# Landscape Architects

US SOC code 17-1012. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/17-1012

Also called: Landscape designer (licensed), Site designer, Park designer, Urban landscape architect, Landscape planner.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **19,600** US landscape architects, with median pay of **$79,870** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **20,370**, in May 2023, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_of_Landscape_Architects) of **500** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for landscape architects: Integrated BIM-landscape platforms, 2015 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 4.4% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=17-1012&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **36.8%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)
- **0.045** estimated probability that the whole occupation could be computerised, over an unspecified number of years. Not a forecast of job losses. [Frey and Osborne, 2013](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf)

### Since the 2013 prediction

In 2013, Frey and Osborne put this job's probability of computerisation at 0.045. BLS counted **16,330** of these jobs in May 2013 and **19,600** in May 2025. The count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed how it estimates these counts, so no change is derived here.

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Landscape Architects employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1863
- Latest US employment: 19,600 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $79,870 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [11]
- Outlook: +4.4% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [28]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 21201)
  - Employment, 2020: 2,030. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [8]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 21201 Landscape architects, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$77,500. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [15]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 21201 Landscape architects, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 27 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Wikipedia / ASLA [1] |
| 1930 | 2,500 (estimate) | n/a | Est., History of landscape architecture [2] |
| 1970 | 8,000 (estimate) | $12,000 (estimate) | Est., CLARB About page (organization founded… (employment) [3]; Est., University of Missouri Libraries (pay) [9] |
| 1990 | 16,000 (estimate) | $35,000 (estimate) | Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (employment) [4]; Est., University of Missouri Libraries (pay) [10] |
| 2003 | 18,910 | $50,480 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 17,960 | $53,120 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 20,220 | $54,220 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 22,130 | $55,140 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 21,890 | $57,580 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 21,130 | $58,960 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 18,940 | $60,560 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 16,680 | $62,090 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 15,760 | $63,240 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 15,750 | $64,180 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 16,330 | $64,790 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 18,110 | $64,570 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 19,820 | $63,810 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 19,420 | $63,480 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 19,040 | $65,760 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 18,660 | $68,230 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 20,280 | $69,360 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 20,730 | $70,630 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 17,430 | $67,950 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 18,120 | $73,210 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 20,370 | $79,320 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 19,580 | $79,660 | BLS OEWS May 2024 (employment) [5]; BLS OEWS May 2024 (pay) [12] |
| 2025 | 19,600 | $79,870 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (96)

### Employment series

1. [ASLA Founders page (11 founding members, 1899) and American Society of Landscape Architects Wikipedia entry](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_of_Landscape_Architects), Wikipedia / ASLA
2. [History of landscape architecture, Wikipedia (profession growth interwar period)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_landscape_architecture), Wikipedia
3. [CLARB About page (organization founded 1970, representing state licensure boards)](https://www.clarb.org/about-clarb/), Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards
4. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Landscape Architects (current edition, with reference to historical growth trajectory)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/landscape-architects.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
7. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
8. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

9. [University of Missouri Libraries, Prices and Wages by Decade 1970-1979 (BLS wage survey historical context)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1970-1979), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
10. [University of Missouri Libraries, Prices and Wages by Decade 1980-1989 (BLS wage survey historical context)](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1980-1989), University of Missouri Libraries / BLS historical sources
11. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
12. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Landscape Architects (median annual wage $79,660, May 2024)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/landscape-architects.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
13. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2006, Table 97-563-XCB2006069 (Wage and salary statistics by occupation, NOC-S 2006), income reference year 2005](https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&PID=96285), Statistics Canada
14. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2016, Table 98-400-X2016356 (Occupation by employment income statistics, NOC 2016), income reference year 2015](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/en/catalogue/98-400-X2016356), Statistics Canada
15. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

16. [Library of Congress, Frederick Law Olmsted Papers (timeline: Landscape Architect for the Nation, 1865-1903)](https://www.loc.gov/collections/frederick-law-olmsted-papers/articles-and-essays/timeline/landscape-architect-for-the-nation-1865-to-1903/), Library of Congress
17. [History of landscape architecture, Wikipedia (profession tools and methods through the 19th and early 20th century)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_landscape_architecture), Wikipedia
18. [Harvard Graduate School of Design, Department of Landscape Architecture (SYMAP and early computer graphics history)](https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/landscape-architecture/), Harvard GSD
19. [Autodesk evolution article on Medium (AutoCAD released December 1982, targeted IBM PC, democratized CAD for design professionals)](https://medium.com/@ppfxvwvytxsfvh/autocad-the-evolution-and-enduring-legacy-of-the-design-software-that-transformed-industries-a80edbbd7520), Medium / Autodesk history
20. [Architizer Journal, "The Software That Changed Architecture: Reflecting on AutoCAD's Legacy"](https://architizer.com/blog/practice/tools/autocad-legacy/), Architizer
21. [Esri, ArcGIS Urban overview (Esri GIS tools in landscape architecture and urban planning)](https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-urban/overview), Esri
22. [Gardenvisit.com, Computer-aided design for landscape architecture, design and planning](http://web.archive.org/web/20100324172728/http://www.gardenvisit.com/landscape_architecture/computers_design/cad_design_software), Gardenvisit
23. [Lumion official website (Lumion 2010 founding, real-time rendering for landscape and architecture)](https://lumion.com/product/lumion-pro), Lumion
24. [Top landscape design software guide (SketchUp, Rhino, Grasshopper adoption in the profession)](https://thelandscapelibrary.com/10-top-softwares-for-landscape-design/), The Landscape Library
25. [Vectorworks Landmark (BIM-landscape platform, data structures for plant scheduling and IFC export)](https://www.vectorworks.net/en-US/landmark), Vectorworks
26. [Autodesk Civil 3D (grading optimization, stormwater coordination for landscape architecture)](https://www.autodesk.com/products/civil-3d/overview), Autodesk
27. [Land F/X, AI Plant Selection and Irrigation Design Tools for Landscape Architecture](https://www.landfx.com/), Land F/X

