LawnStarter Internal Data • Full Year 2025
From 2M+ mows across 2K+ cities — the most comprehensive look at how America maintains its lawns.
2025 National Snapshot
What do professional lawn care services actually cost? LawnStarter crunched 2+ million mows across 2K+ cities — here's what the data reveals.
Seasonal Patterns
July is peak mow month. January barely exists. The industry runs on a 9-month active season — March through November — with a 3-month winter shutdown in December, January, and February.
Total completed mowing jobs by month. December–February = off-season. March & November = shoulder months. April–October = peak mowing season.
Peak summer demand dwarfs the off-season by more than 6X — a volume surge that hits like clockwork, every year.
Average price per mow climbs from $49.28 in January to $54.66 in August — a 10.9% premium just for being peak season. Prices per mow also rose +6.6% year-over-year vs. 2024. Demand-side pricing at work.
Climate & Season
Your latitude determines your lawn care calendar. Gulf and Pacific Coast states run near-year-round. Upper Midwest and New England states race through a brief warm-weather window. The difference reshapes what homeowners spend and how pros plan their business.
Based on 2025 completion data. Darker = longer active season. National average: 8 months.
Florida mows nearly every month of the year. Texas's long warm corridors, Louisiana's Gulf humidity, and Washington, D.C.'s mild winters keep lawns growing well into late fall. Homeowners in these states pay for lawn care almost continuously — and pros build their businesses around steady, uninterrupted demand.
Minnesota, Vermont, New Hampshire, Montana, and Wyoming all run just 6 months — the shortest mowing seasons in the country. Pros in these markets compress a full year's revenue into a sprint, which drives prices well above the national average despite lower year-round demand.
Scheduling Behavior
Thursday leads the week — but Wednesday is right behind it at 16.8%. All five weekdays cluster tightly between 15% and 17%. The real drop-off is the weekend: Saturday falls to 10.8% and Sunday bottoms out at just 7.2%.
Completed mowing jobs, 2025
Weekdays dominate. Saturday adds 10.7%. Sunday is the industry's day off at just 7.2% — the lightest day despite homeowners being home.
Mon–Fri all land between 15.2% and 16.9%. Thursday leads at 16.9%, Wednesday follows at 16.8% — just 0.1 points behind, with Friday close at 16.7%. Then Saturday falls sharply to 10.8% and Sunday bottoms out at 7.2%. The five-day work week is real for pros.
Service Patterns
72.9% of all lawn mowing in 2025 runs on a biweekly schedule. Weekly customers are the power users. Monthly is more common than most assume.
Share of 2025 mowing jobs by service frequency
Roughly 3 in 4 mows run every 8–21 days. This is the industry standard — enough time for meaningful growth, short enough to stay manageable. It's also the most profitable frequency for pros.
13.2% of customers choose weekly mowing — a pristine, perfectly manicured lawn every single week. Meanwhile 13.9% mow monthly or less, typically for basic upkeep or seasonal properties.
Weather Impact
Weather disrupts 1 in 10 mows in some states — and less than 1 in 30 in others. Here's where rain, wind, and storms cost homeowners and pros the most lost appointments.
Based on 2025 mowing jobs. Darker = more weather-related disruptions. National average: ~5.7% disruption rate.
Weather disruption clusters in two distinct regions: Connecticut leads nationally at 10.89%, joined by the Mid-Atlantic states, where coastal storms and nor'easters routinely interrupt service. Meanwhile, Gulf moisture drives high disruption across the South — Alabama (9.49%), Arkansas (8.95%), and Tennessee (8.53%) all rank among the most weather-affected states in the country.
New Mexico's arid climate means mows almost always happen as planned. South Dakota's dry plains and Oregon's predictable patterns keep disruptions rare too. If you want a dependable lawn care schedule, the desert Southwest is hard to beat.
Regional Breakdown
Regional geography drives pricing more than any other single factor. The Northeast averages $58.17 per mow — 14% above the West's $50.90. California, Arizona, and New Mexico pull the West's average down sharply despite Seattle and Denver's elevated prices.
Weighted state averages grouped by census region (avg price/mow by state)
CT ($63.74) → NH ($63.22) → MA ($61.91) → NJ ($60.04). 6 of the 7 Northeast states exceed the national average. High labor costs, shorter growing seasons, and wealthier suburbs create a perfect storm of premium pricing.
Despite Seattle ($55.71) and Denver ($54.23), average costs out West are brought down by California ($45.27), Arizona ($45.08), and New Mexico ($45.05) — 3 of the 4 cheapest states for lawn mowing in America.
Geography of Price
When it comes to the cost of a mow, a $33.07 gap separates the most expensive state from the cheapest — Vermont at $78.15 compared with Arizona at $45.08.
Based on 2025 completed mows. Most states 500+ jobs; smaller markets (AK, HI, VT, WY) included where sufficient data exists. MT excluded — insufficient volume. National average: $53.59 per mow.
