Landscaper in New Jersey: licence, certification and what employers require (2026)

New Jersey does not license landscapers: no licence for landscapers; a pesticide applicator licence applies if you spray. This page says what a landscaper licensed or working in another state has to do to work in New Jersey, in the order to do it, and what goes wrong when the order is reversed.

How the transfer works

Landscaping itself is not licensed. Applying pesticides or herbicides commercially requires a state pesticide applicator licence, which transfers by reciprocity between many states through the state department of agriculture; irrigation work is licensed in a few states (Texas, for one). Check New Jersey's rule for the work you actually do.

What to have ready before you move

• Pesticide applicator licence and categories
• Irrigation licence if you hold one
• CDL if you drive the trucks

Start the paperwork before you give notice. There is no New Jersey licence to wait for, so the only clock is the employer's.

What people get wrong

• Spraying without the state licence; fines are per application

Who hires landscapers in New Jersey

Landscapers in New Jersey are hired by landscape contractors, golf courses, municipalities, property managers and tree services. The metros with the most of that work are Newark, Jersey City, Paterson and Elizabeth. Employers who could not hire locally and have filed with the Department of Labor are on the New Jersey openings page.

For the money side: the median landscaper in New Jersey earned $40,390 a year ($19 an hour) in May 2024 across 28,940 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and New Jersey has a progressive state income tax with a top rate of 10.75%. What that leaves you after tax is its own page.

Everything about New Jersey, on one page

The New Jersey page has the registries and boards, the income tax table, the programs that pay you to come and the openings filed this month. If you know which state you are leaving, the move pages compare the two directly. Creating a free Workmerica profile with your trade and your destination puts you in front of New Jersey employers hiring from out of state.