- Wages
- Landscaping
- Kentucky
How much does a landscaper make in Kentucky?
In Kentucky, landscaping and groundskeeping workers earned an average of $18.34 an hour in May 2025, and the median was $17.63 an hour, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
$18.34
$17.63
$20.33
$1.99 less an hour
$38,147
By the hour, the week and the year in Kentucky
At 40 hours a week, the average of $18.34 an hour comes to $733.60 a week. Over the 2,080-hour year the BLS uses for its annual figures, it comes to $38,147 a year, and the median of $17.63 to $36,670 a year.
In Kentucky, the average is $0.71 above the median (4.0%): a smaller group of higher wages pulls the average up, and half of landscaping and groundskeeping workers earn $17.63 an hour or less.
How does Kentucky compare?
The average in Kentucky is $1.99 below the national average of $20.33 (9.8% less), about $4,139 less a year at 2,080 hours.
By average wage, Kentucky ranks 42 of 51 states and DC with data for this trade (1 pays the most). The national median is $18.82 an hour.
Kentucky and its Census division, East South Central
By average wage, Kentucky ranks 2 of the 4 states of the division with data for this trade: the highest is Tennessee, $18.56, and the lowest Mississippi, $16.12.
| State | Average per hour | Median per hour | Against Kentucky |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | $18.56 | $17.80 | +$0.22 |
| Kentucky | $18.34 | $17.63 | |
| Alabama | $17.36 | $17.13 | -$0.98 |
| Mississippi | $16.12 | $15.21 | -$2.22 |
This trade and the others in Kentucky
Of the 5 trades this site prices, landscaping and groundskeeping workers rank 4 of the 5 by average wage in Kentucky. Among them, the average runs from $15.35 (Cleaning) to $25.22 (Concrete).
| Trade | Average per hour | Median per hour | Against landscaping |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete | $25.22 | $24.14 | +$6.88 |
| Painting | $24.72 | $23.13 | +$6.38 |
| Drywall | $23.13 | $23.24 | +$4.79 |
| Landscaping | $18.34 | $17.63 | |
| Cleaning | $15.35 | $14.85 | -$2.99 |
Against the minimum wage in Kentucky
In Kentucky most employers pay the federal minimum wage, $7.25 an hour. The median of landscaping and groundskeeping workers, $17.63, is $10.38 above it, 2.4 times the minimum. Over 2,080 hours the minimum comes to $15,080 a year.
From wage to rate
This is what an employer pays an employee, not what a contractor bills. Your rate also has to cover your overhead (vehicle, insurance, tools), your profit, and the hours you cannot bill.
If you pay a helper the median wage in Kentucky, $17.63 an hour, the 8 hours of the starting job of the landscaping calculator cost $141.04 in wages. With its $55.00 of materials, 10% overhead and 15% profit, the quote comes to $247.99; at the national median, $18.82, the same job comes to $260.04. A wage is only the floor: your own rate also pays your taxes, your unbilled hours and your business.