The 18 Metro Areas That Spend the Most Money on Lawn Care

San Jose, CA, certainly spends some green on its greens.

In 2015, residents of the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area spent the most per household on lawn care and gardening services among the 100 largest areas in the U.S. Per-household spending in the San Jose area amounted to $167.20 in 2015, according to data supplied to LawnStarter by Geographic Research.

As a whole, residents of the San Jose area coughed up more than $110.7 million in 2015 for lawn care and gardening services such as lawn mowing, fertilization, hedge trimming, tree removal, tree trimming and planting. This includes all outsourced services, except those covered by management or maintenance fees.

While the amount per household might seem low, keep in mind that the figure includes many households, such as apartments and condos, that don’t spend a penny on lawn care and gardening services.

San Jose is among five California areas ranked in the top 18 for per-household spending on lawn care and gardening services. The others in California are Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Napa, San Francisco-Oakland and Santa Rosa.

Photo: Flickr/Travis Wise

‘Matter of Pride’

Ali Harivandi, environmental horticulturist emeritus at the University of California Cooperative Extension in Alameda, cites several factors that contribute to the high amount of spending on lawn care and gardening in some areas of California. One of them is homeowner pride.

“Californians in general are very cognizant and sensitive about their surroundings,” Harivandi says. “Well-kept, groomed landscapes around home are a matter of pride, especially in high-income communities.”

High income also is a factor, he says. In the California areas where spending on lawn care and gardening is substantial, “there is a tendency to spend more money on amenities, such as landscaping around homes,” Harivandi says.

A third factor is California’s generally mild climate, prompting year-round landscape management.

“Although plant growth slows during the fall and winter months, most landscape plants are still green and growing. They still need some care even during winter months,” Harivandi says.