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The differences between landscapers and gardeners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a landscaper and a gardener. Additionally, a gardener has an average salary of $32,912, which is higher than the $28,952 average annual salary of a landscaper.
The top three skills for a landscaper include mowing, taking care and GRASS. The most important skills for a gardener are GRASS, mowing, and hand tools.
| Landscaper | Gardener | |
| Yearly salary | $28,952 | $32,912 |
| Hourly rate | $13.92 | $15.82 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 11,147 | 5,411 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A landscaper is responsible for maintaining gardens, plant areas, and other outdoor facilities. Landscapers' duties include reviewing and adjusting landscape design based on the clients' specifications, analyzing garden layouts, measuring land areas and surfaces for the design outlines, installing irrigation systems, maintaining plant growth, and applying fertilizers regularly. Landscapers will also work on removing weeds, trimming overgrown plants, checking defects on landscape equipment, and coordinating with other outdoor design professionals. A landscaper should be knowledgeable about the recent landscaping trends to suggest designs and improve the landscape presentation.
Gardeners are skilled employees who are responsible for monitoring the health of all plants and trees while maintaining the landscape of a garden. These gardeners are required to trim lawns edges while using rakes and brooms to remove lawn clippings and clear other debris from the ground. They need to use various gardening tools to perform basic pruning while neatly shaping bushes and trees to the desired design. Gardeners must also apply liquid fertilizers and chemical control agents to remove weeds and protect the attractiveness of the landscapes.
Landscapers and gardeners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Landscaper | Gardener | |
| Average salary | $28,952 | $32,912 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $36,000 | Between $22,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Clara, CA | Union City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Princeton University | UC Santa Barbara |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Media |
There are a few differences between a landscaper and a gardener in terms of educational background:
| Landscaper | Gardener | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Plant Sciences |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between landscapers' and gardeners' demographics:
| Landscaper | Gardener | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.0% Female, 9.0% | Male, 56.4% Female, 43.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 1.5% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 7.8% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 28.0% Asian, 1.8% White, 56.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 3% | 3% |