---
title: "Will AI Replace Landscapers? (2026)"
description: "BLS rates landscapers' exposure to AI as low. What that means, which parts of the work AI touches, and the 2025–2035 outlook (+4.7% projected)."
canonical: "https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-landscapers"
last-updated: "2026-10-15T08:19:32.066Z"
---

# Will AI Replace Landscapers? (2026)

**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.

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.

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BLS relative AI exposure | Low | BLS Employment Projections, AI exposure categories |
| NueCareer AI-resilience score | 48/100 | NueCareer analysis of O\*NET 31.0 Database |
| Projected employment change | +4.7% | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Openings a year | 149,500 | BLS EP 2025–2035 |
| Median annual wage | $39,150 | BLS OEWS May 2025 |

## Exposure categories

| BLS category | Occupations |
| --- | --- |
| Low (this job) | 203 |
| Moderate | 194 |
| High | 190 |
| Very high | 199 |

Exposure means AI could be or has been used to assist with or complete some of the work. BLS says it does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability or wage effects. Method: https://www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm

## What holds up

- Working outdoors in all weather: 4.6/5 (O\*NET work context)
- Controlling machines and processes: 3.8/5 (O\*NET work activity importance)

## What AI reaches first

None rated clearly above the midpoint.

## O\*NET tasks

- 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.

## Related careers that are also low-exposure

- [Tree Trimmer and Pruner](https://nuecareer.com/careers/tree-trimmer-and-pruner): BLS exposure Low, median $50,960
- [Agricultural Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/agricultural-equipment-operator): BLS exposure Low, median $41,730
- [Operating Engineer and Other Construction Equipment Operator](https://nuecareer.com/careers/operating-engineer-and-other-construction-equipment-operator): BLS exposure Low, median $59,850; [Will AI replace heavy equipment operators?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-heavy-equipment-operators)
- [Highway Maintenance Worker](https://nuecareer.com/careers/highway-maintenance-worker): BLS exposure Low, median $50,260; [Will AI replace highway maintenance workers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-highway-maintenance-workers)
- [Helpers--Pipelayer, Plumber, Pipefitter, and Steamfitter](https://nuecareer.com/careers/helpers-pipelayer-plumber-pipefitter-and-steamfitter): BLS exposure Low, median $42,360
- [Farmworker and Laborer, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse](https://nuecareer.com/careers/farmworker-and-laborer-crop-nursery-and-greenhouse): BLS exposure Low, median $35,660; [Will AI replace farmworkers and laborers?](https://nuecareer.com/careers/will-ai-replace-farmworkers-and-laborers)

## 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.

Full profile: https://nuecareer.com/careers/landscaping-and-groundskeeping-worker.

---

This bank includes information from the O\*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. NueCareer has transformed the data by joining it to BLS wage and projection data and deriving facet, personality-fit and AI-resilience scores. BLS and BEA data are public domain (17 U.S.C. §105).

O\*NET content is used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). How these figures are sourced and derived: https://nuecareer.com/careers/methodology