The Level Index
Landscaping & Lawn CareHow does your landscape company compare?
Labor leverage, maintenance vs. install economics, customer retention, and cash flow benchmarks for U.S. landscape companies. Sourced from NALP, Lawn & Landscape, BrightView and SiteOne 10-Ks, BLS, USCIS H-2B data, and Level engagements.
Last refreshed April 2026. NALP industry statistics, Lawn & Landscape benchmarking summaries, BrightView FY2025 10-K, BLS NAICS 561730, USCIS H-2B FY2024 data.
$188.8B
U.S. landscaping industry (2025 IBIS)
692K+
Landscaping businesses in the U.S.
911K
Landscape services jobs (BLS 2024)
45%
Of all H-2B visas → landscaping
About the Data
The Level Index is compiled from operating data across 2,200+ service businesses plus named public filings, government statistics, and industry association surveys. This page focuses on commercial maintenance, install, snow removal & irrigation — drawn from NALP · BLS · USCIS · BrightView 10-K, public company 10-Ks, and Level engagements. Where private-company quartile data is not publicly published, we use the best available median, range, or surveyed cohort and label the source clearly.
Methodology
Landscaping P10–P90 quartile distributions are mostly behind the NALP and Lawn & Landscape paid reports. Where percentile data is unavailable, this page uses industry medians from these surveys, public-company anchors (BrightView, SiteOne, Toro), and government data (BLS, USCIS, DOL). Vendor-sponsored surveys (Aspire) are clearly labeled.
The Level CLEAR Framework
Five pillars of landscaping & lawn care financial health
Every metric in the Level Index maps to one of five pillars. Together they give you a complete picture of where money is made, lost, stuck, or at risk.
DSO (~60 days commercial), seasonal cash swings, residential prepayment programs. Off-seasons burn cash while payroll and equipment notes stay monthly.
Crew productivity (revenue per labor hour), hourly turnover, H-2B exposure (45% of all H-2B visas go to landscaping), equipment-to-labor ratio.
Gross margin by line (maintenance vs. install vs. snow vs. irrigation), EBITDA margin (BrightView 13.2%), net margin (industry avg ~17%).
Customer retention (~89% industry avg), revenue per customer (~$15K), close rate (~55%), cross-sell rate (maintenance + install + irrigation).
Weather risk, equipment downtime cost, customer concentration, insurance cost (GL + auto + WC + umbrella combined), H-2B political exposure.
Key Finding
45% of all U.S. H-2B visas in FY2024 went to landscaping — making immigration policy a primary P&L variable.
DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification data shows landscaping and groundskeeping workers were the single largest H-2B occupation in FY2024, far ahead of the next category (housekeeping at 8.2%). For mid-sized landscape operators, this is not 'a paperwork issue' — it is a structural labor supply, wage, and political exposure that determines whether you can ramp crews in March or not. BrightView alone had 1,217 H-2B beneficiaries approved in FY2024.
If H-2B caps tighten, your wage line moves up and your crew availability moves down — at the same time. Companies hedging with year-round work (snow, indoor maintenance, equipment service) are the ones least exposed.
DSO of ~60 days is the floor — and it gets worse in winter.
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
Source / sample: BrightView FY2025 10-K + commercial maintenance benchmarks
Commercial maintenance bill cycles + retainage/approval chains stretch AR. DSO is the first warning flare for winter working-capital stress. Negotiate ACH terms with property management firms before April — once busy season starts, you can't.
Labor productivity separates the $10M+ operators from everyone else.
Revenue per Employee ($K)
Source / sample: NALP 2025 Financial Benchmark Report (n=142 firms)
Productivity isn't 'work harder' — it's routing density, equipment leverage, scope discipline, and pricing. The same headcount with better job costing prints winter survival.
Net profit margin slipped from 19% to 17% in 2025 — wage inflation outran pricing.
Industry Net Profit Margin
Source / sample: Lawn & Landscape benchmarking summaries 2024–2025
The 2-point compression came from labor — H-2B wage rules, state minimum wage hikes, and recruiting costs all moved up. Operators who pushed price kept margin; the ones who held price absorbed the hit.
Customer retention stayed strong at 89% — but composition matters more than the headline.
