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LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT SALARIES UP BY 20
PERCENT
Firms Report 10 Percent Increase in Billings
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 7, 2006---The American Society of Landscape
Architects (ASLA) released preliminary results of its 2006
ASLA National Salary Survey and Business Indicators Survey
at a press conference in Minneapolis today. The event helped
kick off the ASLA 2006 Annual Meeting and EXPO.
According to the survey, average total compensation for landscape
architects, which includes base salary and bonuses but not
benefits, is $89,700. This is an increase of 20.2 percent
over the reported $74,600 in the 2004 survey.
Total compensation rose steadily by years of experience in
the 2006 survey. It peaked for those with 36 to 40 years of
experience and an average total compensation of $167,000 that
was far above any other group. The Pacific region was again
the top-earning region by total compensation, with an average
total compensation of $99,700 in 2006. The Pacific region
was also the top-earning region in both 2004 and in 1998.
The percentage of female respondents took a big jump in the
2006 survey. In the 1998 survey their share was 25 percent.
There was a very slight increase, to 26 percent, in 2004,
and a larger jump up to 30 percent in the 2006 survey. Further
demographics of the survey include: 91 percent white; 3 percent
African-American; 3 percent Asian-American; 1.4 percent Hispanic;
and 1.9 percent “other.” ASLA has launched a partnership
with the ACE Mentor Program, which introduces high school
students to careers in design and construction, to increase
the number and diversity of students entering the landscape
architecture profession.
The 2006 ASLA Business Indicators Survey reveals that there
are not enough landscape architects to meet the demand for
services, which is expected to continue to grow in the next
decade. While 62 percent of respondents indicated there was
a good supply of landscape architecture graduates, 38 percent
thought there were too few landscape architecture graduates.
No respondent thought that there was a surplus of new graduates
in the field. Almost half of the respondents (47 percent)
expect to hire landscape architects in the coming 12 months.
Respondents reported a 10 percent increase in billable hours
between 2005 and 2006.
Residential work continues to dominate the landscape architecture
market as it did in all previous surveys. Most of that work
(38 percent) consisted of single-family homes, with apartments
and condos comprising 9 percent of residential work and retirement
communities at 3 percent.
“Both surveys confirm what we’ve been hearing
from our members: that it’s a very good time to be a
landscape architect,” said Nancy C. Somerville, executive
vice president/CEO of ASLA. “With only 30,000 landscape
architects in the U.S. and the sustained growth in demand
for landscape architecture services, there is significant
opportunity for young people considering entering the profession.
The traditional market sectors—residential, parks and
recreation, planning, commercial—have all remained extremely
strong while less conventional fields such as stormwater management,
green roofs, and security design have grown significantly.”
The ASLA 2006 Annual Meeting and EXPO extends through Monday,
October 9, and features a number of renowned speakers and
the industry’s largest exhibit hall.
The 2006
ASLA National Salary and Business Indicators Surveys is
available for purchase from the ASLA web site at http://online.asla.org/scriptcontent/index_login.cfm.
The data is presented online, allowing subscribers to create
their own interactive charts and tables.
About ASLA
Founded in 1899, ASLA is the national professional association
for landscape architects, representing more than 17,000 members
in 48 professional chapters and 68 student chapters. Landscape
architecture is a comprehensive discipline of land analysis,
planning, design, management, preservation, and rehabilitation.
ASLA promotes the landscape architecture profession and advances
the practice through advocacy, education, communication, and
fellowship. Members of the Society use their “ASLA”
suffix after their names to denote membership and their commitment
to the highest ethical standards of the profession. Learn
more about landscape architecture online at www.asla.org.
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