Vermont’s high prices reflect large rural properties with expansive yards, limited contractor competition in a sparse market, and a compressed 6-month season that pushes pros to charge premium rates to cover annual overhead.
Arizona’s desert climate has driven a major shift away from traditional grass lawns. Water restrictions and xeriscaping trends mean fewer properties need regular mowing — those that do tend to be smaller suburban patches. Combined with fierce contractor competition in Phoenix and Tucson, prices settle at the nation’s lowest.
City-level methodology: avg price ÷ avg yard size per city, aggregated to state. Only cities with sufficient completed mows in both years included. National average: +4.8% year-over-year. Montana, Hawaii, Alaska, Wyoming, and South Dakota excluded due to insufficient volume or single-city coverage.
Market Pricing
Atlanta, Nashville, Charlotte, Dallas, and Houston — all major metros — come in well below the national average of $6.30 per 1,000 sq ft. Raleigh sits at $5.30, roughly the same as Knoxville. Market size isn’t the driver here: region is.
Major markets with sufficient data, sorted lowest to highest price per 1,000 sq ft.
Philadelphia charges $18.60 per 1,000 sq ft — nearly 3× the national average of $6.38. Washington, D.C. ($17.80) and Chicago ($15.70) follow. Dense urban lots with small yard sizes drive the per-sq ft rate up sharply even when total job price looks moderate.
$4.80/1,000 sq ft — Knoxville, Tennessee, delivers the lowest per-sq ft rate of all tracked markets. Raleigh, North Carolina ($5.30), Atlanta ($5.80), and Nashville, Tennessee ($5.80) are similarly affordable on a square-foot basis.
A $55 mow in Chicago covers a tiny 3,400 sq ft lot — that’s $15.70/1,000 sq ft. The same $55 in Nashville covers a 9,500 sq ft yard — just $5.80/1,000 sq ft. Per-sq ft pricing reveals true market cost differences that the headline mow price obscures.
Annual cost = avg price/mow × avg mows per property per year. National average: $407/yr.
Year-round growing seasons don’t just mean more mows — they mean $318 more per year. Orlando homeowners schedule mows across 11 months a year, totaling $576/yr. Detroit customers request mows across just a few months a year, totaling $258/yr. Climate, not price, is the biggest driver of total annual lawn care spend.
Best Value Markets
Ranked by price per 1,000 square feet, these are the cities where you get the most lawn mowed for the least money. The lower the cost per square foot, the further your budget goes. National average: $6.38/1,000 sq ft.
ZIP Code Pricing
Within a single city, lawn care prices per square foot can vary dramatically depending on the neighborhood. Suburban ZIP codes consistently run 30–60% above urban core ZIPs — driven by larger lot sizes, not service differences.
Los Angeles leads all tracked markets with a $38 gap between its cheapest and most expensive ZIP codes. Glendale, Arizona ($37), Euless, Texas ($33), and Woodinville, Washington ($30) aren’t far behind. In many cities, your neighborhood matters as much as your state — sometimes more.
Dollar price spread (max ZIP avg minus min ZIP avg per mow). ZIP codes with fewer than 25 completed mows or average yard sizes outside 2,000–20,000 sq ft excluded; prices filtered to $20–$200.
Suburban ZIP codes consistently price 30–60% above urban core ZIPs — driven by larger yard sizes, not service quality. The most variable cities show extreme intra-city gaps that dwarf even state-to-state price differences. Same company. Same mow. Different neighborhood.
Tipping Culture
In Amarillo, Texas, more than half of all lawn care customers tip their pro. In Orlando, fewer than 1 in 5 do. The national average sits at 27% — but that number hides a map of extremes, from Texas generosity to Florida indifference. Which city’s pros actually earn the most in tips per job?
*LawnStarter matches customer tips for our Platinum-level lawn care pros — our highest-rated providers with the strongest track records of consistent, high-quality work. All LawnStarter pros keep 100% of their tips.
Part I
Highest tip rates nationally among all cities with 500+ completed 2025 mows — not just the largest metros. Smaller markets with strong tipping cultures dominate this list. Texas cities highlighted.
Part II
% of mowing jobs that got a tip, among the 20 largest markets. Not small towns — these are major metros doing thousands of jobs each. Knoxville leads at 32.2%; Orlando is dead last at 17.6%. Major-market avg: 24.8%.
Avg tip dollar amount, only counting jobs that received a tip. Chattanooga leads at $11.68; Houston comes in lowest at $7.92 — a nearly $4 gap between the top and bottom markets.
When customers tip, how much are they actually leaving? Measured as a share of the total job cost, San Antonio customers tip the highest — 19.4% of the bill on average. Lakeland tips the smallest share at 16.4%. The national average is 17.9%, shown here across 20 major markets.
Each dot is a city. X-axis: tip rate (% of mows tipped). Y-axis: avg tip amount when tipped. The quadrants reveal why tip rate alone doesn’t predict earnings. Hover over any dot for full stats.
