Industry Overview

Lawn Care is a growing industry that has been proven to be recession-proof.

While growth has been fuelled by expansion of the housing market over the last several years, demographic trends indicate growth will extend beyond the housing boom, with an increasing greater percentage of homeowners hiring a professional lawn and landscape maintenance company. Maturing Baby Boomers and dual-income families continue to look to lawn care services to free up time for other priorities.

In the USA:
• Even as the average size of the lawn decreases, more families are contracting out for lawn service, according to data from the Vermont-based National Gardening Association.
• In 2003, 17% or 19.4 million households hired a professional lawn and landscape maintenance company, up from 15% in 2000 and 13% in 1998.
• The total spent by homeowners for these services has risen from $7.9 billion in 1998 to $9.7 billion in 2000 to $11.2 billion in 2003.

In Canada:
• Recent research (up to 2005) shows 20-40% of homeowners hire professional lawn care and maintenance companies.

Recession-proof
A 2002 Business Wire article compared the landscape gardening industry in relation to a general economical downturn over twelve months and concluded that that landscape gardening and gardening industry saw growth while others did not. This fact falls in line with prior industry data. According to the Market Research Director of the National Gardening Association, "Gardening held its own in the recessions of 1982, 1987, and 1990-91." Adding the downswing of 2002, in which the professional landscape gardening sector saw a surprising 12% growth, this unexpectedly strong marketplace has been seen growing in contrast to general economical lag in the last four recession time periods. This is a great industry to be in during difficult times!

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