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Landscaping labourer: what the job actually is

Mowing, trimming, planting and hauling so a property looks the way somebody paid for it to look.

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Landscaping labourer: quick facts

Landscaping labourer salary in Ontario: the median pay is $20.96 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024). Its three-year outlook in Ontario is moderate. The job usually needs a short demonstration, no formal education.

Median pay in Ontario
$20.96 an hour
Pay range (low to high)
$17.95 to $27.41 an hour
Job outlook, 2025-2027
Moderate
People working in it in Ontario
35,150
Usually needs
A short demonstration, no formal education

Source: Job Bank wages (updated 19 November 2025) and job prospects (updated 10 December 2025), NOC 85121. Pay varies by region and experience.

The work

What this job actually is

  • Job Bank describes this group as people who help build landscapes and who maintain lawns, gardens, athletic fields, golf courses, cemeteries, parks and other landscaped areas.
  • Most of it is repetition done outdoors: mowing, trimming edges, raking, mulching, planting, hauling soil and stone, clearing leaves.
  • You work for a landscaping or lawn care company, a golf course, a cemetery, or the grounds crew of a public works department or other organisation. You are usually on a crew, and somebody else decides the schedule.
  • This is the labour end of a larger trade. The person who designs the garden, quotes the job and runs the crew is doing a different job. See landscape contractor and horticulture technician for the next steps up.
  • Job Bank notes the work is seasonal and that opportunities are more favourable in the summer months. Your year has a shape, and the shape is not the same as an office worker's.

A Tuesday

What a normal day looks like

Not a good day or a bad one. The ordinary version, which is what you would actually be living.

  1. 6:30 — At the yard. Load the trailer: mowers, trimmers, blowers, fuel, a bag of whatever the first job needs. Somebody has already checked the weather and is not happy about it.
  2. 7:15 — Drive to the first property with the rest of the crew. The crew leader says who is on what.
  3. 7:30 — Mow. The same pattern, up and down, for an hour, while the sun gets higher and the engine noise fills your head.
  4. 8:45 — Trim edges and blow the clippings off the driveway. This is the part the customer actually notices, so it gets done properly.
  5. 10:00 — Break in the truck. Water, a snack, hands that smell like gas and cut grass.
  6. 10:20 — Second property: a garden bed that needs weeding and fresh mulch. Wheelbarrow, shovel, repeat.
  7. 12:00 — Lunch on a tailgate. Somebody is moaning about a customer who said 'a bit shorter' and meant it.
  8. 12:30 — Third property in the heat. Water, and slower, because it is the afternoon.
  9. 15:00 — Back at the yard. Unload, refuel, rinse the mowers, sweep the trailer.
  10. 15:30 — Home, or one more small job. You can see what you did all day, and it will be messy again in a week.

Honestly

Who loves this, and who should not do it

The second list is the useful one. Nearly every careers page leaves it out, which is why nearly every careers page reads like an advert.

You may like this if
  • You would rather be outside and tired than inside and sitting.
  • You like work where you can see the before and the after on the same afternoon.
  • You are fine with being told what to do by a crew leader and doing it properly without supervision.
  • You want a first job with no requirement for a diploma, where showing up reliably is most of what is asked.
  • You are curious about the bigger side of the trade, designing, plants or running a crew, and would like a way to look at it from the inside.
You may hate this if
  • Heat, rain, bugs and allergies are a real problem for you. The weather is your workplace and it does not care.
  • You dislike loud machines. Mowers, trimmers and blowers are loud all day, and hearing protection is part of the job.
  • You want year-round steady work. Job Bank says the work is seasonal and the best chances are in the summer months.
  • You dislike repetition. A lot of the day is the same motion on a different lawn.
  • You get irritated by customers watching you work, or by being told the lawn should be shorter after you have just cut it.
  • Your back or knees are already a problem. Hauling, bending and walking behind equipment all day is physical.

The route in

How you actually get there in Ontario

  1. There is no required diploma, but school helps a little

    Job Bank says some secondary school education may be required. In practice, an employer wants somebody reliable who can follow instructions and not damage the equipment or the property.

  2. Check the age rules before you apply

    Ontario's minimum age rules depend on the type of workplace. Ontario.ca says you must be at least 14 to work in other industrial establishments such as stores and offices, and lists 15 for factories and similar workplaces and 16 for construction. It does not list outdoor grounds work by name, so ask the employer and the Ministry of Labour if you are under 16 rather than assuming.

  3. Know when a pesticide licence comes into it

    Job Bank says a provincial licence to apply chemical fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides and pesticides may be required. Ontario.ca says that, unless exempt, you need an exterminator licence to apply pesticides commercially on property that you or your employer do not own or farm, that you must be at least 16, and that you must pass a ministry-approved pesticide certification course within the last 12 months. Whether your job involves applying anything is a question for the employer, so ask what the role actually asks you to apply.

  4. Move up by getting good, not by getting a certificate

    Crew leaders are picked from labourers who are reliable, safe and know how to read a property. From there the usual step is running the crew, then quoting jobs. If you want the design or plant-science side, look at the horticulture technician page and the college programmes it mentions.

Where this comes from: Job Bank: Landscaping and grounds maintenance labourers, requirements in Ontario · Job Bank: Landscaping and grounds maintenance labourers, occupational summary · Ontario: Pesticide licences and permits · Ontario: Minimum age for work

The money

Landscaping labourer salary in Ontario

Job Bank's own figures, quoted rather than summarised, with the period they describe — so you can tell how old they are and go and check them.