### Forecasts and exposure studies

28. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 17-1012 Landscape architects (2025: 23.5 thousand; 2035: 24.5 thousand; +4.4%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=17-1012&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
29. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 17-1012 Landscape Architects: probability 0.045, rank 133 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
30. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 17-1012.00, human-rated β 0.368)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

31. [Library of Congress, Frederick Law Olmsted Papers (landscape architect title adopted officially, 1863)](https://www.loc.gov/collections/frederick-law-olmsted-papers/articles-and-essays/timeline/landscape-architect-for-the-nation-1865-to-1903/), Library of Congress
32. [American Society of Landscape Architects, Wikipedia (ASLA founding members, January 4, 1899)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Society_of_Landscape_Architects), Wikipedia / ASLA
33. [Harvard Graduate School of Design, Department of Landscape Architecture (first landscape architecture degree, 1900)](https://www.gsd.harvard.edu/landscape-architecture/), Harvard GSD
34. [History of landscape architecture, Wikipedia (Ian McHarg, Design with Nature, 1969)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_landscape_architecture), Wikipedia
35. [CLARB, About CLARB (organization founded 1970)](https://www.clarb.org/about-clarb/), Council of Landscape Architectural Registration Boards
36. [Land8 Forum, Pre-recession landscape architecture (profession lost roughly one-third of workforce during 2007-2011 recession)](https://land8.com/forums/topic/pre-recession-landscape-architecture/), Land8 / ASLA member forum
37. [ASLA, Climate Action Plan (IIJA and IRA investment in landscape architecture project types)](https://www.asla.org/climateactionplan.aspx), American Society of Landscape Architects

### Predecessors & successors

38. [Library of Congress, Frederick Law Olmsted Papers (Olmsted and Vaux adopted "landscape architect" to distinguish from landscape gardeners, 1863)](https://www.loc.gov/collections/frederick-law-olmsted-papers/articles-and-essays/timeline/landscape-architect-for-the-nation-1865-to-1903/), Library of Congress
39. [Frederick Law Olmsted, Wikipedia (Central Park involved massive drainage engineering coordinated with civil engineers)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Law_Olmsted), Wikipedia
40. [O\*NET 17-1012.00 related occupations (Urban and Regional Planners as a career transition)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-1012.00), O\*NET / BLS

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Landscape Architects (17-1012.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/17-1012.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Landscape Architects (2024 edition)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/landscape-architects.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [ASLA — Climate Action Plan: Landscape Architecture and Climate Change](https://www.asla.org/climateactionplan.aspx), accessed 2026-05-24
- [ASLA — How Landscape Architects Are Incorporating Artificial Intelligence](https://www.asla.org/news-insights/the-field/how-landscape-architects-are-incorporating-artificial-intelligence), accessed 2026-06-22
- [Vectorworks — Vectorworks Landmark 2025: AI-Assisted Plant Scheduling and Drafting](https://www.vectorworks.net/en-US/landmark), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Land F/X — AI Plant Selection and Irrigation Design Tools for Landscape Architecture](https://www.landfx.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Lumion — Lumion 2025: AI Object Recognition and Real-Time Rendering for Landscape](https://lumion.com/product/lumion-pro), accessed 2026-05-24
- [D5 Render 3.0 — AI-powered real-time architectural and landscape visualization](https://www.d5render.com/posts/d5-render-3-0-ai-rendering-design-workflow), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Autodesk — Civil 3D Machine Learning Grading Optimization](https://www.autodesk.com/products/civil-3d/overview), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Autodesk — InfoDrainage: AI-Assisted Stormwater Modeling and Green Infrastructure](https://www.autodesk.com/products/infodrainage/overview), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Esri — ArcGIS Urban: Climate Scenario Planning for Urban Designers](https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-urban/overview), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Climate Positive Design — Pathfinder: Embodied Carbon and Sequestration Tool for Landscape Architects](https://climatepositivedesign.org/education/), accessed 2026-05-24

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.