How much can you make with a lawn care business?

A solo lawn care operator mowing 4-6 lawns per day can realistically earn $50,000-$80,000 in annual gross revenue. After fuel, maintenance, insurance, and other expenses, take-home profit is typically 50-65% since overhead is low. A two-person crew can push revenue to $100,000-$150,000, and operators with multiple crews regularly exceed $200,000-$300,000. The key variable is how many recurring weekly clients you can stack — each weekly mowing client is worth $1,500-$3,000 per year depending on your market.

What is the difference between a lawn care business and a landscaping business?

Lawn care focuses on maintaining existing lawns — mowing, edging, trimming, fertilizing, aerating, and weed control. Landscaping is broader and includes garden design, planting, mulching, hardscaping (patios, retaining walls), tree work, irrigation installation, and grading. Lawn care has lower startup costs because you do not need heavy equipment like skid steers or plate compactors. Many operators start with lawn care and expand into landscaping services as they grow, but plenty of businesses stay focused on lawn maintenance because the recurring revenue model is simpler and margins are strong.

What is the best mower to start a lawn care business?

For your first season with fewer than 15 accounts, a quality push mower ($300-500) like the Honda HRX217 or Toro Recycler works fine for small residential lawns. Once you hit 15-25 weekly accounts, upgrade to a 36" or 48" commercial walk-behind ($2,000-5,000) from Exmark, Scag, or Toro — this doubles your speed. At 30+ accounts, a zero-turn mower ($5,000-12,000) becomes essential for efficiency. Buy used commercial equipment to save 30-50% — these machines are built to last thousands of hours. Avoid big-box residential mowers for commercial use; they are not built for daily punishment.

Do you need a license for lawn care?

At minimum, you need a business license from your city or county ($50-200). Unlike full landscaping, most states do not require a contractor license for basic mowing and maintenance. However, if you plan to apply fertilizers, herbicides, or any pest control products, you must obtain a pesticide applicator license from your state's Department of Agriculture, which requires passing an exam. Some states also require registration with the Department of Agriculture for any commercial lawn care activity. Check your specific state's requirements — they vary significantly.

How many lawns can you mow in a day?

A solo operator with a push mower can mow 4-6 average residential lawns per day (roughly 5,000 sq ft each), including drive time. With a commercial walk-behind mower, that increases to 6-10 lawns. With a zero-turn mower and efficient routing, 8-12 lawns per day is realistic. A two-person crew with a zero-turn can hit 12-18 lawns per day. The biggest time sinks are drive time between jobs (cluster your clients geographically), trimming and edging (often takes as long as mowing), and loading/unloading. Tight route scheduling in the same neighborhoods is the single biggest efficiency gain.

How do you price lawn care services?

Most lawn care operators charge $35-75 per mow for an average residential lawn (5,000-10,000 sq ft), depending on the market and lawn complexity. Common pricing methods include per-visit flat rate (simplest), per-square-foot ($0.005-$0.01/sq ft), or monthly contracts (4-5 visits/month). Monthly contracts at $150-250/month provide predictable income and better client retention. For additional services, aeration runs $80-200, fertilization $50-100 per application, and overseeding $100-250. Price to cover your costs plus a 40-60% margin — do not race to the bottom on price. Quality and reliability matter more than being the cheapest.

Home / Lawn Care Business Startup Costs

How Much Does It Cost to Start a Lawn Care Business?

$3,000 – $50,000

A lawn care business focuses on lawn maintenance — mowing, edging, trimming, fertilizing, aeration, and weed control. Unlike full-service landscaping, you are not designing gardens, building retaining walls, or operating heavy equipment. That narrower scope means significantly lower startup costs. You can start solo with a push mower, a trimmer, and a truck for under $3,000 and scale into a crew-based operation with commercial zero-turn mowers for $50,000 or less.

Last updated Mar 2026 · Based on Equipment MSRP from John Deere, Toro, Husqvarna, STIHL, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP)

How Others Funded Their Lawn Care Business

Based on 4,613 startup loans (NAICS 561730)

$150K

Median SBA startup loan

25th: $30,00075th: $298,600

Confidence: medium — NAICS match is approximate

Source: SBA 7(a) & 504 loan data, FY2010–2025

What Lawn Care Business Staff Earn

National median wages

Occupation	Hourly	Annual
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers	$18.31/hr	$38,090
First-Line Supervisors of Landscaping Workersowner	$27.01/hr	$56,170

Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024

Lawn Care Business Industry Snapshot

Total Establishments

117.1K

117,109 nationwide

Total Employees

774K

across all locations

Avg Employees / Location

6.6

per establishment

Avg Annual Payroll / Employee

$49,769

annual compensation

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 · NAICS 561730

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