$17.95
Low (hourly)
$20.96
Median (hourly)
$27.41
High (hourly)

Ontario, NOC 85121. Reference period 2023-2024, last updated by Job Bank on 19 November 2025. Wages vary a lot by region inside Ontario and by how long you have been doing it — the low figure is roughly where you start, not what the job is worth.

Source: Job Bank — Landscaping labourer wages in Ontario

Where it is heading

The outlook for the next three years

Job Bank publishes a three-year outlook for every job in every province. It is the closest thing to an honest forecast, and it moves, so read it as a weather report rather than a verdict.

Ontario, 2025-2027

Moderate3 out of 5 stars

  • Employment growth will lead to a few new positions.
  • A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements.
  • There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.
  • High employee turnover in this occupation could lead to additional employment opportunities.
  • Due to the seasonal nature of this occupation, employment opportunities tend to be more favourable during the summer months.

What that rating means: how many openings Job Bank expects in Ontario for this kind of work against how many people are likely to be looking — not whether it is a good job. A “limited” rating means more competition for each opening; it does not close the door, and it can change before you are ready to walk through it.

35,150
people work in this job in Ontario
17%
are women (48% across all jobs)
18%
are self-employed (15% across all jobs)

Source: Job Bank — Landscaping and grounds maintenance labourers job prospects in Ontario (NOC 85121). Outlook updated by Job Bank on 10 December 2025; read by us on 5 October 2026.

Before you leave school

Things you can do now

  • Do the grounds work for your own family or a neighbour first, with their permission and their equipment. Mow, edge and bag a whole yard properly and see whether you can keep that standard for two hours.
  • Ask your guidance office about co-op placements with a landscaping company, grounds crew or parks department. A co-op placement is the cheapest way to try this with a school behind you.
  • Take any horticulture, environmental science or manufacturing technology course on offer. It will not be required, but it shows an employer you are interested in the work, not only the pay.
  • Look at whether your school or board has a Specialist High Skills Major or OYAP programme in a nearby sector, and ask what it would take to try one.

Test it

Do this before you decide anything

Reading about a job tells you almost nothing. This is designed to be done alone, this week, for free.

Do a full grounds-crew morning on purpose

About 120 minutes
  1. Pick a yard you are allowed to work in (your own, or a relative's with their agreement). Write down the order you would do it in before you start.
  2. Spend two hours on it with no music and no phone: rake or mow, edge the paths, weed one bed, bag everything, sweep the hard surfaces. Use only the tools that are safe for you to use.
  3. At the end, stand where the customer would stand and write down three things you missed. That is the standard you would be held to.
  4. Phone or visit one local landscaping company and ask one question: what do they look for in a new crew member, and what is the age rule for the youngest person they hire.

What it tells you. If the two hours felt satisfying and you wanted to fix what you missed, this work can suit you, and a summer job in it is cheap to try. If you spent the second hour watching the clock and the repetition felt like punishment, that is just as useful: you have found out before signing up for a season of it.

Better than any article

Questions for somebody who does this job

Most people say yes to a teenager who asks good questions. These are the ones that get real answers rather than encouragement.

  1. “What does a normal day look like from the first job to the last?”
  2. “How many hours do you get in the busiest months, and what happens to the hours in winter?”
  3. “What do you do when it rains all week?”
  4. “What would make somebody move from the crew to crew leader?”
  5. “Which jobs on the crew need a pesticide licence, and who pays for it?”
  6. “What is the part nobody tells new people before they start?”

Could you own one of these?

The part other career sites never mention

Yes, and this is one of the most common first businesses in Ontario. A mower, a trimmer and a trailer is a start, and people begin with a few lawns on a street. The hard parts are the same as any small business: pricing so you actually make money after fuel, equipment and insurance, getting paid, and finding enough work in the months when the grass stops growing. If you apply pesticides for money you also need the licence described above. The workforce box on this page shows how many people in the group are self-employed.

Business 101 is free and teaches that part

Quick answers

Questions people ask about this job

How much does a landscaping labourer make in Ontario?

The median pay for a landscaping labourer in Ontario is $20.96 an hour, according to Job Bank (reference period 2023-2024, updated 19 November 2025). The range Job Bank publishes runs from $17.95 to $27.41 an hour. Pay varies by region, employer and experience.

What is the job outlook for a landscaping labourer in Ontario?

Job Bank rates the employment outlook for this work in Ontario as moderate for 2025-2027 (updated 10 December 2025). Employment growth will lead to a few new positions. A moderate number of positions will become available due to retirements. There are a small number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation. High employee turnover in this occupation could lead to additional employment opportunities. Due to the seasonal nature of this occupation, employment opportunities tend to be more favourable during the summer months. A lower rating means more competition for each opening, not that no one is hiring.

What do you need to become a landscaping labourer in Ontario?

Job Bank says this work usually needs a short demonstration, no formal education. The usual route in Ontario, in order: There is no required diploma, but school helps a little; Check the age rules before you apply; Know when a pesticide licence comes into it.

How many people work as a landscaping labourer in Ontario, and how many are women?

Job Bank counts about 35,150 people working in this job in Ontario. 17% of them are women, compared with 48% across all jobs. That describes who does the work today, not who can.

Where people come from

Which programs lead here?

In the 2021 Census, this job is one of the 12 most common for graduates of these programs. Each page shows what else they do, and which of those jobs have openings.

Women in agriculture in Ontario Careers in agriculture: pay and outlook What can you do with your degree?

Not sure this is the right list to be reading

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Parent of a teenager weighing this up? Career coaching for teens gets them talking to people who do the work, anywhere in Ontario.

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Wages and training requirements change. Every figure on this page is linked to the body that publishes it, and the review date above says when we last checked. If you find something out of date, tell us and we will fix it.