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Hiring a landscape architect in Cape Coral, FL

Employers in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL area pay landscape architects a median of $80,880, with the middle half of the market between $59,750 and $119,360. Cape Coral residents working in architecture and engineering occupations report a median of $73,995, which is 9% below what the metro pays for this role.

What does a landscape architect earn here?

Place of work

What employers pay

Annual wages paid by employers in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL area. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
25th percentile$59,750
Median$80,880
75th percentile$119,360

Half of landscape architects in this area earn between $59,750 and $119,360. A band set below $59,750 competes for the bottom quarter of the market.

Place of residence

What Cape Coral residents earn

$73,995

Median earnings of Cape Coral residents working in architecture and engineering occupations, 1,272 people. Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011. Where people live, not where they work, so it is not the same measurement as the wages beside it.

The 9% figure is not a pay gap. ACS counts the civilian employed population 16 and over, part-time and part-year work included; OEWS counts wage-and-salary jobs only. The two populations differ, so read this number against other cities rather than as a shortfall: the same definitional difference applies to every city equally, which is what makes a city-to-city reading sound.

The two sit close together, so pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

What does the role actually involve?

Core tasks

  • Prepare graphic representations or drawings of proposed plans or designs.
  • Confer with clients, engineering personnel, or architects on landscape projects.
  • Integrate existing land features or landscaping into designs.
  • Inspect landscape work to ensure compliance with specifications, evaluate quality of materials or work, or advise clients or construction personnel.
  • Analyze data on conditions such as site location, drainage, or structure location for environmental reports or landscaping plans.

O*NET 29.1, task statements for SOC 17-1012.

Tools and technologies in demand

Adobe Creative Cloud software, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D, Autodesk Revit, ESRI ArcGIS software.

O*NET 29.1, flagged in demand or hot for this occupation. Useful as a screen, not as a checklist.

Is the talent actually in Cape Coral?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

That matters here, because 25.7% of Cape Coral adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a workable pool, but the search will reach beyond the city line. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501.

The average Cape Coral commute runs 29.1 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 13.1% already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Lee County, architectural, engineering and related services employs 2,858 and turns over 6.2% a quarter, with 247 hires against 248 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $7,898 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 5413.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about landscape architects. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a low-churn market, where people do not move often and passive candidates are the whole game.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's median would bill roughly $16,176 to $24,264 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Price this search

Eight questions about the role. Your tier range appears on screen.

Hiring a landscape architect somewhere else?

Same role, different market. The wage band moves with the metro.

Other architecture and engineering roles in Cape Coral

Related

Cape Coral is the 7th largest of 9 Florida cities in this dataset.