Garden worker vs grounds person

The differences between garden workers and grounds people can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a garden worker and a grounds person. Additionally, a grounds person has an average salary of $33,955, which is higher than the $27,715 average annual salary of a garden worker.

The top three skills for a garden worker include mowing, water plants and customer service. The most important skills for a grounds person are ladders, PPE, and CDL.

Garden worker vs grounds person overview

	Garden Worker	Grounds Person
Yearly salary	$27,715	$33,955
Hourly rate	$13.32	$16.32
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	20,918	37,122
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	High School Diploma, 55%
Average age	41	41
Years of experience	2	2

Garden worker vs grounds person salary

Garden workers and grounds people have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Garden Worker	Grounds Person
Average salary	$27,715	$33,955
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $35,000	Between $26,000 And $42,000
Highest paying City	Richmond, CA	Waltham, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	New York Botanical Garden	Schnitzer Steel
Best paying industry	Professional	Manufacturing

Differences between garden worker and grounds person education

There are a few differences between a garden worker and a grounds person in terms of educational background:

	Garden Worker	Grounds Person
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 34%	High School Diploma, 55%
Most common major	Business	General Studies
Most common college	-	-

Garden worker vs grounds person demographics

Here are the differences between garden workers' and grounds people' demographics:

	Garden Worker	Grounds Person
Average age	41	41
Gender ratio	Male, 56.6% Female, 43.4%	Male, 93.9% Female, 6.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.4% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 23.4% Asian, 1.5% White, 60.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.7% Asian, 2.2% White, 58.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	3%	3%

Differences between garden worker and grounds person duties and responsibilities

Garden worker example responsibilities.

Participate in ordering of all nursery stock and managing inventory.
Utilize gardening tools and machinery such rototiller, hoes, rakes, shovels, chainsaw, and loppers
Help trim, prune, weed, edge, and add mulch to the garden.
Maintain cemetery's and have to dig graves.
Maintain lawn: mowing, trimming, and weeding.
Provide care and upkeep of the campus lawn such as planting flowers and mowing

Grounds person example responsibilities.

Used hand saws and hand pruners as well as motorized saws to manage tree cuttings on the ground.
Operate and maintain non CDL truck, bobcat, wood chipper, and grind saw.
Perform maintenance and preventative maintenance including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, carpentry, flooring, painting and suspend ceilings.
Operate power equipment such as mowers, snow blowers, chain-saws, electric clippers, sod cutters, and pruning saws.
Certify forklift for NC and SC, CPR and first aid
Mow lawn, plant flowers and remove litter and snow.

Garden worker vs grounds person skills

Common garden worker skills

Mowing, 34%
Water Plants, 17%
Customer Service, 15%
Mowers, 8%
Nursery, 6%
Pruners, 5%

Common grounds person skills

Ladders, 30%
PPE, 17%
CDL, 9%
GRASS, 5%
Work Ethic, 5%
CPR, 4%

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Building and Grounds Maintenance Industry
Garden Worker
Garden Worker vs Grounds Person

Updated January 8, 2025

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