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The differences between lawn care 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 lawn care worker and a grounds person. Additionally, a grounds person has an average salary of $33,955, which is higher than the $29,667 average annual salary of a lawn care worker.
The top three skills for a lawn care worker include GRASS, mowing and water lawns. The most important skills for a grounds person are ladders, PPE, and CDL.
| Lawn Care Worker | Grounds Person | |
| Yearly salary | $29,667 | $33,955 |
| Hourly rate | $14.26 | $16.32 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 88,268 | 37,122 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 41% | High School Diploma, 55% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A lawn care worker specializes in enhancing and maintaining the cleanliness of gardens and landscapes. Most of the responsibilities will require manual work and attention to detail, along with time management. The majority of the tasks will revolve around mowing and cleaning lawns, trimming trees and other plants, maintaining flower beds, and sometimes cleaning garden fixtures. A lawn care worker may also apply pesticides and other chemicals, install ponds or irrigation, recommend fertilizers, and operate different devices or equipment.
A grounds person is responsible for the overall upkeep of an institution's grounds, public parks, and other similar areas. They are usually employed in schools, especially in schools with provisions for outdoor sports or lawn sports such as soccer, golf, tennis, and football, among others. A grounds person is in charge of the maintenance of the grass on the lawn, of the repairs and maintenance of fixtures such as lights, benches, and fountains, and even of the cleanliness of the area. As such, it is expected that a grounds person is familiar with taking care of plants, conducting routine maintenance work, and repairing fixtures.
Lawn care workers and grounds people have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lawn Care Worker | Grounds Person | |
| Average salary | $29,667 | $33,955 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $38,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fargo, ND | Waltham, MA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Lawn Doctor | Schnitzer Steel |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a lawn care worker and a grounds person in terms of educational background:
| Lawn Care Worker | Grounds Person | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 41% | High School Diploma, 55% |
| Most common major | Business | General Studies |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between lawn care workers' and grounds people' demographics:
| Lawn Care Worker | Grounds Person | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 77.5% Female, 22.5% | Male, 93.9% Female, 6.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 1.5% White, 63.1% 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% |