Hardscape

Landscape Architects: Salary and Jobs by Region

An image of a landscape architect’s workspace with coffee and computer

Where to plant yourself for a career in landscape architecture

An image of a landscape architect’s workspace with coffee and computer
Landscape architect salaries increased more than inflation between 2017-2018.

Landscape architecture is a diverse career amassing knowledge from many other professions. In the course of a day, a landscape architect might need to draw on design, engineering, botany, hydrology, artistry, urban planning, budgeting… and the psychological finesse needed to work with clients and contractors. This wide range of needed skills allows for a lot of flexibility in job title. A degree in the field may be used to find a career in botany or as an urban planner at city hall.

However, many LA graduates do end up hired as landscape architects. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 18,660 LAs, nationwide, in 2018. Self-employed architects, estimated to make up 19–21% of the labor force, are not included in that number.

Slightly more than half of LA employees work for architectural or engineering firms. Although LAs are often mistaken for landscapers, only 13% of LAs are part of landscaping firms. Government and construction jobs make up the rest of the employing organizations.

At first glance, it appears the industry contracted since 2017, since the same BLS survey reported 19,040 working LAs that year. A deeper dive into the data shows this to be a hasty conclusion: five states have data missing in 2018. Additionally, since the base survey does not include self-employed workers, it would falsely interpret LAs starting their own businesses as having left the occupation.

Where landscape architects are being hired

Of states that do report data in both 2017 and 2018, the states reporting growth in employment were:

  • New York: 210 new jobs
  • Florida: 150 new jobs
  • Connecticut: 140 new jobs

The states that reported a shrinking work force were:

  • Massachusetts: 210 jobs lost
  • Washington: 190 jobs lost
  • Ohio: 160 jobs lost

Landscape architect wages, 2017 and 2018

How is compensation in the landscape architecture field growing or shrinking? How does that compare to the national inflation rate of 2.1% in 2017? We look at the growth year over year.

Median wages

A median wage represents the midpoint in all wages: half of landscape architects make more, and half make less.

  • 2018, LA median wage: $68,230.
  • 2017, LA median wage: $65,760.

With a median wage increase of 3.76%, one percent above inflation, landscape architects had a little extra in their wallets year over year.

Mean wages

Mean, or average, wages are calculated by summing all wages and dividing by the number of people working. This number is usually slightly higher than the median wage, given the wage gap for late-career and top-of-field earners.

  • 2018, LA mean wage: $73,160
  • 2017, LA mean wage: $70,880

Nationally the increase in average wages was 3.22%: above the rate of inflation. Although the mean wage appears to be growing slightly slower than the median wage, one year’s trend and some missing state data means it’s unlikely to be significant.

A bucolic landscape of a stone bridge over a body of water surrounded by willows
Cost of living factors into what the median landscape architect wages are within a metropolitan area.

Best and worst paid states

For the states with 2018 data, these are the median and mean wages of the top and bottom three, ranked by median wage.

STATE

RANK (BY MEDIAN WAGE)

MEDIAN

MEAN

District of Columbia

1st

$100,200

$100,690

California

2nd

$87,560

$89,570

Connecticut

3rd

$79,940

$87,660

South Carolina

44th

$51,350

$58,970

Iowa

45th

$51,180

$58,600

Vermont

46th

$51,120

$60,910

STATE

RANK (BY MEDIAN WAGE)

District of Columbia

1st

California

2nd

Connecticut

3rd

South Carolina

44th

Iowa

45th

Vermont

46th

STATE

MEDIAN

District of Columbia

$100,200

California

$87,560

Connecticut

$79,940

South Carolina

$51,350

Iowa

$51,180

Vermont

$51,120

STATE

MEAN

District of Columbia

$100,690

California

$89,570

Connecticut

$87,660

South Carolina

$58,970

Iowa

$58,600

Vermont

$60,910

The District of Columbia, California, and Connecticut were also the top three ranked States for landscape architect salaries last year. They saw median wage growth, year over year, of 5.6%, 4.5%, and 3.5% respectively.

Best and worst paid metropolitan areas

Metropolitan areas sometimes have a small number of landscape architects, which can change the overall wage picture. Here we include only the towns where we know the market size, for proper comparison.

METRO

NUMBER OF LAS IN THE REGION

MEDIAN

MEAN

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA

40

$116,240

$111,220

San Fran-Oakland-Hayward, CA

580

$98,460

$99,220

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

240

$95,180

$100,720

Charleston-North Charleston, SC

110

$49,380

$56,700

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

190

$44,270

$51,750

Tampa-St. Petersburg- Clearwater, FL

90

$39,790

$44,800

METRO

NUMBER OF LAS IN THE REGION

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA

40

San Fran-Oakland-Hayward, CA

580

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

240

Charleston-North Charleston, SC

110

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

190

Tampa-St. Petersburg- Clearwater, FL

90

METRO

MEDIAN

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA

$116,240

San Fran-Oakland-Hayward, CA

$98,460

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

$95,180

Charleston-North Charleston, SC

$49,380

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

$44,270

Tampa-St. Petersburg- Clearwater, FL

$39,790

METRO

MEAN

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles-Arroyo Grande, CA

$111,220

San Fran-Oakland-Hayward, CA

$99,220

San Diego-Carlsbad, CA

$100,720

Charleston-North Charleston, SC

$56,700

Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

$51,750

Tampa-St. Petersburg- Clearwater, FL

$44,800

Projections in landscape architecture

Projected job growth for landscape architects over the next decade is 4%, equal to average job growth.

However, landscape architect roles are increasingly important. As flooding situations increase, so does the importance of managing water within cities. Landscape architects are leading the way in balancing permeable hardscape and softscape, designing efficient bioswales and raingardens, and placing flood-resistant elements at grade. Carbon capture via the healthy management of urban forests is another aspect of current planning that can rely heavily on landscape architects.

Notes on Data: