member — Where you start.
Path 2: Equipment Operator — Larger mowers and machinery.
Path 3: Pesticide Applicator — Certified chemical work. Better paid, and employer-funded.
Path 4: Crew Leader — Running a crew and a route.
Path 5: Grounds or Parks Maintenance Worker — Year-round public-sector work with benefits.
Path 6: Golf Course Turf Technician — Specialized and genuinely skilled.
Path 7: Estimator or Landscape Designer — Quoting and designing rather than installing.
The Real Talk
What's Great:
- About 10% growth and 400 openings a year
- Pays about $5.15 an hour more than fast food
- Outdoors, which plenty of people strongly prefer
- No school or experience needed
- You can see exactly what you did at the end of the day
- City, park, and school positions are year-round with real benefits
- Employers pay for applicator certification, which raises your pay
What's Hard:
- Seasonal with many private employers — ask before you plan around it
- Hot, sunny, dusty, and loud
- Physically demanding, with real sun exposure over years
- Vibrating equipment is hard on hands and wrists
- Early starts, and long hours in peak season
- Rain does not always stop the work, and sometimes it stops the pay
- Crews travel, so a driving licence matters more than the job description says
Be Honest: Do you actually want to be outside in July heat, or do you only like the idea of it? Can you handle a seasonal layoff, or do you need year-round work? And would you be willing to aim at a city, park, or school position, which is where the year-round money is?