Cost Guides · Business Income
What Is Average Cleaning Business Income?
A cleaning business with no employees averages about $20,785 a year in receipts. A company with staff averages about $1,066,000 per location (Census Bureau). Below: payroll, real prices, and your own number.
Add SimplyWise as a preferred source
What is average cleaning business income with no employees?
A cleaning business with no employees averages about $20,785 a year in receipts. That is the Census Bureau’s Nonemployer Statistics for 2023: 1,095,927 owner-operators, LLCs, and side gigs under NAICS 56172, Janitorial Services, posting $22,779,360,000 in combined receipts. Sole proprietorships alone average slightly less, $18,648. Both blend full-time operators with many part-time filers, so the average reads lower than a full-time solo route.
What is average cleaning business income once a company has employees?
A cleaning company with paid staff averages about $1,066,000 a year in receipts per establishment, and about $1,135,000 per firm.
That is the 2022 Economic Census: 63,999 firms running 68,108 establishments under NAICS 561720, with combined receipts of $72,611,377,000 and payroll of $31,414,831,000.
| Segment | Establishments | Receipts | Avg. per establishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonemployer (no staff) | 1,095,927 | $22.78 billion | $20,785 |
| Employer firm (has staff) | 68,108 | $72.61 billion | $1,066,121 |
Turn a job photo into an itemized bid, free →
How much of that income goes to payroll?
Across employer firms, payroll of $31,414,831,000 against receipts of $72,611,377,000 works out to about 43 percent. That is the wage share before supplies, insurance, and overhead.
The wage floor comes from BLS OEWS, May 2025: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners (code 37-2011) average $18.64 an hour, $38,760 a year. Maids and housekeeping cleaners (code 37-2012) average $17.83 an hour, $37,080 a year. Our own contractor hourly labor rates by trade page tracks pay across more trades from the same BLS release.
What do real per-visit prices say about your own income?
Three named companies post their own per-visit prices and a fourth publishes a Chicago market range, all rechecked live 2026-10-30. Rocket Maids LA: $239 flat for a three-bedroom clean, or $55 an hour, one-person crew, three-hour minimum. Green Planet Cleaning, Bay Area: $350 flat for the same size home. Sophia’s Cleaning, Chicago western suburbs: $288 to $312 flat, which it says averages about $54 per hour of cleaning time. Sparkly Maid Chicago publishes a Chicago market range of $220 to $300 for a standard three-bedroom, two-bath clean. Hourly, it lists $40 to $60 per cleaner.
Run the math on one full-time route: 15 three-bedroom jobs a week, 52 weeks. At the Rocket Maids LA price that is $186,420 a year in gross revenue; at the Green Planet price, $273,000. Both sit far above the nonemployer average because that average includes so many part-time filers.
That is gross revenue, not take-home pay. Fuel, supplies, insurance, and labor come out first.
How to turn Census data into your own number
-
Know which Census world you are in
Solo with no staff, or a firm running payroll. The averages above only apply inside your own segment.
-
Set your own per-visit price
Use Rocket Maids LA, Green Planet Cleaning, Sophia’s Cleaning, or Sparkly Maid Chicago as reference points, then price your own market.
-
Subtract the BLS labor floor if hiring
Budget $17.83 to $18.64 an hour per cleaner, the BLS OEWS May 2025 mean hourly wage range for maids and janitors.
-
Turn the math into a bid
Snap a photo in SimplyWise Cost Estimator, edit the lines to your own numbers, then send a branded quote.
SimplyWise Cost Estimator for pricing cleaning jobs
Whatever segment you’re in today, SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a job-site photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. Material, labor, and fee lines are editable. Enter your own per-visit or per-hour price and add a deep-clean upcharge line. Send a branded quote the client signs to approve. $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, about $20/mo on annual, with a 7-day free trial.
Sources
Census data
- Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics, 2023 US file, NAICS 56172 Janitorial Services, verified 2026-09-26.
- Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census, sector 56 basic statistics, NAICS 561720, verified 2026-09-26.
- Census Bureau, County Business Patterns, 2023 US file, NAICS 561720, verified 2026-09-26.
BLS wage data
- BLS OEWS, May 2025 national estimates, codes 37-2011 and 37-2012, verified 2026-09-26.
Owner-operator pricing
- Rocket Maids LA, pricing page, own rates, captured 2026-09-26.
- Green Planet Cleaning Services, Bay Area house cleaning cost, own rates, updated September 2026, captured 2026-09-26.
- Sophia’s Cleaning Service, pricing page, own rates, captured 2026-10-30.
- Sparkly Maid Chicago, cleaning services prices, published Chicago market range, captured 2026-10-30.
SimplyWise
- SimplyWise Cost Estimator on the App Store, 4.8 rating, verified 2026-09-26.
Frequently asked questions about cleaning business income
Cleaning business income
What is average cleaning business income with no employees?
About $20,785 a year, from 1,095,927 nonemployer cleaning businesses posting $22,779,360,000 in combined receipts (Census Nonemployer Statistics, 2023). Sole proprietorships alone average $18,648. Both figures blend full-time operators with many part-time filers.
What is average cleaning business income for a company with staff?
About $1,066,000 a year per establishment, from 68,108 employer establishments posting $72,611,377,000 in combined receipts (2022 Economic Census, NAICS 561720). Per firm, the average is about $1,135,000.
The math
How much of that income goes to payroll?
About 43 percent industrywide: $31,414,831,000 in payroll against $72,611,377,000 in receipts for employer firms (2022 Economic Census). The rest covers supplies, insurance, vehicles, overhead, and owner profit.
How much do cleaning employees make if I hire?
BLS OEWS, May 2025: janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners (code 37-2011) average $18.64 an hour, $38,760 a year. Maids and housekeeping cleaners (code 37-2012) average $17.83 an hour, $37,080 a year.
Estimating the job
Can I quote a cleaning job from a photo?
Yes. SimplyWise Cost Estimator turns a job-site photo into an itemized estimate in about 6 seconds. Walk the rooms, add what you see, and edit any line.
Does SimplyWise Cost Estimator work for cleaning business bids?
It builds material, labor, and fee line items, each with unit, quantity, and price per unit. You can price per visit, per hour, or per room. Send a branded quote the client signs to approve. Pricing is $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr, with a 7-day free trial.
Turn your own numbers into a bid that holds margin.
Snap a photo and get an itemized estimate with editable lines. Free to try, then $29.99/mo or $239.99/yr after a 7-day trial.