53 Lawn Mower Statistics

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These lawn mower figures cover the measurement periods and populations identified in the available source material. Estimates, surveys and forecasts retain their reported scope.

Key Lawn Mower Statistics

The main findings are:

  • The USDA Forest Service study measured residential turfgrass evapotranspiration at 0.6–1.3 mm of water per day in humid cities (Study published 2023; field measurements as reported; 79 U.S. residential households in six cities; humid-city lawns).
  • The Census Bureau profile reports 117,969 employer establishments in landscaping services in 2023 (United States; NAICS 561730).
  • EPA’s non-road factor table assigns lawn and garden equipment gasoline two-stroke engines a CH4 factor of 15.57 g/gallon (EPA factors modified 2020; Lawn and garden equipment; gasoline two-stroke).
  • A CPSC literature review cites approximately 80–100 lawn-mower-related deaths per year (Annual estimate cited in 2020 literature review; United States; push and riding mower accidents).
  • Among Pennsylvania trauma-center patients aged 0–17 in the cited 2002–2014 series, 53% had at least one amputation during hospitalization (January 2002–January 2014; Pennsylvania level trauma centers; ages 0–17).
  • The same study measured 2.2–3.6 mm of water per day in hot and dry cities (Study published 2023; field measurements as reported; 79 U.S. residential households in six cities; hot and dry-city lawns).
  • Landscaping-services employer revenue rose 14.3% to $63.6 billion in 2014 (United States; NAICS 561730).
  • EPA assigns gasoline two-stroke lawn and garden equipment an N2O factor of 0.06 g/gallon (EPA factors modified 2020; Lawn and garden equipment; gasoline two-stroke).
  • The same review cites about 80,000 emergency-department visits per year (Annual estimate cited in 2020 literature review; United States; lawn-mower injuries).
  • Riding mowers accounted for 92% of accidents where mower type was documented in the cited series (Cited 2016 series; Study population with lawn-mower-related accidents).
  • The humid-city ET range spans 0.7 mm/day from its low to high value (Study published 2023; field measurements as reported; Humid-city residential turfgrass lawns).
  • The BLS detailed 2025 grounds-maintenance employment total includes 1,188,600 landscaping and groundskeeping workers.
  • EPA assigns gasoline four-stroke lawn and garden equipment a CH4 factor of 5.84 g/gallon (EPA factors modified 2020; Lawn and garden equipment; gasoline four-stroke).
  • The review reports $90 million in annual medical and societal costs for riding- and push-mower injuries (Annual estimate cited in 2018 study review; United States; lawn-mower injuries).
  • In a cited pediatric level-1 trauma-center case series of 157 cases, 40% of patients had the reported outcome described in the review (1995–2005; Pediatric lawn-mower injuries at level-1 trauma centers).

Contents

Lawn mower statistics: use, lawn water demand and climate differences

  • The USDA Forest Service study measured residential turfgrass evapotranspiration at 0.6–1.3 mm of water per day in humid cities (Study published 2023; field measurements as reported; 79 U.S. residential households in six cities; humid-city lawns).

(Evapotranspiration of Residential Lawns Across…)
* The same study measured 2.2–3.6 mm of water per day in hot and dry cities (Study published 2023; field measurements as reported; 79 U.S. residential households in six cities; hot and dry-city lawns).

(Evapotranspiration of Residential Lawns Across…)
* The humid-city ET range spans 0.7 mm/day from its low to high value (Study published 2023; field measurements as reported; Humid-city residential turfgrass lawns).

(Evapotranspiration of Residential Lawns Across…)
* The hot-dry-city ET range spans 1.4 mm/day from its low to high value (Study published 2023; field measurements as reported; Hot and dry-city residential turfgrass lawns).

(Evapotranspiration of Residential Lawns Across…)
* BLS reports about 1,299,200 grounds-maintenance jobs in its current quick facts (May 2025 employment; current BLS page).

