Costs
How much does it cost to hire a cleaning-crew employee?
Short answer: the official May 2025 national median wage for janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners is $17.71 an hour. On a 40-hour, 2,080-hour year at that median, wages are $36,836.80 and federal employer payroll taxes are $2,860.01. Official new-employer state unemployment tax on that wage ranges from $112.50 in Nebraska to $1,086.69 in Nevada among states with a published rate, so employer payroll taxes total $2,972.51 to $3,946.70 before workers’ comp. Local pay will differ from the national median, and this page does not invent a national insurance rate.
Key takeaways
- Official May 2025 OEWS figures for Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners (37-2011): median $17.71 an hour, mean $18.64 an hour, annual mean $38,760.00, employment 2,209,760. Source: official BLS May 2025 national wage table, also listed in the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- Federal employer taxes on $36,836.80 of wages are $2,860.01: $2,283.88 Social Security, $534.13 Medicare, and $42.00 net FUTA (IRS Publication 15, IRS Topic 751, IRS Topic 759).
- Official 2026 new-employer SUTA on this wage ranges from $112.50 (Nebraska) to $1,086.69 (Nevada) among states with a published rate in the DOL January 2026 table. See the state payroll-tax index.
On this page
Prefill the calculator Opens at the official BLS median of $17.71 an hour and 40 hours. Choose your state for the official unemployment wage base, and add a workers’ comp quote.
Open the calculator with this wageOfficial BLS pay for janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners
The wage used in the table is the official national median hourly wage of $17.71. The table below converts that official median hourly wage to a 2,080-hour year; that conversion is a planning assumption, not a separate official annual median. The official mean is $18.64 an hour, or $38,760.00 a year. Those figures are national and include experienced leads and newer hires; your market may be higher or lower. They are a planning baseline, not a wage you must offer.
Employer payroll taxes on that median wage
| Line (one year at the official national median) | Amount |
|---|---|
| Wages at the official median ($17.71/hour × 2,080) | $36,836.80 |
| Employer Social Security (6.2%) | $2,283.88 |
| Employer Medicare (1.45%) | $534.13 |
| FUTA (0.6% net, first $7,000) | $42.00 |
| State unemployment tax, official published new-employer range (Nebraska–Nevada) | $112.50–$1,086.69 |
| Employer payroll taxes, federal plus official SUTA range | $2,972.51–$3,946.70 |
| Workers’ compensation | Local quote; no national rate invented |
Workers’ comp, overtime, benefits, and payroll tools are left out on purpose. Insurance is priced by class and state; see workers’ comp cost for a first employee. Overtime, when it applies, follows the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Official state unemployment examples
| Official new-employer SUTA example | SUTA | Federal + SUTA |
|---|---|---|
| Indiana (2.50% on first $9,500) | $237.50 | $3,097.51 |
| Texas (2.70% on first $9,000) | $243.00 | $3,103.01 |
| Florida (2.70% on first $7,000) | $189.00 | $3,049.01 |
Those three states are shown because this site already documents their official new-employer rates. Your state may differ; use the calculator or the state index rather than copying an example from a state you do not operate in.
What is different about hiring a cleaning-crew employee
The official occupation used here is janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners — the closest national series for a small cleaning crew. It is a large occupation (more than 2.2 million jobs in the May 2025 survey), and the median wage is lower than the journey trades on this site. Many first hires in this work are part-time or split across evening accounts. Wages and percentage taxes scale with hours; a workers’ comp minimum premium may not.
Supplies, a vehicle, and account-specific background checks or badging are common extra costs and are not payroll taxes. If you have been paying crew members on a 1099, read the classification guide before you hire the next person the same way. The calculator trade setting for cleaner will load this kind of hire; add your state and a quote for insurance.
Related trade pages: roofer, painter, carpenter, or the overall first-hire cost guide.
Change the wage or hours The official median is a starting point. Enter what you will actually pay.
Open the calculatorFrequently asked questions
How much does it cost to hire a cleaning-crew employee?
Using the official May 2025 BLS median wage of $17.71 an hour, a 2,080-hour year is $36,836.80 in wages and $2,860.01 in federal employer payroll taxes, plus official state unemployment tax of $112.50 to $1,086.69 among states with a published new-employer rate, before workers' comp. Local pay and insurance change the total.
What is the official BLS wage for janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners?
The May 2025 OEWS national figures are a median of $17.71 an hour, a mean of $18.64 an hour, and an annual mean of $38,760.00, with employment of 2,209,760.
Can I cost a part-time cleaner with these figures?
Yes, but do not use the full-year 2,080-hour table. Enter the hours you will actually pay in the calculator. Employer FICA scales with wages; FUTA and state unemployment tax apply only up to their wage bases; a workers' comp minimum premium may still apply.
Figures on this page were checked against the linked official IRS, DOL, USCIS, ACF, and (where used) Indiana ICRB pages in November 2026. Examples are planning estimates, not a tax, legal, or insurance outcome. Confirm with your agencies, accountant, and carrier before you hire or classify a worker.