# How much to pay cleaning employees: wages by role and state, loaded cost and raises

> Deciding how much to pay cleaning employees starts with the market: the US median was $17.07 an hour for maids and housekeeping cleaners and $17.71 for janitors in May 2025, with state medians from $12.19 in Mississippi and $14.26 in Texas to $24.81 in Hawaii. Pay between your local median and 75th percentile, budget about 25% on top for payroll taxes, workers’ comp and drive time, and use 35% to 45% of the price as a planning target for labor.

Published 2026-10-29, updated 2026-10-30 by Broombook · Hiring and your team · 14 min read  
Canonical page: https://broombook.com/guides/how-much-to-pay-cleaning-employees

## Key takeaways

- The May 2025 median was $17.07 an hour for maids and housekeeping cleaners (middle half $14.59 to $19.03) and $17.71 for janitors (middle half $15.50 to $21.18), according to BLS data published by O*NET.
- State medians for residential cleaners range from $12.19 in Mississippi and $14.26 in Texas to $20.51 in California and $24.81 in Hawaii, so copy a national number at your peril.
- A $18 wage costs about $22.50 an hour once you add 7.65% employer FICA, unemployment tax, workers’ compensation and paid drive time between homes.
- Federal law sets a $7.25 floor and time-and-a-half after 40 hours a week; many states are far higher ($16.90 in California, $17.13 in Washington, $17.00 in New York City), and travel between job sites is paid time.
- Per-job and percentage pay only work if every job still clears the minimum wage for the hours worked. Hourly plus a small commission or quality bonus is the safest structure for most companies.
- Plan raises on a schedule (90 days, then yearly) and price for them: a $1 raise adds roughly $4.40 to a 3.5-hour clean at cost, about $6.75 at a 35% margin.

## How much should you pay your cleaning employees?

Pay your cleaners between the median and the 75th percentile for your state, never below the minimum wage that applies where they work, and never so much that labor eats more than about 45% of the price of a clean. Nationally that band is $17.07 to $19.03 an hour for residential cleaners and $17.71 to $21.18 for janitors.

Those figures come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics May 2025 survey as published by O\*NET for [maids and housekeeping cleaners (37-2012)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00) and [janitors and cleaners (37-2011)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2011.00). They cover everyone in the occupation, including hotel housekeepers and school custodians, so treat them as the market you hire from, not as a ceiling. Hotels, hospitals and warehouses are competing for the same people, and they can offer benefits and a predictable building.

### Three questions that set the number

1. **What does the local market pay?** Check the state table below, then look at five current job ads from cleaning companies, hotels and janitorial firms within 20 miles. Your offer needs to sit in the top half of what they advertise, or you will interview people who take the other job.
2. **What can your prices support?** Work backward from the price of a typical clean. A $160 clean planned at 3.5 cleaner-hours can support about $56 to $72 of labor (35% to 45%), which is $16 to $20.50 an hour, before the loaded costs covered below.
3. **What is the job, really?** Driving their own car between four homes a day, working alone with a client’s key, and handling add-ons like ovens deserve more than restocking a hotel cart on a fixed floor. Pay for the responsibility you are asking for.

If your prices can’t support a wage in the top half of the local market, fix the prices before you post the ad. The [cleaning business profit calculator](https://broombook.com/tools/cleaning-business-profit-calculator) shows what a given wage does to your margin, and our guide on [what house cleaners make](https://broombook.com/guides/how-much-do-house-cleaners-make) covers the cleaner’s side of the same numbers, including independents and owner pay. This page is for the employer’s decision.

## What do cleaning companies pay their employees, by role?

Cleaning companies pay by role, not one flat rate: a new residential cleaner near the 25th percentile, an experienced solo cleaner near the median, a team lead above the 75th percentile, and commercial janitors on a separate scale that runs about $0.65 an hour higher at the median and $2 higher at the 75th percentile.

| Role | Market reference (May 2025, national) | Where companies usually set it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| New residential cleaner (first 90 days) | Maids 25th percentile: $14.59 | Local 25th percentile to median, with a raise promised at 90 days |
| Experienced residential cleaner (works alone with keys) | Maids median: $17.07 | Local median to 75th percentile |
| Team lead (drives the car, checks the work, talks to clients) | Maids 75th to 90th percentile: $19.03 to $23.35 | $2 to $4 above your experienced cleaner rate |
| Commercial janitor (offices, evenings) | Janitors median: $17.71 (middle half $15.50 to $21.18) | Local janitor median; add a shift premium for nights |
| Floor technician or specialty tech (strip and wax, carpet) | Janitors 90th percentile: $24.17 | Top of the janitor scale, often with a per-job bonus |

The percentiles are from O\*NET’s national pages for [maids and housekeeping cleaners](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00) and [janitors and cleaners](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2011.00). The “where companies set it” column is our practical reading of those numbers, not a survey of employers; adjust it to the ads you see locally.

Two patterns are worth copying. First, publish the ladder. A cleaner who knows that solo work pays $1.50 more and team lead $3 more stays to climb it. Second, pay the team lead for the extra work, not the title: if they drive, load supplies, and re-clean a missed bathroom, their hour is worth more than a trainee’s, and everyone on the crew knows it.

## Cleaner wages by state: what the market pays residential cleaners

The median for maids and housekeeping cleaners ranges from $12.19 an hour in Mississippi to $24.81 in Hawaii ($14.26 in Texas is the lowest in the table below), and the gap between a state’s 25th and 75th percentile is usually $3 to $4. Pick your state’s row, and aim your offer between the median and the 75th percentile.

| State | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Hawaii](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=HI) | $18.56 | $22.05 | $24.81 | $29.05 | $29.82 |
| [California](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=CA) | $17.16 | $17.79 | $20.51 | $23.72 | $30.51 |
| [Washington](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=WA) | $17.35 | $18.12 | $20.28 | $21.99 | $24.09 |
| [New York](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=NY) | $16.25 | $17.22 | $20.17 | $27.88 | $39.68 |
| [Massachusetts](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=MA) | $16.50 | $17.64 | $18.73 | $21.69 | $29.28 |
| [New Jersey](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=NJ) | $15.75 | $16.85 | $18.26 | $20.42 | $23.67 |
| [Colorado](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=CO) | $15.62 | $17.17 | $18.06 | $20.60 | $22.42 |
| [Minnesota](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=MN) | $14.41 | $16.77 | $18.01 | $20.06 | $23.07 |
| [Illinois](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=IL) | $15.00 | $16.63 | $17.49 | $20.74 | $23.99 |
| [Arizona](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=AZ) | $15.07 | $16.46 | $17.13 | $18.64 | $20.52 |
| [Pennsylvania](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=PA) | $13.16 | $14.05 | $16.29 | $17.76 | $20.41 |
| [Florida](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=FL) | $13.87 | $14.55 | $16.28 | $17.82 | $21.57 |
| [Ohio](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=OH) | $13.29 | $14.00 | $15.47 | $17.13 | $18.15 |
| [North Carolina](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=NC) | $11.53 | $13.77 | $15.05 | $17.75 | $19.28 |
| [Georgia](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=GA) | $11.21 | $13.08 | $14.31 | $17.06 | $18.40 |
| [Texas](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00?st=TX) | $10.65 | $12.81 | $14.26 | $16.47 | $17.93 |
| **United States** | $13.29 | $14.59 | $17.07 | $19.03 | $23.35 |

Hourly wages for maids and housekeeping cleaners (SOC 37-2012), May 2025, from the O\*NET state wage pages linked in each row, which republish BLS data. The 50 states and metro areas are all on the [O\*NET wages page](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00); pick your metro area rather than the state if you are in a big city, because Austin pays about $1.50 more at the median than Texas as a whole, and Dallas about $1 more.

Notice that the low end is set by law in some states and by the market in others. Texas’s 10th percentile ($10.65) sits above the federal $7.25 minimum because almost nobody hires at the floor; California’s ($17.16) sits just above its $16.90 state minimum because the law holds it there. In a high-minimum state your room to differentiate on pay is small, so hours, drive-time pay and tips matter more.

## How much does a cleaning employee really cost per hour?

Budget about 25% on top of the wage. An $18 an hour cleaner costs roughly $22.50 an hour once you add the employer’s share of Social Security and Medicare, unemployment tax, workers’ compensation and paid drive time between homes. Supplies, the car and your own time come on top of that.

### Worked example: an $18 cleaner (hypothetical numbers)

| Cost | Basis | Per paid hour |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wage | What the ad says | $18.00 |
| Employer Social Security and Medicare | 6.2% + 1.45% = 7.65% ([IRS Topic 751](https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc751)) | $1.38 |
| Federal and state unemployment tax | Varies by state and your claims history; example 1.5% | $0.27 |
| Workers’ compensation | Quoted per $100 of payroll; example 4% | $0.72 |
| Paid drive time between homes | Example: 45 minutes paid per 6 hours of cleaning, about 12% | $2.16 |
| **Loaded cost** | About 25% over the wage | **$22.53** |

Only the 7.65% is a fixed number; the unemployment and workers’ comp rates are illustrative and yours will come from your state agency and your insurer. Workers’ comp for cleaning is classed as a manual labor risk, so expect a rate that is a multiple of what an office pays, and ask whether your policy is audited on actual payroll at year end (most are).

Drive time is the line owners forget. Travel from job site to job site during the workday must be counted as hours worked under [29 CFR 785.38](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-785/subpart-C/subject-group-ECFRad996a87edf99fc/section-785.38); only the ordinary commute to the first job and home from the last is unpaid. A cleaner who does three homes a day with 20 minutes between them is paid for 40 minutes of driving, every day. Tight routes are a pay decision as much as a scheduling one.

Add paid time off, health insurance or a phone stipend if you offer them, then divide by productive hours to get the number you price from. A 3.5-hour clean at the $22.53 loaded cost is $78.86 of labor; at a $160 price that is 49%, which is too high for most companies, so this cleaner needs a $175 to $185 price or a faster team.

## Hourly, per job or a percentage of the job: which pay model works?

Hourly pay is the safest and easiest to run. Per-job and percentage pay reward speed but must still clear the minimum wage on every job and pay overtime after 40 hours, which is where cleaning companies get into trouble. Hourly plus a small commission or quality bonus gives most of the upside with none of the compliance risk.

### The minimum-wage check for per-job pay

Say you pay $55 per standard clean. On a 3-hour clean that is $18.33 an hour, fine anywhere. On a 4.5-hour first-time clean of a neglected home, it is $12.22 an hour, which is below the state minimum in California ($16.90), Washington ($17.13) and New York City ($17.00), and below the local market almost everywhere. You then owe the difference, plus the hour of driving between jobs. Companies that pay per job need a time clock anyway, which removes the main reason to pay per job.

### Percentage pay

Paying 35% to 45% of the price of the clean ties pay to revenue and makes upsells attractive to cleaners, but a cleaner on 40% of a $120 clean that runs long earns $48 for 4 hours, $12 an hour. It also leaves cleaners guessing their pay until the schedule is out. Percentage pay is more common for solo cleaners who also sell the job, less common for crews.

### Hourly plus commission or bonus

A base rate at or above the local median, plus 5% of add-ons the cleaner sells (inside the fridge, oven, windows) or a $25 monthly bonus for a clean quality record, keeps the floor under pay and gives cleaners a reason to care about the job. It also produces a pay stub that any auditor can follow. Whatever you choose, overtime is owed at not less than one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek ([29 CFR 778.107](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-778/subpart-B/subject-group-ECFR7be43dce58760d9/section-778.107)), and commissions and non-discretionary bonuses must be folded into that regular rate before you multiply.

For the cleaner-facing comparison of these structures on a single $150 clean, see the pay structures section of [what house cleaners make](https://broombook.com/guides/how-much-do-house-cleaners-make). Broombook records hours from clock-ins in the crew app, adds commission per cleaner and per add-on, and exports a CSV for your payroll provider; it does not run payroll or file taxes (details on the [cleaning payroll software](https://broombook.com/software/cleaning-payroll-software) page).

## Which minimum wage, overtime and drive-time rules apply to cleaners?

Three federal rules apply to every cleaning employee: a $7.25 minimum wage, overtime at one and a half times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek, and paid travel between job sites during the day. Most states add a higher minimum wage, and some add daily overtime or paid sick leave, so check your state before you set pay.

- **Federal minimum wage:** $7.25 an hour under [29 U.S.C. 206](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/206). Where a state or city sets a higher rate, the higher rate applies.
- **State examples for 2026:** California’s minimum wage is $16.90 an hour from January 1, 2026 ([California DIR](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_minimumwage.htm)); Washington’s is $17.13 for 2026 and $17.73 for 2027 ([Washington L&I](https://lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/wages/minimum-wage/)); New York’s is $17.00 in New York City, Long Island and Westchester and $16.00 in the rest of the state, unchanged for 2027 ([New York DOL](https://dol.ny.gov/minimum-wage)). Several cities set rates above their state.
- **Overtime:** not less than one and one-half times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek ([29 CFR 778.107](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-778/subpart-B/subject-group-ECFR7be43dce58760d9/section-778.107)). A cleaner at $18 who works 44 hours in a week of move-outs earns 4 hours at $27.
- **Drive time:** travel from job site to job site during the workday counts as hours worked ([29 CFR 785.38](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-785/subpart-C/subject-group-ECFRad996a87edf99fc/section-785.38)). Pay it, and count it toward the 40-hour overtime line.

Two traps catch small cleaning companies. The first is calling cleaners contractors to skip all of the above; if you set the schedule, supply the products and send them to your clients, they are almost always employees, as our guide on [W-2 or 1099 for cleaners](https://broombook.com/guides/independent-contractor-vs-employee-cleaners) explains. The second is averaging: paying $18 for cleaning hours and nothing for the 40 minutes of driving still produces an hourly rate above minimum wage, but it is unpaid work time, and the back pay claim arrives after the cleaner leaves. This is general information, not legal advice; your state labor department publishes the rules that apply to you.

## How should you handle raises, bonuses and reviews for cleaners?

Put raises on a schedule you announce in the offer letter: a review and raise at 90 days, then every 12 months, with bigger steps when a cleaner moves to solo work or team lead. Scheduled raises cost less than the turnover they prevent, and they turn “can I have a raise?” into a date on the calendar.

### A raise ladder that works (hypothetical numbers)

| Milestone | Step | What earns it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hire | $17.00 (local median in this example) | Passed the paid trial clean |
| 90 days | +$1.00 | Cleans alone, no client complaints, checklists complete |
| 12 months | +$0.75 to $1.00 | Attendance, quality scores, client retention on their route |
| Team lead | +$2.00 to $3.00 | Trains new hires, drives, handles keys and client questions |

### What a $1 raise costs, and what it should do to prices

At the 25% load above, a $1 raise costs about $1.25 per paid hour. On a 3.5-hour clean that is $4.38 of extra cost. To keep a 35% margin you need about $6.75 more on the price ($4.38 ÷ 0.65), or about 4% on a $160 clean. Most clients accept a 4% increase with a month’s notice; most cleaners do not accept two years without a raise. Do the raise, then do the price letter.

### Bonuses that change behavior

- **Quality bonus:** $25 to $50 a month for zero re-cleans and complete photo checklists. Pay it monthly, not yearly, so the link to behavior is visible.
- **Attendance bonus:** a small amount per pay period for no unexcused absences. Cheap, and it targets the problem that cancels your mornings.
- **Referral bonus:** $100 to $300 when a cleaner’s referral passes 90 days. It is still cheaper than a job board, and referrals stay longer.
- **Retention bonus:** a lump sum at 6 or 12 months, announced at hire. Useful in tight markets where a hotel will match your hourly rate.

Remember that non-discretionary bonuses (anything promised in advance for hitting a target) count toward the regular rate for overtime. Tips are separate: they belong to the cleaners who did the work and should show on the pay stub next to hours. Keep reviews short and written: ten minutes, three numbers (quality, attendance, client retention), one goal.

## How do you build a pay scale your prices can support?

Start from your average price per cleaner-hour, decide the share you can spend on labor (35% to 45% for residential, often less for commercial because of equipment and supplies), subtract the 25% load, and the number left is the wage ceiling. Set the ladder below that ceiling, then publish it in the job ad.

### Worked example (hypothetical numbers)

1. **Revenue per cleaner-hour.** Last month’s cleans billed $14,400 for 360 cleaner-hours on site: $40 per cleaner-hour.
2. **Labor budget.** At 40% of revenue: $16.00 per cleaner-hour, loaded.
3. **Remove the load.** $16.00 ÷ 1.25 = $12.80. That is the most you can pay per on-site hour at this price, which is below the median in most states.
4. **Fix the price or the hours.** Raising the average to $48 per cleaner-hour (a 20% price increase or 17% faster cleans with better checklists) lifts the ceiling to $15.36; $55 per hour lifts it to $17.60, which supports a ladder from $15.50 to $19.

That sequence is why pay questions are usually pricing questions. The [house cleaning pricing guide](https://broombook.com/guides/house-cleaning-pricing-guide) shows how to raise the revenue per hour without losing clients, and the [house cleaner job description generator](https://broombook.com/tools/house-cleaner-job-description) turns your ladder into a posting with the pay range in the first line. When you are ready to interview, our guide on [hiring cleaners](https://broombook.com/guides/how-to-hire-cleaners) covers the ad, the phone screen, the paid trial clean and onboarding paperwork.

One last check before you publish: the O\*NET [summary for maids and housekeeping cleaners](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/37-2012.00) projects 175,500 job openings a year from 2025 to 2035, mostly replacing people who leave. The cleaners you want are choosing among those openings. A clear wage, paid drive time and a raise on a date are what make them choose yours.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much do cleaning companies pay their employees per hour?

Around the market median: $17.07 an hour for maids and housekeeping cleaners and $17.71 for janitors in May 2025 according to BLS data on O*NET, with the middle half of cleaners earning $14.59 to $19.03. Companies that keep staff tend to pay between the local median and the 75th percentile.

### What is a fair hourly wage for a house cleaner employee?

Your state’s median or a little above it: for example about $20 in California, Washington and New York, $16 in Florida and Pennsylvania, and $14 to $15 in Texas, Georgia and North Carolina. Add $2 to $4 for a team lead and a raise at 90 days.

### Should I pay cleaners per job or per hour?

Hourly, or hourly plus a small commission, for most companies. Per-job pay must still meet the minimum wage for the hours actually worked on every job, including drive time, and pay overtime after 40 hours, so you need a time clock either way.

### Do I have to pay cleaners for driving between houses?

Yes. Under federal rules (29 CFR 785.38) travel from job site to job site during the workday counts as hours worked. The commute to the first job and home from the last one is not paid time.

### What percentage of revenue should go to cleaner wages?

A common planning range is about 35% to 45% of the price for residential cleaning, including payroll taxes, workers’ compensation and drive time. If wages alone take more than 40% of revenue, raise prices or shorten cleans before you add staff.

### How often should cleaning employees get a raise?

At 90 days and then once a year, with extra steps for moving to solo work or team lead. A $1 raise adds roughly $4.40 to the cost of a 3.5-hour clean, which a 4% price increase covers.

### Which states pay cleaners the most?

Hawaii ($24.81 median), California ($20.51), Washington ($20.28) and New York ($20.17) in May 2025. The lowest medians among large states were Texas ($14.26) and Georgia ($14.31).

## Sources

- [O*NET OnLine: Wages for maids and housekeeping cleaners (37-2012), BLS May 2025 data](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2012.00)
- [O*NET OnLine: Wages for janitors and cleaners (37-2011), BLS May 2025 data](https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2011.00)
- [O*NET OnLine: Summary report for maids and housekeeping cleaners](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/37-2012.00)
- [29 U.S.C. 206: Minimum wage (Cornell LII)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/29/206)
- [eCFR: 29 CFR 778.107, general overtime standard](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-778/subpart-B/subject-group-ECFR7be43dce58760d9/section-778.107)
- [eCFR: 29 CFR 785.38, travel that is all in the day’s work](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-B/part-785/subpart-C/subject-group-ECFRad996a87edf99fc/section-785.38)
- [IRS: Topic 751, Social Security and Medicare withholding rates](https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc751)
- [California DIR: Minimum wage FAQ](https://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/faq_minimumwage.htm)
- [Washington L&I: Minimum wage](https://lni.wa.gov/workers-rights/wages/minimum-wage/)
- [New York DOL: Minimum wage](https://dol.ny.gov/minimum-wage)

---

Broombook is scheduling, online booking and crew software for residential cleaning businesses. More guides for cleaning business owners: https://broombook.com/guides