Customer Retention Rate (annual)
Source / sample: Lawn & Landscape benchmarking 2025 (industry avg)
Retention is the distribution system for route density and wage inflation pass-throughs. Losing one $50K commercial maintenance contract is not the same as losing 10 $5K residential accounts — track retention by revenue tier, not just count.
2 more findings
Unlock the full Landscaping & Lawn Care index
See all 6 findings with charts, sources, and detailed methodology.
Benchmarks by Service Type
Landscaping & Lawn CareMaintenance compounds; install is lumpy. Snow is a hedge against winter cash burn. Irrigation is the highest-margin add-on most operators under-sell.
Commercial Maintenance
Recurring revenue base
BrightView ~70% maintenance
Residential Maintenance
Customer retention
~89% (industry avg)
Design-Build / Install
Margin pattern
Lumpy, 15–25% gross typical
Snow & Ice Management
Role
Winter cash hedge for commercial
Irrigation
Add-on opportunity
Highest-margin work most under-sell
Equipment-heavy ops
BrightView Adj EBITDA
13.2% margin (FY2025)
Advanced Landscaping & Lawn Care Metrics
Sub-segment breakdowns, advanced operational metrics, and percentile distributions for commercial maintenance, install, snow removal & irrigation.
Want the full breakdown?
See all 10 sub-segment metrics with bottom/median/top quartile splits.
Benchmarks for other service businesses
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is a healthy gross margin for landscape maintenance?
Industry composite (Wilson 360 / Lawn & Landscape) shows landscape maintenance gross margin around 50–53%, with top quartile above 58%. Install runs lower (22–28%) but is lumpier; snow varies wildly with storm year. Irrigation is the highest-margin add-on most operators under-price — top operators run 60%+ on irrigation work and use it to subsidize install pricing.
How exposed is my landscape business to H-2B policy changes?
Landscaping accounts for 45% of all U.S. H-2B visas (FY2024 DOL data) — by far the largest occupation in the program. If H-2B caps tighten or wage rules change, your labor cost line moves up and crew availability moves down at the same time. Operators hedging with year-round work (snow, indoor maintenance, equipment service) are the least exposed; pure-install seasonal operators are the most.
What net profit margin should a landscaping company target?
Industry average dropped from 19% in 2024 to 17% in 2025 (Lawn & Landscape benchmarking). Top quartile runs 25%+. The 2-point compression came from wage inflation outpacing price increases. Operators who held price absorbed the hit; those who pushed pricing kept margin.
How important is recurring maintenance revenue to my exit valuation?
Critically. PE buyers pay 2–3× higher EBITDA multiples for maintenance-heavy operators. A $10M business at 70% recurring maintenance is worth materially more at exit than a $15M business at 30% — same EBITDA, very different cash flow predictability. BrightView's ~70% maintenance mix is a model worth studying.
What's a normal DSO in commercial landscape maintenance?
BrightView's FY2025 implied DSO is ~54 days. Commercial maintenance averages 55–60+ days because property management approval chains and retainage stretch AR. Top quartile gets to <40 days through ACH-on-receipt terms, e-invoicing, and dedicated AR follow-up. Set these terms before April — once busy season starts, the AR battle is already lost for that year.
Sources
- • NALP — Landscape Industry Statistics + 2025 Financial Benchmark Report
- • Lawn & Landscape — Benchmarking Your Business Report (2025 data)
- • BrightView FY2025 10-K (segment, DSO, EBITDA proxies)
- • SiteOne FY2025 10-K (distribution channel proxy)
- • BLS NAICS 561730 + OEWS wage percentiles
- • USCIS / DOL OFLC — H-2B FY2024 statistics
- • Aspire Software 2026 operator survey (vendor)
- • Level Index — operating data across 2,200+ service businesses + landscape engagements
The Level Index represents the personal analysis and professional opinions of the Level team, compiled from public industry surveys, government statistics, SEC filings, and Level engagements. All data is anonymized and aggregated. Specific figures are rounded and should be treated as directional benchmarks, not precise measurements. The Level Index does not constitute financial advice. Individual results vary based on segment, geography, company size, and operational maturity. © 2026 Level. All rights reserved.