Tip rate × avg tip amount, spread across all mows — tipped or not. This is the tip amount pros pocket, on average, per mow. Chattanooga ($3.47) earns more than double what Orlando pros make ($1.45). That $2.02/mow gap adds up: at 6 mows/day over a 35-week season, it's worth over $2,100 in additional take-home pay.
Myth #1
“Pricier markets tip more”
Orlando charges more per sq ft than Charlotte — but tips at a smaller rate (17.6% vs. 27%).
Myth #2
“Big cities tip the most”
New York, LA, and Chicago all hover near the national average. It’s mid-size Texas cities and Spartanburg, SC that dominate the top 10.
Myth #3
“Warm weather = generous tips”
Seattle (36.3%) and Colorado Springs (37.7%) outperform every Florida city. Tipping culture is regional habit, not climate.
Myth #4
“High tip rate = high tip earnings”
Rate and amount are independent. A city with a 35% rate and a $9 avg tip earns less per mow than one with 30% and $11. Effective tip per mow is the number that matters.
% of completed mowing jobs that received a tip, by state. States with fewer than 290 mows excluded. National average: ~27%.
“I'm usually surprised by the tips, positive comments, and 5-star ratings,” says LawnStarter pro David Beach (Westside Mowing) in San Antonio. “As long as you take pride in your work and are professional, I think the accolades, whether they are monetary or documented praise, come on their own without having to make a concentrated effort.”
Beyond cash tips, our pros share that they appreciate courtesy gifts like water and snacks the most. Another San Antonio LawnStarter pro, Gabriel Sosa (At Your Service), says, “I did receive home-baked Christmas cookies once.” For many pros, these gestures are a bonus — not an expectation. “I try to treat all my customers exactly the same, tip or no tip,” Sosa shares.
Year-Over-Year · 2024 vs. 2025 · 2K+ Cities
Something shifted in 2025 — across more than 2,000 cities, the national tip rate jumped from 19.1% to 26.7% in a single year, with 4 in 5 markets posting gains. What’s surprising is that the average tip dollar barely budged. This wasn’t existing tippers spending more — it was an entirely new wave of people starting to tip their lawn pros for the first time.
Three things can change in tipping: how often customers tip (the tip rate — share of jobs that got a tip), how much they tip (the dollar amount), and what share of the total bill they tip. Map labels show relative change in tip rate. Color reflects how tip rate and tip dollar shifted together from 2024 to 2025. Hover any state to see all three metrics.
Top 20 Major Markets
Among the 20 largest markets, every single city saw its tip rate rise. Nashville and St. Louis both gained more than 10 percentage points. Even Detroit, the most reluctant market, climbed nearly 5 points.
How much more often did customers tip in 2025 vs. 2024? Each bar shows the gain in tip rate from biggest to smallest. National average: +7.6 percentage points. Darker green = bigger gain.
Change in average tip dollar amount per tipped job. Mixed results — Chicago saw +$0.47 more per tip; Detroit dropped −$0.54. National average change: +$0.14.
Of the total job price, what percentage do customers tip? Yellow = 2024, green = 2025. Every city slipped slightly — because new tippers tend to start with smaller tips relative to the bill. Nationally, the share fell from 18.6% to 17.9% of the total job price.
As tipping for outdoor services becomes culturally normalized — mirroring the path restaurants took decades ago — frequency rises first. Dollar amounts typically follow in subsequent years once the behavior is fully established.
Nashville’s tip rate jumped from 19.5% to 30.3%, lifting the effective tip per mow from $1.95 to $3.05. At 6 mows/day over a 35-week season, that’s over $1,150 more in take-home tip earnings in 2025 than in 2024 — from rate improvement alone, without any single customer tipping a dollar more.
Looking Ahead
All systems are green (or greening up) across the U.S. Lawn care pros have been mowing yards in Texas for weeks, Florida is starting slowly because of the ongoing drought, and lawn care pros are struggling with gas prices, which fuel their trucks and power much of their lawn care equipment. We're tracking mows, frequencies, prices, and tips for a similar by-the-numbers LawnStarter industry report next year. Will July 3 be the peak mowing day for 2026? Stay tuned.
The Full Picture
Every season. Every schedule. Here's what 2M+ mowing jobs reveal about how America cares for its lawns.
Methodology
Data covers lawn mowing service transactions completed through LawnStarter across 2K+ U.S. cities in 2025. The full dataset includes 2M+ mowing jobs. Metrics include price per 1,000 sq ft, tip amount and frequency, weather disruption rate, and mows per property per year. All weighted averages are calculated by mow volume. State-level figures are computed from cities in the LawnStarter dataset, weighted by mow volume, and are representative of LawnStarter service areas. Annual cost estimates multiply average price by average mows per property for cities where both metrics are available. Weather disruption is defined as mowing jobs rescheduled or cancelled due to weather. Tip data reflects voluntary gratuities at time of payment.