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The differences between yard workers 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 yard worker and a gardener. Additionally, a gardener has an average salary of $32,912, which is higher than the $32,628 average annual salary of a yard worker.
The top three skills for a yard worker include OSHA, basic math and strong customer service. The most important skills for a gardener are GRASS, mowing, and hand tools.
| Yard Worker | Gardener | |
| Yearly salary | $32,628 | $32,912 |
| Hourly rate | $15.69 | $15.82 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 63,408 | 5,411 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
A yard worker provides landscape maintenance services to homes and establishments. Their responsibilities typically include meeting with clients to identify their needs and landscape preferences, mowing lawns, growing plants and trees, applying pesticides and fertilizers, operating irrigation systems, and maintaining grounds clean and presentable. There are also instances when a yard worker may participate in installing fixtures such as ponds, topiaries, lighting, Christmas ornaments, and other decorations in adherence to the directives of clients or management.
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.
Yard workers and gardeners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Yard Worker | Gardener | |
| Average salary | $32,628 | $32,912 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $39,000 | Between $22,000 And $47,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Union City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Rasmussen Co Inc | UC Santa Barbara |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Media |
There are a few differences between a yard worker and a gardener in terms of educational background:
| Yard Worker | Gardener | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Plant Sciences |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between yard workers' and gardeners' demographics:
| Yard Worker | Gardener | |
| Average age | 41 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 91.7% Female, 8.3% | Male, 56.4% Female, 43.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 22.4% Asian, 2.0% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.4% | 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% |