How Much Do Lawn Care Businesses Make in the US?

⚡TL;DR: Key Takeaways

• The average US lawn care company pulls in $232,000–$297,000 a year, but most are 2–3 person operations
• Solo operators take home $50,000–$100,000; small business owners $70,000–$100,000
• Net profit margins sit at 10–14% for most operators, 15–20% for the sharpest
• The gap between busy and profitable almost always comes down to knowing your true cost per hour
• A $15/hour difference in what you charge is worth $28,350 a year on the same number of jobs

What US lawn care businesses actually earn

You mowed 35 yards this week. You charged $55 a pop. That's $1,925 — solid week.

Then you fill the truck. Pay the insurance premium. The string trimmer died, so that's $250 at the dealer. Your accountant needs last quarter's numbers. And somewhere in there you're supposed to pay yourself.

The question isn't how much your lawn care business brings in. It's how much you actually keep.

That's a harder number to pin down, and it's the one most operators never calculate. Below is what US lawn care businesses actually earn, what eats into that revenue, and what separates operators who are making good money from those who are just busy.

Revenue first: the money in the door before anything goes out.

The numbers vary wildly depending on how big your operation is, where you work, and what services you offer. But here's what the data says:

The average lawn care company in the US pulls in around $232,000–$297,000 a year (LawnStarter and FieldRoutes industry reports). But that average is skewed. Most lawn care businesses are one- or two-person operations — IBISWorld puts the typical company at just 2–3 employees.

The US lawn care and landscaping industry hit $189 billion in 2025, spread across nearly 693,000 businesses. It's growing at about 6.5% a year. There's plenty of work out there. The question is whether you're keeping enough of it.

Where you work changes what you earn

What you can charge per mow swings dramatically by market:

Northeast and Pacific Northwest operators charge the most. Sun Belt and Southeast operators charge less, but often mow year-round, which means more visits per customer. A Dallas operator at $55/mow across 48 weeks might out-earn a Chicago operator at $70/mow across 30 weeks.

Revenue isn't just about your rate. It's about your rate multiplied by how many weeks you can work.

What operators actually take home

This is where the gap between "revenue" and "income" gets painful.

A lawn care business doing $300,000 a year doesn't mean the owner takes home $300,000. Not even close.

ZipRecruiter puts the national average for lawn care business owners at $127,973 a year. But that's weighted toward larger operations. If you're a solo operator or running a small crew, the more realistic range is $50,000–$80,000.

The part that messes with operators' heads: solo operators take home the highest percentage of their revenue (40–60%), but the lowest absolute dollars. A guy doing $80,000 solo might pocket $50,000. A guy running a $400,000 business with three employees might pocket $60,000. More total, but only 15% of revenue.

For comparison, the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median hourly wage for landscaping workers at $18.31/hour ($38,000/year). As a business owner, you need to be clearing at least $25–30/hour. Otherwise you're taking on all the risk of ownership for the same money you'd earn working for someone else.

If you're working 50-hour weeks and taking home $50,000, that's $19/hour. Not far off from what you'd pay a crew member. That's a sign your pricing needs work.

Where the money goes

Revenue minus costs equals profit. Simple math. The problem is most operators don't know what their costs actually are.

A typical US lawn care business breaks down like this:

Target gross margin: 45–55% on each job. That means for every $100 you charge, $45–$55 should be left after direct costs (labor on that job, fuel to get there, materials used). Everything else comes out of that: insurance, your truck payment, software, your phone bill.

Net profit margins for a well-run lawn care business sit at 10–14%. The sharpest operators hit 15–20%. New businesses in their first couple of years? Often 3–5%. Or negative.

On $200,000 in revenue, a 12% net margin means $24,000 in actual profit after you've paid yourself a salary. A 5% margin means $10,000. The difference between those two numbers is usually cost awareness, not more customers.

The costs that sneak up on you

Labor and equipment costs are obvious. It's the hidden ones that erode margins:

• Equipment depreciation: Your $12,000 zero-turn is losing $2,000–$3,000 a year in value. When it dies in 4–5 years, you need a new one. If you haven't budgeted for it, you're borrowing from future profits.
• Drive time: Every minute between jobs costs you fuel, vehicle wear, and unbillable time. On a 6-job day with 20 minutes of drive time between each, that's 2 hours of unpaid work.
• Seasonal overhead: Your insurance, truck payment, storage, and software subscriptions don't stop in winter. A 30-week mowing season means those fixed costs get spread across fewer billable weeks.
• Maintenance you're deferring: Skipping blade sharpening, putting off oil changes, running a dull trimmer line. It all costs more later. Equipment life, job quality, time per lawn.

Why some operators make more than others

Two lawn care businesses in the same city, same size, same number of customers — one owner takes home $90,000, the other takes home $45,000. Why?

It almost always comes down to three things:

1. They know their real cost per hour

Profitable operators know exactly what it costs them to run per hour — not just fuel and labor, but depreciation, insurance, drive time, admin, everything. When they bid a job, they start from that number and add margin. Unprofitable operators guess.

2. They price for the job, not the market

The "going rate" in your area is what your competitors charge. Some of them are making money. Some of them are going broke and don't know it yet. Pricing based on what everyone else charges means you inherit their cost assumptions. And those might be wrong.

Profitable operators set prices based on their own costs plus their target margin. If that means they're $10 higher than the next guy, they're fine with it. They know they're making money on every job.

3. They pick the right jobs

Not every yard is worth mowing. A $45 lawn that takes 20 minutes of drive time and 60 minutes of work might be less profitable than a $55 lawn that's 5 minutes from your last job and takes 40 minutes. The first job earns $33/hour (on 80 minutes of total time). The second earns $73/hour (on 45 minutes).

Route density, service mix, and knowing when to say no. That's what separates busy operators from profitable ones.

The number most operators never calculate

Take a full-time solo operator doing $80,000 a year in revenue. Sounds decent. But what does that actually look like per hour?

Now divide by billable hours. Working 45 hours/week across 42 weeks (accounting for rain days, holidays, and slow winter months):

• Total billable hours: ~1,890
• Overhead cost per hour: $13.23

That's $13.23 per hour in costs ticking away before you earn anything.

If you're charging $60/hour, your actual margin after overhead is $46.77/hour. Over 1,890 hours, that's $88,395. That's your pay. Not bad for a solo operation.

But if you're charging $45/hour? Your margin drops to $31.77/hour. That's $60,045 for the year. And you're working 45-hour weeks to get it.

$28,350

What to do with these numbers

Put this to work this week:

1. Calculate your actual revenue per billable hour. Not per job, per hour, including drive time. This is the number that tells you whether you're pricing right.
2. Add up your real annual costs. Use the breakdown above as a checklist. Go through 12 months of bank statements. Don't skip depreciation. It's money you'll need when that mower quits.
3. Find your cost per hour. Divide total costs by your total billable hours. That's your floor. The minimum you need to charge before you pay yourself a cent.
4. Compare to the benchmarks. If your net margin is under 10%, you're either underpricing or overspending. If your owner take-home is below BLS median wages ($18.31/hour), you're earning less than you'd make working for someone else.
5. Build it into every estimate. Every bid should start with your cost per hour, not end with it. When you know your floor is $13/hour, you can confidently bid $60 and know you're making $47/hour in real income. Not hoping.

If you want to skip the spreadsheet, Gus's cost engine calculates your true cost per hour automatically. Enter your equipment, fuel, and overhead once. Then every estimate you build starts from your actual numbers, not guesswork.

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Running a lawn care business is hard enough without wondering where the money went. Gus helps you know your costs before you bid, so every job is profitable from the start.