Plant care worker vs grounds maintenance worker

The differences between plant care workers and grounds maintenance workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a plant care worker, becoming a grounds maintenance worker takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a plant care worker has an average salary of $30,827, which is higher than the $28,562 average annual salary of a grounds maintenance worker.

The top three skills for a plant care worker include water plants, and . The most important skills for a grounds maintenance worker are GRASS, grounds maintenance, and mowing.

Plant care worker vs grounds maintenance worker overview

	Plant Care Worker	Grounds Maintenance Worker
Yearly salary	$30,827	$28,562
Hourly rate	$14.82	$13.73
Growth rate	5%	5%
Number of jobs	90,085	115,674
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 31%	High School Diploma, 46%
Average age	41	47
Years of experience	2	4

Plant care worker vs grounds maintenance worker salary

Plant care workers and grounds maintenance workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Plant Care Worker	Grounds Maintenance Worker
Average salary	$30,827	$28,562
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $39,000	Between $23,000 And $35,000
Highest paying City	-	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Lakeland Electric
Best paying industry	-	Finance

Differences between plant care worker and grounds maintenance worker education

There are a few differences between a plant care worker and a grounds maintenance worker in terms of educational background:

	Plant Care Worker	Grounds Maintenance Worker
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 31%	High School Diploma, 46%
Most common major	Nursing	Business
Most common college	-	-

Plant care worker vs grounds maintenance worker demographics

Here are the differences between plant care workers' and grounds maintenance workers' demographics:

	Plant Care Worker	Grounds Maintenance Worker
Average age	41	47
Gender ratio	Male, 43.7% Female, 56.3%	Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 1.8% White, 63.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 4.7% White, 60.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2%
LGBT Percentage	3%	2%

Differences between plant care worker and grounds maintenance worker duties and responsibilities

Plant care worker example responsibilities.

Accomplish mowing lawns and all job relate requests given by managers precisely and accurately.
Decontaminate vehicles and cargo-carrying portion, reload assigned racks, scan waste containers into Bio-track systems for proper recordkeeping.
Pack daily orders and utilize propane forklifts to load and unload equipment from trucks and store them in an organize manner.

Grounds maintenance worker example responsibilities.

Manage hardscape installation team and project
Operate hand or power tools and equipment such as: lawn mowers, shovels, snow blowers, rakes and trimmers.
Used lawn equipment to maintain grass, trees, flower beds, and paper pickup around the outside of where house.
Clean grounds using rakes, brooms, and hoses.
Mow, weed whack, rake, mulch, and prune the grounds as needed.
Remove weeds, debris and trash, edge, water, mow, prune and trim park landscapes.

Plant care worker vs grounds maintenance worker skills

Common plant care worker skills

Water Plants, 100%

Common grounds maintenance worker skills

GRASS, 16%
Grounds Maintenance, 11%
Mowing, 9%
Hand Tools, 7%
Mowers, 4%
Blowers, 4%

Plant Care Worker vs. similar jobs

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Zippia Careers
Building and Grounds Maintenance Industry
Plant Care Worker
Plant Care Worker vs Grounds Maintenance Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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