Commercial cleaning spans specialized janitorial firms, in-house building operations, facilities support, and related service categories. The statistics below focus on the United States and identify the population, period, unit, and scope for each measure.
Key Commercial Cleaning Statistics
The most useful headline figures are:
- In 2023, 67,799 U.S. employer establishments were classified as NAICS 561720 janitorial services.
- In May 2024, 2,199,900 U.S. jobs were held by janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners.
- In May 2024, 4,496,150 people worked in the broader building-and-grounds cleaning and maintenance group in the United States.
- In May 2024, janitors and cleaners had an annual mean wage of $37,460 in the United States.
- In June 2024, private janitorial-services workers averaged $20.34 per hour in U.S. private nonfarm payrolls.
- In June 2024, private janitorial-services workers averaged $614.27 per week in U.S. private nonfarm payrolls.
- From 2025 to 2035, employment of janitors and building cleaners is projected to grow 2% in the United States.
- From 2025 to 2035, about 321,800 annual openings are projected for janitors and building cleaners in the United States.
- In May 2024, educational services employed 402,130 janitors and cleaners in the United States.
- In May 2024, services to buildings and dwellings employed 834,130 janitors and cleaners in the United States.
- In May 2024, traveler accommodation employed 417,160 maids and housekeeping cleaners in the United States.
- In June 2024, private services-to-buildings-and-dwellings workers averaged $23.81 per hour.
- In 2023, the BLS janitorial-services productivity series recorded 1,333.9 for NAICS 56172.
- In the 2023 BLS comparison series, janitorial-services labor productivity rose 2.7%.
- In the 2020 EPA Chemical Data Reporting, 685 chemicals were counted in cleaning and furnishing-care products.
- In the 2020 EPA Chemical Data Reporting, 2,955 cleaning and furnishing-care-product reports were recorded across 243 sites.
- CDC/NIOSH identifies approximately 2.3 million workers in building custodial-services occupations in the United States.
Contents
- Industry scale and establishment counts
- Commercial cleaning workforce data
- Wages and labor-market outlook
- Buildings, education, hospitality, and facilities services
- Productivity and industry trends
- Chemicals, safety, and exposure context
Commercial Cleaning Industry Statistics: Scale and Establishments
The Census Bureau’s 2023 Business Patterns profile counted 67,799 employer establishments in NAICS 561720 janitorial services in the United States. This classification includes interior building cleaning, transportation-equipment cleaning, and window cleaning, so it is not a count of every contractor described informally as a commercial cleaner. Census Bureau, 2023 Business Patterns
The classification distinction matters: an establishment count describes employer locations in a defined industry, while an occupational count describes jobs that may exist across many industries. NAICS 561720 is therefore a useful industry-scale measure, but not a complete estimate of all commercial cleaning activity.
| Measure | Period | U.S. figure | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer establishments | 2023 | 67,799 | NAICS 561720 janitorial services |
| Labor-productivity series value | 2023 | 1,333.9 | BLS NAICS 56172 series |
| Productivity change | 2023 comparison | 2.7% | BLS reported comparison |
The BLS productivity table reports janitorial services under NAICS 56172 and gives a 2023 labor-productivity series value of 1,333.9. The value is an indexed or series measure, not revenue or dollars, and the reported 2.7% change measures industry productivity rather than cleaning quality or customer satisfaction. BLS, Productivity and Costs by Industry
The same BLS table also shows comparison-column values of 1.0%, 4.1%, 1.4%, 5.1%, and 3.7% across its 2019–2023 historical series. Those figures should remain attached to the original table’s column labels; they are not a five-year compound growth rate, forecast, or direct measure of demand.
Commercial Cleaning Workforce Statistics and Occupational Data
The May 2024 BLS occupational overview reported 2,199,900 janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners, in the United States. The occupation is broader than employees of janitorial-service firms because janitors can work in schools, hospitals, offices, hotels, government, and other industries. BLS, May 2024 occupational employment and wages
The broader building-and-grounds cleaning and maintenance group contained 4,496,150 jobs in May 2024. That total includes occupations beyond commercial cleaning, including landscaping, pest control, housekeeping, and related work.
| Occupation or group | May 2024 employment | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners | 2,199,900 | U.S. occupation |
| Building-and-grounds cleaning and maintenance group | 4,496,150 | Broad occupational group |
| Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | 943,430 | Related grounds maintenance |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners | 854,910 | Hospitality and housekeeping |
| First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers | 174,660 | Combined supervisor occupation |
Additional May 2024 counts show the breadth of the BLS group: pest-control workers numbered 96,110, tree trimmers and pruners numbered 47,870, and building cleaning workers in the residual “all other” category numbered 16,370. These are adjacent or residual categories and should not be relabeled as a complete commercial-cleaning workforce.
