Industry & Market Data

Landscaping Business Statistics by State (2026)

There are about 634,541 landscaping businesses in the U.S., and 81% are solo operators. We ranked all 50 states plus D.C. by landscaping business count and per-capita density using U.S. Census data. Texas has the most; Mississippi has the highest density.

Ihor Lavrenenko

By Ihor Lavrenenko · Founder, Smarfle CRM

Published June 24, 2026 · Data current as of 2023-2024

Smarfle Research

Key findings

  • The U.S. has roughly 634,541 landscaping businesses: 117,969 with employees and 516,572 solo operators.
  • 81% are solo / owner-operator businesses, making landscaping one of the most fragmented and competitive service trades.
  • Texas has the most landscaping businesses (63,918), ahead of California and Florida.
  • By density, Mississippi leads with 34.7 businesses per 10,000 residents, followed by Louisiana and Vermont.
  • The South and Sun Belt dominate both rankings, tracking warm-weather, year-round outdoor-service demand.

Landscaping businesses by state

All 50 states plus D.C., ranked by total landscaping businesses (employer firms plus solo operators). Sort any column.

1Texas63,9185,56858,35020.4
2California59,5309,39350,13715.1
3Florida58,98310,67048,31325.2
4Georgia34,2263,24230,98430.6
5North Carolina27,6134,36123,25225
6New York21,9957,72514,27011.1
7Ohio20,9724,22816,74417.6
8Michigan20,3663,79716,56920.1
9Illinois19,6085,03414,57415.4
10Tennessee19,1661,99117,17526.5
11Pennsylvania18,5495,17913,37014.2
12Virginia16,2383,09613,14218.4
13Louisiana15,36497914,38533.4
14Alabama15,2461,35913,88729.6
15South Carolina14,5261,91012,61626.5
16Indiana12,6912,46310,22818.3
17Missouri12,4152,19910,21619.9
18Massachusetts11,7014,5557,14616.4
19New Jersey11,5724,7346,83812.2
20Arizona11,0211,8179,20414.5
21Mississippi10,2236019,62234.7
22Maryland9,6272,0527,57515.4
23Washington9,3773,1946,18311.8
24Wisconsin9,3372,4906,84715.7
25Colorado9,3322,4466,88615.7
26Oklahoma9,0221,0228,00022
27Kentucky8,8601,1307,73019.3
28Minnesota8,0552,3975,65813.9
29Arkansas7,7527536,99925.1
30Connecticut7,4992,1705,32920.4
31Oregon6,1561,8934,26314.4
32Iowa5,4491,2424,20716.8
33Kansas5,3219914,33017.9
34Utah4,6401,4713,16913.2
35Maine3,8829642,91827.6
36Nevada3,6188342,78411.1
37Nebraska3,5949392,65517.9
38Idaho3,5441,1662,37817.7
39Hawaii3,0583782,68021.1
40New Hampshire2,9971,0271,97021.3
41West Virginia2,5264022,12414.3
42New Mexico2,2534051,84810.6
43Vermont2,1515211,63033.2
44Montana2,0136941,31917.7
45Rhode Island1,9397941,14517.4
46Delaware1,8744561,41817.8
47South Dakota1,4503761,07415.7
48North Dakota1,19028590514.9
49Wyoming99333965416.9
50Alaska86321564811.7
51District of Columbia246222243.5

Top 15 states by total businesses

Texas63,918California59,530Florida58,983Georgia34,226North Carolina27,613New York21,995Ohio20,972Michigan20,366Illinois19,608Tennessee19,166Pennsylvania18,549Virginia16,238Louisiana15,364Alabama15,246South Carolina14,526

Highest density: businesses per 10,000 residents

Raw counts favor big states. Density shows where landscaping is most active relative to population, a clearer read on how saturated a local market is.

Mississippi34.7Louisiana33.4Vermont33.2Georgia30.6Alabama29.6Maine27.6Tennessee26.5South Carolina26.5Florida25.2Arkansas25.1North Carolina25Oklahoma22

What this means for landscapers

With 81% of the market made up of solo operators, landscaping is easy to enter and hard to stand out in. The biggest states (Texas, California, Florida) have the most businesses but also the most competition. The density view helps spot where demand is strong relative to the number of operators already serving it.

For owners, the path to growth in a crowded market is reliability and reputation: lock in recurring maintenance contracts, respond fast, and build a steady stream of Google reviews so you win the local map pack instead of competing on price.

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Best states for home services

See how landscaping fits the bigger picture across all home-service trades, ranked by state.

Read the study

Methodology

Landscaping businesses = employer establishments (County Business Patterns, NAICS 561730) plus nonemployer firms (Nonemployer Statistics, NAICS 56173). Density is businesses per 10,000 residents using 2024 ACS population. Covers the 50 states plus D.C.

Employer vs. nonemployer: County Business Patterns counts businesses with paid employees; Nonemployer Statistics counts owner-operator firms with none. We sum both so the total reflects the whole market, not just payroll businesses.

Caveats: figures are establishments and firms, not companies, so a business with two locations counts twice. NAICS 561730 (Landscaping Services) covers landscape design, installation, and maintenance / lawn care. Coverage is the 50 states plus D.C.

Source

U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns (2023), Nonemployer Statistics (2023), and American Community Survey (2024).

Frequently asked questions

How many landscaping businesses are there in the U.S.?+

About 634,541 across the 50 states plus D.C.: 117,969 businesses with employees and 516,572 solo / owner-operator firms. Landscaping is one of the most fragmented service trades, dominated by small operators.

Which state has the most landscaping businesses?+

Texas leads with 63,918 landscaping businesses, followed by California (59,530) and Florida (58,983). Big, warm-weather states with year-round outdoor demand sit at the top.

Which state has the highest landscaping business density?+

Mississippi has the most landscaping businesses per capita, at 34.7 per 10,000 residents, ahead of Louisiana and Vermont. Density is a better measure of how active (and competitive) a local market is than raw count.

Are most landscaping businesses solo operators?+

Yes. 81% of landscaping businesses are nonemployer firms, meaning a single owner-operator with no paid employees. That makes landscaping one of the easiest service businesses to start, and one of the most competitive.

Is the landscaping industry growing?+

Landscaping demand tracks new housing, home values, and outdoor-living spend, all of which have trended up in Sun Belt and Southeast states. The low barrier to entry keeps the business count high and the market crowded, so operators increasingly compete on reliability, reviews, and recurring maintenance contracts rather than price alone.

Where does this data come from?+

U.S. Census Bureau: County Business Patterns (2023) for employer establishments and Nonemployer Statistics (2023) for solo firms, both NAICS 561730 (Landscaping Services), plus the American Community Survey (2024) for state population. See the methodology below.

Cite this study

Free to reference with a link back. Please credit Smarfle Research as the source.

Ihor Lavrenenko (2026). Landscaping Business Statistics by State. Smarfle Research. https://www.smarfle.com/small-business-statistics/landscaping-business-statistics

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