Community Sentiment
Do you agree?
Do you agree with the AI automation risk score calculated for this occupation?
AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers?
Task-level automation exposure for Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers: 19 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
10%
weighted task index
19 of 19 tasks scored
Median Salary
$39,150 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Very High
952,640 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+4.7%
employment change
149,500 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 54 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$21,910 – $48,790
Highest medians
District of Columbia $48,790
Massachusetts $48,670
Alaska $47,690
Washington $46,950
Minnesota $46,610
Lowest medians
Puerto Rico $21,910
Guam $31,620
Mississippi $31,630
West Virginia $32,240
Louisiana $34,870
State figures come from the 37-3011 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 10%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 96%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 0%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 0%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 8/100
Low
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
19 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 4%
1 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 0%
0 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 96%
18 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#9589 · Core · 8% automatable
Mow or edge lawns, using power mowers or edgers.
situated mobility — Grounds equipment operation needs real-world control
Trim trees or other vegetation. Operate grounds maintenance equipment.
#20761 · Core · 10% automatable
Operate vehicles or powered equipment, such as mowers, tractors, twin-axle vehicles, snow blowers, chainsaws, electric clippers, sod cutters, or pruning saws.
situated mobility — Grounds equipment operation needs real-world control
Operate grounds maintenance equipment. Drive trucks or other vehicles to or at work sites.
#9592 · Core · 10% automatable
Use hand tools, such as shovels, rakes, pruning saws, saws, hedge or brush trimmers, or axes.
situated mobility — Grounds equipment operation needs real-world control
Operate grounds maintenance equipment.
#9593 · Core · 8% automatable
Prune or trim trees, shrubs, or hedges, using shears, pruners, or chain saws.
situated mobility — Grounds equipment operation needs real-world control
Trim trees or other vegetation. Operate grounds maintenance equipment.
#9594 · Core · 5% automatable
Gather and remove litter.
physical manipulation — Physical disposal of trash and waste
Dispose of trash or waste materials.
#9599 · Core · 8% automatable
Trim or pick flowers and clean flower beds.
physical manipulation — Facility cleaning requires physical manipulation
Clean facilities or sites. Trim trees or other vegetation.
#9591 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Care for established lawns by mulching, aerating, weeding, grubbing, removing thatch, or trimming or edging around flower beds, walks, or walls.
physical manipulation — Lawn and garden cultivation is hands-on
Cultivate lawns, turf, or gardens.
#9601 · Supplemental · 74% automatable
Follow planned landscaping designs to determine where to lay sod, sow grass, or plant flowers or foliage.
data analysis — Evaluate reports and designs, human owns decisions
Evaluate reports or designs to determine work needs.
#9598 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Water lawns, trees, or plants, using portable sprinkler systems, hoses, or watering cans.
physical manipulation — Irrigating plants requires physical setup
Irrigate lawns, trees, or plants.
#9595 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Maintain or repair tools, equipment, or structures, such as buildings, greenhouses, fences, or benches, using hand or power tools.
physical manipulation — Hands-on system maintenance to ensure function
Maintain equipment or systems to ensure proper functioning.
#9600 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Rake, mulch, and compost leaves.
physical manipulation — Manual removal of debris from sites
Remove debris from work sites.
#9597 · Supplemental · 15% automatable
Provide proper upkeep of sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, fountains, planters, burial sites, or other grounds features.
visual inspection — Grounds/building condition assessment is physical
Inspect buildings or grounds to determine condition. Operate grounds maintenance equipment.
#9602 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Plant seeds, bulbs, foliage, flowering plants, grass, ground covers, trees, or shrubs, and apply mulch for protection, using gardening tools.
physical manipulation — Lawn and garden cultivation is hands-on
Cultivate lawns, turf, or gardens. Plant greenery to improve landscape appearance.
#9610 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Plan or cultivate lawns or gardens.
physical manipulation — Lawn and garden cultivation is hands-on
Cultivate lawns, turf, or gardens.
#9607 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Haul or spread topsoil, or spread straw over seeded soil to hold soil in place.
physical manipulation — Lawn and garden cultivation is hands-on
Cultivate lawns, turf, or gardens.
#9590 · Supplemental · 3% automatable
Shovel snow from walks, driveways, or parking lots, and spread salt in those areas.
physical manipulation — Manual snow removal with tools outdoors
Remove snow.
#9605 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Care for natural turf fields, making sure the underlying soil has the required composition to allow proper drainage and to support the grasses.
physical manipulation — Lawn and garden cultivation is hands-on
Cultivate lawns, turf, or gardens.
#9596 · Supplemental · 12% automatable
Mix and spray or spread fertilizers, herbicides, or insecticides onto grass, shrubs, or trees, using hand or automatic sprayers or spreaders.
physical manipulation — Chemical preparation requires hands-on handling
Prepare chemicals for work application. Treat greenery or surfaces with protective substances. Operate grounds maintenance equipment.
#9611 · Supplemental · 4% automatable
Attach wires from planted trees to support stakes.
physical manipulation — Tree support installation requires field labor
Install equipment to protect or support trees.
Embed this calculator on your site ↓
Bloggers & authors: Embed this interactive calculator directly in your articles or comparison guides. It loads dynamically via a responsive iframe (auto-resizing to prevent double scrollbars) and provides a direct, high-value tool for your audience.
<div class="giniloh-calculator-embed" data-calculator="landscaping-and-groundskeeping-workers"></div>
<script src="https://giniloh.com/embed.js" async></script> Method
How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
See the full method →Related Article
Best AI Proof Jobs in a Changing Market
Worried robots are coming for your paycheck? You’re not alone—but the real story is far more hopeful. This guide cuts through the scare headlines to reveal exactly where smart, sustainable career opportunities exist right now. We’ve curated a list of true ai proof jobs—roles in healthcare, skilled trades, and cybersecurity that not only survive automation but thrive because of human judgment and empathy. You’ll get specific, money-making data on projected growth (the BLS says wind turbine technicians, for instance, will grow 44% by 2032), real salary ranges from active job listings, and a simple self-assessment quiz to identify your own most resilient path. Plus, we name companies hiring today and the niche job boards they use. Stop worrying and start planning—your secure career is closer than you think.
Read Article ->