CDC/NIOSH identifies approximately 2.3 million workers in building custodial-services occupations. This is an approximate occupational estimate and should not be added to the BLS janitor count as an independent population because the definitions overlap. CDC/NIOSH, Cleaning and Custodial Services and Your Safety
Commercial Cleaning Wages and Labor-Market Outlook
BLS May 2024 occupational data put the annual mean wage for U.S. janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners, at $37,460. First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers averaged $51,170, while the broad building-and-grounds cleaning and maintenance group averaged $39,540. BLS, May 2024 occupational employment and wages
| Occupation or industry measure | Period | Mean or average |
|---|---|---|
| Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners | May 2024 | $37,460 annual mean wage |
| First-line housekeeping and janitorial supervisors | May 2024 | $51,170 annual mean wage |
| Building-and-grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations | May 2024 | $39,540 annual mean wage |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners | May 2024 | $36,180 annual mean wage |
| Building cleaning workers, all other | May 2024 | $44,150 annual mean wage |
Industry payroll data provide a different measure. In June 2024, private janitorial-services workers averaged $20.34 per hour and $614.27 per week, while the preceding comparison-period hourly figure in the same BLS table was $20.21; the table header defines that comparison period.
These are payroll averages, not occupational wages, contract prices, or employer costs. BLS, Average hourly and weekly earnings by industry
BLS projects 2% employment growth for janitors and building cleaners from 2025 to 2035. It also projects about 321,800 openings per year over that period, with most openings expected to come from replacement needs rather than net new jobs. BLS, Janitors and Building Cleaners
Commercial Cleaning Data Across Buildings, Education, Hospitality, and Facilities Services
Industry tables show where janitorial occupations appear, but they do not measure the number of cleaning contracts. In May 2024, the administrative/support and waste-management sector contained 947,960 janitors and cleaners, while educational services contained 402,130. BLS, May 2024 industry employment charts
| Industry setting | May 2024 janitors and cleaners | Important scope note |
|---|---|---|
| Educational services | 402,130 | Industry employment, not school contracts |
| Traveler accommodation | 45,750 | Janitors and cleaners only |
| Services to buildings and dwellings | 834,130 | NAICS 5617 includes other building services |
| Facilities support services | 45,160 | Self-performed versus subcontracted work not identified |
Traveler accommodation also employed 417,160 maids and housekeeping cleaners in May 2024. That hospitality figure is related to commercial cleaning, but it is not identical to contracted janitorial employment.
Services to buildings and dwellings employed 576,420 landscaping and groundskeeping workers in May 2024, illustrating why NAICS 5617 is broader than indoor cleaning. Facilities support services additionally employed 9,310 maids and housekeeping cleaners and 3,420 first-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers; the supervisor category does not split housekeeping from janitorial duties. BLS, May 2024 industry employment charts
Commercial Cleaning Productivity, Earnings, and Industry Trends
June 2024 payroll data for the broader services-to-buildings-and-dwellings industry showed average earnings of $23.81 per hour and $819.06 per week. The category includes landscaping and pest control, so these figures should not be treated as janitorial-only pay or as customer invoice amounts. BLS, Average hourly and weekly earnings by industry
Private exterminating and pest-control services averaged $28.58 per hour and $1,037.45 per week in June 2024. This is adjacent service-industry context rather than commercial-cleaning labor specifically.
The BLS janitorial-services productivity series recorded 1,333.9 in 2023, with a 2.7% change in its 2023 comparison series. The historical row also reports 1.0%, 4.1%, 1.4%, 5.1%, and 3.7% in additional comparison columns; because the extract does not reproduce every heading, each number must be read with the original BLS table labels. BLS, Productivity and Costs by Industry
Productivity is not revenue growth, workforce growth, or service quality. Likewise, an industry payroll average cannot be used as a commercial cleaning selling price without separate contract and cost data.
Commercial Cleaning Chemicals, Safety Risks, and Exposure Context
EPA’s 2020 Chemical Data Reporting counted 685 unique chemicals, 243 sites, and 1,955 reports in the cleaning and furnishing-care-products category. These are regulatory chemical, site, and report counts—not product sales, cleaning jobs, market size, or worker-exposure prevalence. EPA, Commercial and/or Consumer Use Data
EPA also counted 536 chemicals, 166 sites, and 1,799 reports for laundry and dishwashing products in the 2020 CDR. That category includes laundry and dishwashing uses and is broader than commercial janitorial cleaning.
Two EPA combinations provide narrower context but should retain their exact labels:
- One commercial-use combination listed 501 chemicals for lubricants and lubricant additives across 88 sites and 1,007 reports; this is facility-operations chemical context, not a cleaning-product category.
- One consumer-use combination listed 94 chemicals for odor agents in cleaning and furnishing-care products across 6 sites and 692 reports; this is consumer-use reporting, not commercial-cleaning exposure.
CDC/NIOSH describes custodial work as involving chemical and ergonomic hazards and links occupational estimates for the field. The approximate 2.3 million-worker figure is a broad custodial estimate, not evidence that every worker handles every reported chemical or experiences a measured exposure level. CDC/NIOSH, Cleaning and Custodial Services and Your Safety