Landscape Architects
US occupation · SOC 17-1012
Job titles people report: AP BD+C (Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction), Golf Course Architect, Land Planner, Landscape Architect, Landscape Designer, Landscape Planner, Park Planner, Planner, Professional Landscape Architect (PLA), Project Landscape Architect
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $79,870
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $64,170 – $104,090
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 19,600
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- +4.4%
- At or above the all-jobs rate (3.5% to under 7%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 1,700
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- Bachelor's degree
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Plan and design land areas for projects such as parks and other recreational facilities, airports, highways, hospitals, schools, land subdivisions, and commercial, industrial, and residential sites.
Main tasks
- Confer with clients, engineering personnel, or architects on landscape projects.
- Analyze data on conditions such as site location, drainage, or structure location for environmental reports or landscaping plans.
- Inspect landscape work to ensure compliance with specifications, evaluate quality of materials or work, or advise clients or construction personnel.
- Prepare site plans, specifications, or cost estimates for land development.
- Integrate existing land features or landscaping into designs.
- Collaborate with architects or related professionals on whole building design to maximize the aesthetic features of structures or surrounding land and to improve energy efficiency.
- Prepare graphic representations or drawings of proposed plans or designs.
- Inspect proposed sites to identify structural elements of land areas or other important site information, such as soil condition, existing landscaping, or the proximity of water management facilities.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- Bachelor's degree
- Training once hired: internship/residency
- O*NET Job Zone 4
- Considerable preparation
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Investigative: research, analysis and solving problems with ideas
- Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 2 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Architecture
- Environmental Design/Architecture
- Landscape Architecture
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Architecture at the Major step.
Where many students take architecture
- Arizona State University Campus ImmersionTempe, AZ · 2% of degrees · 64,674 undergraduates
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoSan Luis Obispo, CA · 4% of degrees · 21,996 undergraduates
- California State Polytechnic University-PomonaPomona, CA · 4% of degrees · 25,042 undergraduates
- The University of Texas at San AntonioSan Antonio, TX · 3% of degrees · 30,580 undergraduates
- University of ArkansasFayetteville, AR · 3% of degrees · 28,677 undergraduates
- University of Colorado BoulderBoulder, CO · 2% of degrees · 31,939 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
$99,280 median · +4.3% projected
- Architectural and Civil Drafters
$66,150 median · +5.2% projected
- Civil Engineers
$100,840 median · +6.4% projected
- First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping, Lawn Service, and Groundskeeping Workers
$58,430 median · +4% projected
- Architecture Teachers, Postsecondary
$96,870 median · +2.6% projected
- Civil Engineering Technologists and Technicians
$64,950 median · +3.2% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk