H-2B Seasonal Workers by State: Where Landscapers Rely on Them (2026)

Updated October 12, 2026. Data: U.S. Labor Department, seasonal guest-worker program decisions from November 2025 through June 2026 (fiscal 2026, first three quarters). The next quarterly file usually comes out in the fall.

Employers got approval for 206,642 seasonal H-2B jobs in the first three quarters of fiscal 2026. Landscaping crews were by far the biggest group: 97,237 jobs, or 47% of the total. Texas had the most approved jobs (20,359), followed by Florida (12,544) and North Carolina (10,345).

The H-2B program lets U.S. employers bring in workers from other countries for seasonal, non-farm work, like spring landscaping, summer resorts, crab processing or holiday-season jobs. Before a business can hire this way, the U.S. Labor Department has to certify that there aren’t enough U.S. workers available for the job. This page counts those approvals by the state where the work happens.

H-2B jobs approved by state

The jobs employers asked for most

• Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers: 97,231 jobs (47.1%)
• Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners: 13,469 jobs (6.5%)
• Amusement and Recreation Attendants: 9,203 jobs (4.5%)
• Construction Laborers: 8,042 jobs (3.9%)
• Cooks, Restaurant: 7,924 jobs (3.8%)
• Forest and Conservation Workers: 6,913 jobs (3.3%)
• Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers: 5,499 jobs (2.7%)
• Fast Food and Counter Workers: 5,360 jobs (2.6%)

Landscaping is in a league of its own. Crews need lots of people from March to November, and many owners say they can’t find enough local workers for those months. Housekeeping at hotels and resorts, amusement park jobs, construction laborers and restaurant cooks round out the top five.

State-by-state table

Click a column to sort. “Landscaping share” is the part of each state’s approved jobs that were for landscaping and groundskeeping.

What this means if you run a seasonal business

• The numbers are approvals, not arrivals. A certified job still has to fit under the national cap (66,000 a year, split between the two halves of the year, plus any extra visas the government releases) and get a visa from the State Department. So fewer people actually arrive than this table shows.
• Start early. Employers usually file about 90 days before the work starts. For an April start, that means paperwork in January, and spring slots fill fast.
• You pay set wages and costs. H-2B employers must pay at least the government’s prevailing wage for the job and area, and cover some travel and visa costs.
• Insurance follows the crew. Bigger seasonal crews mean more payroll, which affects workers’ comp and liability coverage. See landscaping business insurance and landscaping seasonal employment by state.

How we counted

• Source: U.S. Labor Department, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, H-2B program disclosure data for fiscal 2026, quarters 1–3 (decisions dated 2025-11-03 to 2026-06-30).
• What’s counted: jobs on applications that were certified or partly certified, including ones marked “returned.” Denied, withdrawn and rejected applications are left out. We count the number of jobs certified, not the number requested.
• State: where the work takes place. 150 approved jobs in U.S. territories (mostly the Northern Mariana Islands) aren’t in the state table.
• Landscaping means the job category “Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers.”

Sources

• U.S. Labor Department, foreign labor certification performance data
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, H-2B program overview

Cite this data

Reporters and bloggers may use these numbers and charts. Please credit StartBusinessByState and link to this page.

Source: StartBusinessByState, “H-2B Seasonal Workers by State: Where Landscapers Rely on Them (2026),” https://startbusinessbystate.com/h-2b-seasonal-workers-by-state/ (updated October 12, 2026).

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Last updated October 12, 2026 by StartBusinessByState.