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)
* BLS reports a median grounds-maintenance wage of $19.27 per hour in May 2025 (United States; grounds-maintenance workers).

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)

Study sample covered six cities and measured turfgrass ET, not all household irrigation withdrawals.

City climate categories and measured lawns are not a national average.

Range width is calculated from the reported endpoints; it is not an additional observation.

Grounds-maintenance jobs include more than lawn mowing.

Median wage covers the occupation, not mower operators alone.

Lawn care and landscaping industry statistics: firms, revenue and employment

  • The Census Bureau profile reports 117,969 employer establishments in landscaping services in 2023 (United States; NAICS 561730).

(561730: Landscaping services – Census…)
* Landscaping-services employer revenue rose 14.3% to $63.6 billion in 2014 (United States; NAICS 561730).

(Internet Publishing Industry Revenue Reached…)
* The BLS detailed 2025 grounds-maintenance employment total includes 1,188,600 landscaping and groundskeeping workers.

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)
* BLS reports 70,600 tree trimmers and pruners within its 2025 grounds-maintenance total.

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)
* BLS reports 25,700 vegetation pesticide handlers, sprayers and applicators in 2025.

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)
* BLS reports 14,200 jobs in the 2025 grounds-maintenance-all-other category.

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)
* Services to buildings and dwellings employed 48% of grounds-maintenance workers in the BLS employer distribution (2025; United States; grounds-maintenance workers).

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)
* Self-employed workers represented 20% of the BLS grounds-maintenance employment distribution (2025; United States; grounds-maintenance workers).

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)
* Government employers represented 8% of BLS grounds-maintenance workers (2025; United States; grounds-maintenance workers).

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)
* Amusement, gambling and recreation industries represented 8% of BLS grounds-maintenance workers (2025; United States; grounds-maintenance workers).

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)
* BLS projects 5% growth in grounds-maintenance employment from 2025 to 2035 (2025–2035; United States; grounds-maintenance workers).

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)
* BLS projects about 162,500 annual openings for grounds-maintenance workers over 2025–2035 (Annual average, 2025–2035; United States; grounds-maintenance workers).

(Grounds Maintenance Workers: Occupational Outlook…)

NAICS 561730 includes landscape care, installation, and related services, not mower manufacturing or retail.

This is employer-firm revenue and excludes nonemployer firms in the cited comparison.

This subgroup is broader than dedicated lawn-mowing employment.

Tree-trimmer jobs are included in grounds maintenance but are not lawn-mower jobs.

This is an occupational subgroup, not a measure of pesticide use by lawns.

The residual category is broader than mowing.

Employer distribution is for the broad occupation, not a lawn-mowing-only sample.

Occupation-wide distribution; not a survey of mower ownership.

Government excludes the specified state/local education and hospital categories in the BLS breakdown.

Industry share covers grounds maintenance across facilities, not residential mowing.

Projection is for an occupation and is not a forecast of mower sales.

Openings include replacement demand and are not all new jobs.

Lawn mower emissions statistics: fuel types, pollutants and operating scale

  • EPA’s non-road factor table assigns lawn and garden equipment gasoline two-stroke engines a CH4 factor of 15.57 g/gallon (EPA factors modified 2020; Lawn and garden equipment; gasoline two-stroke).

(Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas…)
* EPA assigns gasoline two-stroke lawn and garden equipment an N2O factor of 0.06 g/gallon (EPA factors modified 2020; Lawn and garden equipment; gasoline two-stroke).

(Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas…)
* EPA assigns gasoline four-stroke lawn and garden equipment a CH4 factor of 5.84 g/gallon (EPA factors modified 2020; Lawn and garden equipment; gasoline four-stroke).

(Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas…)
* EPA assigns gasoline four-stroke lawn and garden equipment an N2O factor of 0.18 g/gallon (EPA factors modified 2020; Lawn and garden equipment; gasoline four-stroke).

(Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas…)
* EPA assigns diesel lawn and garden equipment a CH4 factor of 0.33 g/gallon (EPA factors modified 2020; Lawn and garden equipment; diesel).

(Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas…)
* EPA assigns diesel lawn and garden equipment an N2O factor of 0.47 g/gallon (EPA factors modified 2020; Lawn and garden equipment; diesel).

(Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas…)
* EPA assigns LPG lawn and garden equipment a CH4 factor of 0.35 g/gallon (EPA factors modified 2020; Lawn and garden equipment; LPG).

(Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas…)
* EPA assigns LPG lawn and garden equipment an N2O factor of 0.41 g/gallon (EPA factors modified 2020; Lawn and garden equipment; LPG).

(Emission Factors for Greenhouse Gas…)
* EPA reported Americans spend more than 3 billion hours per year using lawn and garden equipment (2007 EPA rule announcement).

(Small Engine Rule to Bring…)
* EPA reported a push mower emitted as much hourly pollution as 11 cars under the cited comparison (2007 EPA rule announcement; United States; cited push-mower comparison).

(Small Engine Rule to Bring…)
* EPA reported a riding mower emitted as much hourly pollution as 34 cars under the cited comparison (2007 EPA rule announcement; United States; cited riding-mower comparison).

(Small Engine Rule to Bring…)
* EPA said the proposed rule would add a 35% reduction in HC and NOx beyond an earlier 60% reduction phase-in (2007 rule announcement; Nonroad gasoline-powered lawn and garden engines).

(Small Engine Rule to Bring…)

Emission factor, not a direct measurement of one mower’s actual emissions.

Emission factor applies to the equipment category and fuel basis specified by EPA.

Category-level factor, not a model-specific mower test.

Factor is for the EPA equipment category, not residential mower fleet composition.

Factor is not a direct reading from a single mower.

Factor is category-level and fuel-based.

The statement covers lawn and garden equipment broadly, not lawn mowers only.

Historical EPA comparison; pollution metric and test assumptions are those of the announcement.

Historical comparison; not a current universal emissions ratio.

Regulatory reduction estimates are not measured reductions for every mower model.

Lawn mower injury statistics: emergency visits, deaths and medical costs

  • A CPSC literature review cites approximately 80–100 lawn-mower-related deaths per year (Annual estimate cited in 2020 literature review; United States; push and riding mower accidents).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* The same review cites about 80,000 emergency-department visits per year (Annual estimate cited in 2020 literature review; United States; lawn-mower injuries).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* The review reports $90 million in annual medical and societal costs for riding- and push-mower injuries (Annual estimate cited in 2018 study review; United States; lawn-mower injuries).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* Average hospital cost was reported as $45,000 for riding-mower injuries (Study cited by 2018 CPSC report; United States; riding-mower injuries).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* Average hospital cost was reported as $14,500 for push-mower injuries (Study cited by 2018 CPSC report; United States; push-mower injuries).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* The cited 2005–2015 estimate totals 934,394 lawn-mower injuries treated in U.S. emergency departments.

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* The review cites 9,000–17,000 child lawn-mower injuries per year in the United States (Annual range cited in 2021 study; United States; children).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* In a cited pediatric study, 25 of 27 injured patients were bystanders (1988 pediatric study; Pediatric lawn-mower injuries in the cited study).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* The CPSC estimate cited in the review says 800 children are run over each year by a riding mower or tractor (Annual estimate cited from CPSC 1999).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* The same cited CPSC estimate says 600 of those child run-over injuries require amputation (Annual estimate cited from CPSC 1999; United States; children run over by riding mowers or tractors).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)

The PDF reports this as a cited CPSC estimate; it is not a new prospective count.

Cited estimate combines push and riding mower accidents.

Cost estimate is attributed to Fletcher et al. and includes medical plus societal costs.

Historical average from the cited Lau et al. study; not inflation-adjusted here.

