Did You Know?
Chicago’s Millennium Park, with its lawns, gardens, and giant mirrored sculpture, is secretly a rooftop. All 24.5 acres sit on top of parking garages and a commuter rail line, making it one of the largest green roofs in the world.
The Numbers Behind the Career
The median annual salary for landscape architects in the U.S. as of 2025 was $79,870.
About 1,700 landscape architect job openings are projected each year over the next decade.
There were about 23,500 landscape architects in the U.S. in 2025.
Where This Career Is Headed
The next decade will ask landscape architects to design with a wider range of conditions in mind than in the past, as regions experience weather patterns outside their historical norms more often. Plant selection will become a more specialized skill, as designers look beyond a region’s traditional plant palette toward species better suited to where the climate is heading. Coastal and low-lying communities will increasingly call on landscape architects to help plan how land near the water gets used over time, a kind of long-range planning the field is taking on more and more. Codes and regulations are also likely to catch up with what designers already know works, with stormwater management and green space increasingly required rather than treated as optional extras. Practitioners entering the field now will have more tools than ever to design landscapes built to perform well under a wider range of future conditions.
Landscape architects with strong knowledge of climate-adaptive and regionally resilient plants will be increasingly sought after as traditional plant palettes are reconsidered.
Coastal and floodplain communities will increasingly rely on landscape architects to plan long-term, thoughtful uses for vulnerable land, a growing and distinct area of practice.
As stormwater and green space requirements become standard rather than optional, landscape architects who can design and document strong environmental performance will be well positioned to lead major projects.
Education & Certification
Landscape architects typically need a bachelor’s or master’s degree in landscape architecture, usually from a program accredited by the Landscape Architectural Accreditation Board, combining design coursework with plant science, hydrology, and site engineering. Most programs include studio courses where students design real or hypothetical sites and defend their choices before instructors and peers, similar to how architecture students work. After graduating, most states require a period of supervised work experience under a licensed landscape architect before someone can sit for the licensing exam. Every state requires landscape architects to be licensed, so calling yourself a landscape architect without a license is not just discouraged; it is illegal.
Licensure requires passing the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (LARE), a multi-part national exam covering project management, site inventory and analysis, design, grading, drainage, and construction documentation. Because specific requirements vary somewhat by state, many landscape architects also join professional organizations like the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), which offers continuing education and keeps members current on changing codes and best practices.
To Prepare...
Take courses in earth science, environmental science, and art or drafting, which build the mix of scientific and design thinking landscape architecture requires.
Take geometry, trigonometry, and calculus if your school offers them, since grading, drainage, and site design all rely on strong spatial and applied math skills.
Join a school gardening club, environmental club, or art class that involves site-based or outdoor design projects, if your school offers one
