Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers vs Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation: $39K vs $46K Median Pay

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers vs Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation: what changes?

Consider Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers if you want to landscape or maintain grounds of property using hand or power tools or equipment. Consider Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation if you would rather mix or apply pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides through sprays, dusts, vapors, soil incorporation, or chemical application on trees, shrubs, lawns, or crops. Entry credentials differ: Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers, no formal educational credential; Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation, high school diploma or equivalent.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers and Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

National median pay (2025): $39,150
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Gather and remove litter.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 149,500

Know before you choose

The work can involve real occupational hazards. Training, protective equipment, and routine safety discipline matter every day.

See the full Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers brief

Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation

National median pay (2025): $46,340
Route into the job: High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Mix pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides for application to trees, shrubs, lawns, or botanical crops.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 3,300

Know before you choose

The work can involve real occupational hazards. Training, protective equipment, and routine safety discipline matter every day.

See the full Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation brief

How the national numbers differ

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers has the edge on annual openings

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers is at 149,500 annual openings, compared with 3,300 annual openings for Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation.

Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation has the edge on median pay

Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation is at $46,340, compared with $39,150 for Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers.

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers has the edge on projected growth

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers is at 4.7% projected growth, compared with 3.9% projected growth for Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation.

61/ 100

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

46.6/ 100

Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers vs Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation

Dimension	Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers	Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation
Median pay (2025)	$39,150	$46,340
Pay percentile	10.1 percentile	21.2 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	4.7%	3.9%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	149,500	3,300
2025 employment	1,188,600	25,700
How you qualify	No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	High school diploma or equivalent; More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 2	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	More than one month and up to 12 months of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers brief Read Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation brief

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers vs Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation

How the national numbers differ

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers has the edge on annual openings

Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation has the edge on median pay

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers has the edge on projected growth

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers vs Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation

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