Period total is an estimate from the cited Harris et al. analysis, not a count of all injuries.

Range is reported from cited literature and may use different injury definitions than ED-only estimates.

Small historical case series; not a national rate.

Historical CPSC estimate reproduced in a later review.

Historical estimate; denominator and case ascertainment follow the cited CPSC source.

Lawn mower safety outcomes: injury mechanisms, children and mower types

  • Among Pennsylvania trauma-center patients aged 0–17 in the cited 2002–2014 series, 53% had at least one amputation during hospitalization (January 2002–January 2014; Pennsylvania level trauma centers; ages 0–17).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* Riding mowers accounted for 92% of accidents where mower type was documented in the cited series (Cited 2016 series; Study population with lawn-mower-related accidents).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* In a cited pediatric level-1 trauma-center case series of 157 cases, 40% of patients had the reported outcome described in the review (1995–2005; Pediatric lawn-mower injuries at level-1 trauma centers).

(Research into Riding Mower Back-Over…)
* CPSC’s walk-behind baseline estimated about 150,000 injuries from all types of power lawn mowers each year (1977 baseline cited in 1979 rule; United States; power lawn mowers).

(Rules and Regulations: Safety Standard…)
* CPSC estimated about 60,000 of those power-mower injuries were treated in hospital emergency rooms each year (1977 baseline cited in 1979 rule; United States; power lawn mowers).

(Rules and Regulations: Safety Standard…)
* CPSC estimated approximately 47,000 annual ED-treated injuries involved walk-behind mowers (1977 baseline cited in 1979 rule; United States; walk-behind mowers).

(Rules and Regulations: Safety Standard…)
* CPSC estimated approximately 30,000 annual ED-treated injuries involved contact with a rotating blade (1977 baseline cited in 1979 rule; United States; power lawn mowers).

(Rules and Regulations: Safety Standard…)
* CPSC estimated approximately 77,000 annual walk-behind blade-contact injuries when injuries not treated in emergency rooms were included (1977 baseline cited in 1979 rule; United States; walk-behind mowers).

(Rules and Regulations: Safety Standard…)
* CPSC’s baseline said approximately 50% of all lawn-mower injuries were due to blade contact with walk-behind mowers (1977 baseline cited in 1979 rule; United States; lawn-mower injuries).

(Rules and Regulations: Safety Standard…)
* CPSC estimated the walk-behind blade-contact standard would reduce or eliminate over 38% of all power-lawn-mower injuries (1979 regulatory estimate; United States; walk-behind safety standard estimate).

(Rules and Regulations: Safety Standard…)
* CPSC estimated the standard would address 77% of walk-behind blade-contact injuries (1979 regulatory estimate; United States; walk-behind mowers).

(Rules and Regulations: Safety Standard…)
* CPSC estimated 13% of walk-behind blade-contact injuries involved amputation of a body part (1977 baseline cited in 1979 rule; United States; walk-behind mowers).

(Rules and Regulations: Safety Standard…)
* CPSC estimated 15% of walk-behind blade-contact injuries involved fracture, crushing or similar severe trauma (1977 baseline cited in 1979 rule; United States; walk-behind mowers).

(Rules and Regulations: Safety Standard…)

Trauma-center case series is not representative of all pediatric mower injuries.

Only accidents with documented mower type are included; study setting and selection matter.

The available excerpt identifies the 40% figure but truncates the outcome label; use only with the original cited paper for full interpretation.

Historical regulatory baseline, not a current annual estimate.

Historical baseline and regulatory estimate.

Historical regulatory baseline.

Historical estimate includes non-ED-treated injuries.

Historical baseline definition and equipment mix should not be treated as current.

Regulatory impact estimate, not a post-implementation evaluation.

Regulatory estimate; the document notes some blade-contact situations were not addressed.

Historical estimate; usually fingers or toes according to the cited rule text.

Historical estimate; category wording follows the regulatory document.

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