A new survey focused on salaries in the horticulture industry found a wide range of salaries within positions, indicating that there are many career paths available.
Most Americans aren’t sure what horticulture is. And those who do know what it is think horticulture is something people do as a hobby, not a career, according to past research from Seed Your Future.
A new survey released in mid-July by Seed Your Future and the American Floral Endowment will help educate and push back against those misconceptions.
The online survey of horticulture jobs and salaries asked floriculture, nursery and landscaping businesses, as well as public gardens, about positions, pay and benefits. Of the 316 respondents, the floriculture segment had the most responses, with 100 businesses.
Jazmin Albarran, executive director of Seed Your Future, the industry organization charged with growing interest in careers in horticulture, says the data is a good starting point to give horticulture educators and advocates talking points to help combat misconceptions and drive more students and professionals into the horticulture industry.
Salaries Show Viable Career Paths
The survey showed a wide range of salaries within positions, which indicated that there are career paths available in horticulture, says John Dole, Ph.D., one of the salary study researchers, associate dean and director of academic programs at North Carolina State University and a member of Seed Your Future’s National Leadership Cabinet.
For example, annual salaries for floral designers ranged from $23,000 to $83,000. Grower salaries ranged from $25,000 to $68,000. Research/development manager salaries ranged from $50,000 to $190,000.
“It just shows that some folks have been in their position for quite a while and are apparently doing really well,” Dole says.
Industry advocates can use that data to show students that there is a opportunity for job advancement in the industry and that high-salary positions are available and achievable.
“The fact is that in our industry, like most other industries, the initial salaries are not high, but once you get some experience and get some longevity, then the salaries really start to go up,” says Dole. “There is a pathway here for folks to be very successful and really enjoy what they do.”
Some people who are passionate about horticulture may not pursue it as a career because of a misperception that the industry doesn’t have high-paying jobs, Dole says. Instead, they will pursue jobs for which they may be skilled, but not necessarily passionate. The survey shows the industry includes high-paying salary jobs that students may not realize can be combined with horticulture. For example, IT manager salaries were reported between $56,000 and $163,000.
“You have a fair number of students getting into IT because they think it’s lucrative,” says Dole. “If they get into IT and they have an interest in plants and they end up working in a greenhouse, that’s a lot more satisfying.”
Floriculture Salaries
One hundred floriculture businesses representing 50 states, as well as all 10 Canadian provinces, responded to the survey.
Maintenance manager was the highest-paid administrative position reported under floriculture, with an average annual salary of $112,468. The highest-paid position reported under florist was IT manager, with $87,480.
The highest paid executive position reported under floriculture was chief executive officer, with an average annual salary of $270,000. The only executive position reported under florist was owner, with an average salary of $74,937.
Benefits Matter
The majority of survey respondents indicated they offer a range of benefits to employees in both administrative and production positions. Albarran says it is encouraging to see the data because young people entering the job market expect businesses to offer more than good pay.
“This next generation of students, they want something different,” says Albarran. “They want benefits that speak to their mental health, their professional development.”
About 55 percent of floriculture businesses reported offering professional development opportunities for production employees such as floral designers, growers, delivery drivers, crew leaders, and retail managers. Albarran says “professional development” looks different for every business, from offering online workshops to attending industry conferences.
About 40 percent of businesses surveyed offer medical benefits for production employees and slightly less than 30 percent offer mental health benefits. Businesses also indicated they offered benefits beyond the survey’s scope, including maternity leave, flexible working environments, and profit sharing.
“As business owners, you have to really understand what your employees are looking for,” says Albarran, adding that she anticipates future data will show more businesses offering benefits that align with Generation Z’s expectations.
Future of the Survey
Seed Your Future plans to repeat the survey every two years. The next survey will open for submissions in 2024, with results released the following year. Albarran hopes more businesses will participate every year.
“The more data you have, the better,” she says. “Ideally we need thousands of entries across the country.”
As the data grows, Seed Your Future will be able to draw connections between data sets to answer questions about how factors such as region, education, and experience impact salaries, says Dole. The data will also show how salaries and benefits change over the years.
Seed Your Future is planning to release another survey, possibly this fall, about horticulture internships. Dole says they will ask companies whether they are offering student internships and what benefits they will provide.
Laurie Herrera is a contributing writer for the Society of American Florists.
