Best degree programs for Landscape Architects, ranked by enrollment
2 college programs and 89 schools train Landscape Architects. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $79,870 median wage, 19,600 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
2 college programs at 89 schools train landscape architects, graduating 2,013 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Landscape Architecture. The job pays a median of $79,870 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About landscape architects
Plan and design land areas for projects such as parks and other recreational facilities, airports, highways, hospitals, schools, land subdivisions, and commercial, industrial, and residential sites.
A landscape architect is a person who is educated and trained in the field of landscape architecture.
Read more on Wikipedia →Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
2 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Landscape Architecturemain feeder CIP 04.0601 | 1,313 | 65.2% | 64 | $53,098 | $27,000 |
| 2 | CIP 04.0401 | 700 | 34.8% | 42 | $40,176 | $22,844 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What landscape architects earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $98,380 | 2,310 | 1.00× | 8 | 297 |
| Coloradomoderate | $78,290 | 690 | 1.90× | 3 | 201 |
| New York | $87,360 | 920 | 0.75× | 6 | 134 |
| Pennsylvania | $77,130 | 910 | 1.19× | 6 | 111 |
| Texas | $89,220 | 1,450 | 0.82× | 6 | 95 |
| Georgialimited | $73,570 | 410 | 0.67× | 1 | 70 |
| Floridamoderate | $79,650 | 1,210 | 0.96× | 4 | 67 |
| Ohiomoderate | $63,790 | 480 | 0.68× | 4 | 63 |
| North Carolinamoderate | $83,420 | 1,080 | 1.73× | 3 | 62 |
| Massachusettsmoderate | $88,000 | 500 | 1.10× | 4 | 58 |
| Alabamalimited | $101,220 | 230 | 0.87× | 1 | 53 |
| Arizonalimited | $75,310 | 390 | 0.96× | 2 | 52 |
| Oregonlimited | $73,600 | 350 | 1.41× | 2 | 43 |
| Washingtonlimited | $76,720 | 760 | 1.70× | 1 | 39 |
| Tennesseelimited | $95,250 | 260 | 0.62× | 2 | 38 |
| New Jerseylimited | $95,020 | 360 | 0.66× | 1 | 37 |
| Utahlimited | $94,430 | 90 | 0.39× | 1 | 34 |
| Iowalimited | $87,270 | 80 | 0.40× | 1 | 33 |
| Indianalimited | $64,980 | 460 | 1.15× | 2 | 33 |
| Illinoislimited | $67,460 | 810 | 1.05× | 2 | 30 |
| Wisconsinlimited | $69,520 | 450 | 1.21× | 1 | 28 |
| Louisianalimited | — | 110 | 0.47× | 1 | 27 |
| Nevadalimited | $85,140 | 180 | 0.94× | 2 | 25 |
| Virginialimited | $81,380 | 570 | 1.11× | 2 | 25 |
| New Mexicolimited | $71,990 | 50 | 0.45× | 2 | 22 |
| Rhode Islandlimited | $85,420 | 90 | 1.41× | 1 | 19 |
| Arkansaslimited | $60,840 | 100 | 0.63× | 1 | 15 |
| Connecticutlimited | $76,680 | 270 | 1.26× | 1 | 15 |
| Kansaslimited | $73,760 | 150 | 0.85× | 1 | 14 |
| Oklahomalimited | $64,370 | 170 | 0.78× | 2 | 13 |
| Delawarelimited | — | 30 | 0.54× | 1 | 10 |
| Nebraskalimited | $62,170 | 190 | 1.45× | 1 | 10 |
| Kentuckylimited | $68,460 | 140 | 0.56× | 1 | 9 |
| Marylandlimited | $92,880 | 870 | 2.49× | 1 | 9 |
| Michiganlimited | $77,670 | 650 | 1.17× | 1 | 9 |
| South Dakotalimited | $70,620 | 80 | 1.42× | 1 | 8 |
| Missourilimited | $76,670 | 110 | 0.29× | 1 | 7 |
| Idaholimited | $73,950 | 160 | 1.44× | 1 | 6 |
| Minnesotalimited | — | 400 | 1.06× | 1 | 6 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $71,500 | 50 | 0.54× | 1 | 1 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Confer with clients, engineering personnel, or architects on landscape projects.
- Analyze data on conditions such as site location, drainage, or structure location for environmental reports or landscaping plans.
- Inspect landscape work to ensure compliance with specifications, evaluate quality of materials or work, or advise clients or construction personnel.
- Prepare site plans, specifications, or cost estimates for land development.
- Integrate existing land features or landscaping into designs.
- Collaborate with architects or related professionals on whole building design to maximize the aesthetic features of structures or surrounding land and to improve energy efficiency.
- Prepare graphic representations or drawings of proposed plans or designs.
- Inspect proposed sites to identify structural elements of land areas or other important site information, such as soil condition, existing landscaping, or the proximity of water management facilities.
Skills
- Reading Comprehension4.1
- Active Listening4.1
- Speaking4.1
- Critical Thinking3.9
- Writing3.6
- Active Learning3.5
- Monitoring3.1
- Mathematics3.1
Knowledge areas
- Design4.7
- Building and Construction4.0
- Geography3.9
- Engineering and Technology3.8
- English Language3.8
- Customer and Personal Service3.6
Abilities
- Oral Expression4.3
- Oral Comprehension4.3
- Written Comprehension4.1
- Originality4.1
- Visualization4.1
- Fluency of Ideas4.0
Core activities
- Drafting, Laying Out, and Specifying Technical Devices, Parts, and Equipment4.5
- Getting Information4.5
- Thinking Creatively4.5
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.3
- Communicating with People Outside the Organization4.2
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.2
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Landscape Architect
Job zone 4 of 5 · SVP 7.0 to < 8.0- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- On-the-job training
- Internship/residency
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 2 majors mapped to Landscape Architects2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 04.0401Environmental Design/Architecture
- 04.0601Landscape Architecture
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become a Landscape Architect?+
Bachelor's degree is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Landscape Architecture, which awarded 1,313 degrees in 2024-25, 65.2% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Landscape Architect?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Landscape Architecture, Environmental Design. Together they graduate about 2,013 people a year.
How much do landscape architects earn?+
The median is $79,870 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $54,770 at the 10th percentile to $130,190 at the 90th. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for landscape architects growing?+
BLS projects a +3.5% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 1,700 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
89 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do landscape architects work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Park Planner, Landscape Planner, Landscape Architect, Golf Course Architect among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 17-1012.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024-25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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