{
  "slug": "landscaping",
  "label": "Landscaping & Lawn Care",
  "publisher": "Level",
  "publisher_url": "https://levelcfo.com",
  "dataset": "The Level Index, Landscaping & Lawn Care benchmarks",
  "methodology": "Aggregated from public industry and government sources plus the Level founding team's contractor analysis. Percentile distributions where available, otherwise category anchors. No individual company is identified.",
  "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, the founding team's analysis of 2,200+ contractors ($13.25B revenue) across operating, private-equity, and CFO roles, extended with landscape operator observations"
  ],
  "last_updated": "2026-Q3",
  "metrics": [
    {
      "key": "revenue_per_employee_k",
      "label": "Revenue per Employee ($K)",
      "unit": "K",
      "lower_is_better": false,
      "categories": [
        {
          "name": "Bottom Quartile",
          "value": 90
        },
        {
          "name": "Industry Avg",
          "value": 123
        },
        {
          "name": "$10M+ firms (NALP)",
          "value": 156
        },
        {
          "name": "Top Quartile",
          "value": 180
        },
        {
          "name": "Best in Class",
          "value": 220
        }
      ],
      "sample": "NALP 2025 Financial Benchmark Report (n=142 firms)",
      "source": "NALP 2025 Financial Benchmark Report"
    },
    {
      "key": "net_profit_margin",
      "label": "Net Profit Margin",
      "unit": "%",
      "lower_is_better": false,
      "categories": [
        {
          "name": "BrightView (FY2025 10-K)",
          "value": 2
        },
        {
          "name": "Distressed",
          "value": 3
        },
        {
          "name": "Industry avg (IBISWorld)",
          "value": 12
        },
        {
          "name": "Well-run (NALP survey)",
          "value": 12
        },
        {
          "name": "Top quartile",
          "value": 15
        }
      ],
      "sample": "NALP 2025 Financial Benchmark Report + IBISWorld 2025 + BrightView FY2025 10-K",
      "source": "NALP 2025 Financial Benchmark Report; IBISWorld Landscaping Services 2025; BrightView (BV) FY2025 10-K"
    },
    {
      "key": "customer_retention_rate_annual",
      "label": "Customer Retention Rate (annual)",
      "unit": "%",
      "lower_is_better": false,
      "percentiles": {
        "p10": 65,
        "p25": 78,
        "p90": 98
      },
      "sample": "Lawn & Landscape benchmarking 2025 (industry avg)",
      "source": "Lawn & Landscape benchmarking 2025"
    },
    {
      "key": "sales_close_rate_nalp_2020_data",
      "label": "Sales Close Rate (NALP 2020 data)",
      "unit": "%",
      "lower_is_better": false,
      "percentiles": {
        "p10": 25,
        "p25": 40,
        "p75": 70,
        "p90": 82
      },
      "sample": "NALP 2021 Financial Benchmark Study (2020 data)",
      "source": "NALP 2021 Financial Benchmark Study"
    },
    {
      "key": "days_sales_outstanding_dso",
      "label": "Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)",
      "unit": "d",
      "lower_is_better": true,
      "categories": [
        {
          "name": "Strong",
          "value": 30
        },
        {
          "name": "Healthy SMB",
          "value": 45
        },
        {
          "name": "BrightView billed-AR (impl.)",
          "value": 54
        },
        {
          "name": "Commercial Avg",
          "value": 62
        },
        {
          "name": "Distressed",
          "value": 90
        }
      ],
      "sample": "BrightView FY2025 10-K + commercial maintenance benchmarks",
      "source": "BrightView FY2025 10-K"
    },
    {
      "key": "recurring_revenue_mix_examples",
      "label": "Recurring Revenue Mix Examples",
      "unit": "%",
      "lower_is_better": false,
      "categories": [
        {
          "name": "Pure Install Shop",
          "value": 5
        },
        {
          "name": "Mixed",
          "value": 35
        },
        {
          "name": "Industry Avg",
          "value": 55
        },
        {
          "name": "BrightView",
          "value": 70
        },
        {
          "name": "Top Maintenance Operators",
          "value": 85
        }
      ],
      "sample": "BrightView FY2025 segment + Level founding-team observation",
      "source": "BrightView FY2025 segment disclosure; Level founding-team M&A observation"
    }
  ],
  "benchmark_table": [
    {
      "metric": "Maintenance Gross Margin",
      "bottom_quartile": "< 35%",
      "median": "~50%",
      "top_quartile": "> 58%",
      "note": "Wilson 360 / Lawn & Landscape composite ~53%"
    },
    {
      "metric": "Install Gross Margin",
      "bottom_quartile": "< 18%",
      "median": "22-28%",
      "top_quartile": "> 32%",
      "note": "Level founding-team observation for heavy-material new-construction install. Note: published design-build/enhancement benchmarks (Wilson360, Landscape Management) run higher at 45-65%, measuring lighter-material enhancement work; this band reflects material-heavy installs."
    },
    {
      "metric": "Snow Gross Margin",
      "bottom_quartile": "< 15%",
      "median": "20-28%",
      "top_quartile": "> 35%",
      "note": "Level founding-team observation; highly variable by storm year"
    },
    {
      "metric": "Irrigation Gross Margin",
      "bottom_quartile": "< 35%",
      "median": "45-55%",
      "top_quartile": "> 60%",
      "note": "Level founding-team observation; highest-margin add-on most operators under-sell"
    },
    {
      "metric": "Net Profit Margin",
      "bottom_quartile": "< 5%",
      "median": "~12%",
      "top_quartile": "> 15%",
      "note": "IBISWorld ~12% / NALP survey 8-12%; BrightView (largest pure-play operator) nets ~2% at scale, FY2025 10-K (owner-operator P&Ls look higher only because owner salary isn't booked)"
    },
    {
      "metric": "Customer Retention",
      "bottom_quartile": "< 78%",
      "median": "89%",
      "top_quartile": "> 94%",
      "note": "Track by revenue tier, not just count"
    },
    {
      "metric": "Sales Close Rate",
      "bottom_quartile": "< 40%",
      "median": "55%",
      "top_quartile": "> 70%",
      "note": "NALP 2021, needs lead quality context"
    },
    {
      "metric": "DSO (commercial)",
      "bottom_quartile": "> 75 days",
      "median": "55-60 days",
      "top_quartile": "< 40 days",
      "note": "BrightView FY2025 implied ~54 days on billed AR, ~69 including unbilled revenue"
    },
    {
      "metric": "DPO (days payable)",
      "bottom_quartile": "< 20 days",
      "median": "~25 days",
      "top_quartile": "> 40 days",
      "note": "BrightView FY2025 implied (AP / COGS x 365)"
    },
    {
      "metric": "True Loaded Crew Cost per Hour",
      "bottom_quartile": "base wage only",
      "median": "wage + ~30% burden",
      "top_quartile": "fully modeled",
      "note": "BLS SOC 37-3011 median wage x (1 + payroll tax/WC/benefits ~30%); costing crews at base wage understates every job"
    },
    {
      "metric": "Revenue per Customer",
      "bottom_quartile": "< $7K",
      "median": "$15K",
      "top_quartile": "> $30K",
      "note": "NALP 2024, median ~$14,682"
    },
    {
      "metric": "Recurring Revenue Mix",
      "bottom_quartile": "< 30%",
      "median": "55%",
      "top_quartile": "> 75%",
      "note": "Drives valuation multiple at exit"
    }
  ]
}