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AI and jobs

Will AI Replace Landscapers? (2026)

The Bureau of Labor Statistics places landscapers in its low AI exposure category, among the occupations least exposed to current AI. BLS projects employment to change by +4.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 149,500 openings a year.

Short answer

Very unlikely. BLS rates landscapers among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do.

BLS AI exposure
LowBLS EP supplemental table
AI-resilience score
48/100Higher than 56% of jobs · NueCareer
Projected change
+4.7%BLS EP 2025–2035; all jobs 3.5%
Openings a year
149,500BLS EP 2025–2035

The federal measure

How exposed landscapers are to AI

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a relative AI exposure category for each occupation it projects, built from five public measures of where AI could be, or already is, used to assist with or complete the work. Landscapers land in the low category: among the occupations least exposed to current AI.

Where this job sits on the BLS scale

786 occupations in the NueCareer bank, in BLS's four relative categories; width shows how many fall in each

  1. Low · this job203 occupations · 26%
  2. Moderate194 occupations · 25%
  3. High190 occupations · 24%
  4. Very high199 occupations · 25%

Source: BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories supplemental table.

  1. Exposure is relative. The categories rank occupations against each other; they are not a probability that a job is automated.
  2. BLS says exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. A highly exposed job can still grow if AI makes the people in it more productive.
  3. The classification reflects AI capabilities as the underlying studies measured them. Read the BLS method and limitations.

Inside the work

What AI can and cannot do in this job

O*NET rates how important each work activity is to an occupation and how often each working condition comes up. The ratings below are the ones that move the job's NueCareer AI-resilience score the most: the ones that pull it up, and the ones that pull it down. Only ratings clearly above the midpoint count.

What holds up

Physical, hands-on and person-to-person work

  • Working outdoors in all weather4.6/5
    O*NET work context, frequency or level
  • Controlling machines and processes3.8/5
    O*NET work activity, importance

What AI reaches first

Routine, repeatable and screen-based work

None of the routine information-processing activities rate highly for this job, which is a large part of why its exposure is low.

The tasks O*NET lists for landscapers

  • Mow or edge lawns, using power mowers or edgers.
  • Gather and remove litter.
  • Trim or pick flowers and clean flower beds.
  • Use hand tools, such as shovels, rakes, pruning saws, saws, hedge or brush trimmers, or axes.
  • Prune or trim trees, shrubs, or hedges, using shears, pruners, or chain saws.
  • Operate vehicles or powered equipment, such as mowers, tractors, twin-axle vehicles, snow blowers, chainsaws, electric clippers, sod cutters, or pruning saws.

O*NET 31.0 Database task statements, most important first.

The jobs

Will there still be jobs?

Exposure says where AI meets the work. The BLS projection says what the labor market is expected to do over 2025–2035. BLS projects +4.7% change in employment over the decade, against 3.5% across all occupations, and about 149,500 openings a year once retirements and career changes are counted. About 952,640 people work in the job today, at a median of $39,150 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025).

Full landscaping and groundskeeping worker profile: pay by state, entry route and skills

Options

Related careers that are also low-exposure

Careers O*NET lists as related to the work, or in the same field at similar pay, that BLS places in a low exposure category.

  1. Tree Trimmer and Pruner

    Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance

    Median pay
    $50,960median a year
    Growth
    +4.2%
    Openings / yr
    7,900
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    71/100
    resilience

    Using sophisticated climbing and rigging techniques, cut away dead or excess branches from trees or shrubs to maintain right-of-way for roads, sidewalks, or utilities, or to improve appearance, health, and value of tree.

  2. Agricultural Equipment Operator

    Farming, Fishing, and Forestry

    Median pay
    $41,730median a year
    Growth
    +8.6%
    Openings / yr
    10,100
    Education
    No formal credential
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    70/100
    resilience

    Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste.

  3. Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator

    Construction and Extraction

    Median pay
    $59,850median a year
    Growth
    +4.6%
    Openings / yr
    39,200
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    70/100
    resilience

    Operate one or several types of power construction equipment, such as motor graders, bulldozers, scrapers, compressors, pumps, derricks, shovels, tractors, or front-end loaders to excavate, move, and grade earth, erec…

  4. Highway Maintenance Worker

    Construction and Extraction

    Median pay
    $50,260median a year
    Growth
    +3.4%
    Openings / yr
    11,800
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    68/100
    resilience

    Maintain highways, municipal and rural roads, airport runways, and rights-of-way.

  5. Helpers--Pipelayer, Plumber, Pipefitter, and Steamfitter

    Construction and Extraction

    Median pay
    $42,360median a year
    Growth
    +2.4%
    Openings / yr
    4,400
    Education
    High school
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    64/100
    resilience

    Help plumbers, pipefitters, steamfitters, or pipelayers by performing duties requiring less skill.

  6. Farmworker and Laborer, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse

    Farming, Fishing, and Forestry

    Median pay
    $35,660median a year
    Growth
    −2.4%
    Openings / yr
    72,500
    Education
    No formal credential
    Low
    BLS AI exposure
    63/100
    resilience

    Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops.

Will AI replace heavy equipment operators?Will AI replace highway maintenance workers?Will AI replace farmworkers and laborers?

Questions

Will AI Replace Landscapers? FAQ

Will AI replace landscapers?

Very unlikely. BLS rates landscapers among the occupations least exposed to AI, and most of the work is the kind current AI tools cannot do. BLS defines exposure as AI being able to assist with or complete some of the work, and says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains or wage effects. BLS projects employment to change by +4.7% over 2025–2035, against 3.5% for all occupations, with about 149,500 openings a year.

How exposed are landscapers to AI?

BLS sorts 786 occupations into four relative categories: low, moderate, high and very high. Landscapers are in the low category, alongside 202 other occupations. The categories combine five public measures of where AI could be or already is used, and they compare occupations with each other rather than giving an absolute risk.

What parts of a landscaping and groundskeeping worker's job are hard for AI to do?

In O*NET's description of the work, the activities that matter most are working outdoors in all weather and controlling machines and processes: physical, hands-on or person-to-person work that current AI tools do not perform. None of the routine information-processing activities rate highly for this job.

Is being a landscaping and groundskeeping worker a safe career from AI?

On NueCareer's AI-resilience score, built from O*NET work activities, landscapers score 48 out of 100, higher than 56% of the occupations we score. The job pays a median of $39,150 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025). No job is fully safe from technological change, but the federal exposure category and the projected openings are the two numbers worth weighing.

What careers similar to landscapers are less exposed to AI?

Tree Trimmer and Pruner (low exposure, $50,960 median), Agricultural Equipment Operator (low exposure, $41,730 median), Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator (low exposure, $59,850 median), Highway Maintenance Worker (low exposure, $50,260 median). Each is also in the low category, and most are listed by O*NET as related to the work.

The AI exposure category is the Bureau of Labor Statistics'. The AI-resilience score and the activity breakdown are NueCareer's analysis of O*NET 31.0 Database data (method), not a federal figure. More: jobs most exposed to AI, jobs least exposed to AI, or check any job.