- The middle half earn between $11.16 and $16.08 an hour.
- Louisiana is 51st of the 50 states and DC, in the bottom ten for this trade.
- Louisiana pays less than all 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 4,140 auto detailers on payrolls in Louisiana.
- At the state median wage, a detailing business needs to bill about $93.89 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Auto Detailer pay in Louisiana, bottom to top
BLS has no separate figure for auto detailers. These are its numbers for cleaners of vehicles and equipment, the group that holds auto detailers along with car wash attendants and equipment cleaners.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $10.20 | $21,210 | $13.17 |
| 25th percentile | $11.16 | $23,220 | $14.62 |
| Median | $13.27 | $27,600 | $17.23 |
| 75th percentile | $16.08 | $33,450 | $19.73 |
| 90th percentile | $21.15 | $43,980 | $22.89 |
| Average (mean) | $14.59 | $30,350 | $17.78 |
Pay spreads out a lot in Louisiana. The bottom tenth earn $10.20 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $21.15 or more, a gap of 2.1 times against 1.7 nationally. Where a auto detailer sits on that range matters as much as the state.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $2.97 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $1.74 less than the national top tenth.
The average wage, $14.59, sits 10% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical auto detailer makes.
How Louisiana compares with other states
Over a full year, the Louisiana median of $27,600 is $8,230 less than the national $35,830.
Every other state with published figures pays at least as much. The next lowest is Mississippi at $13.77; the highest is the District of Columbia at $20.53.
Every one of the neighboring states pays auto detailers more than Louisiana. The closest is Mississippi at $13.77, and the biggest gap is with Arkansas.
BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs. Lower pay often comes with lower housing costs, so the gap in take-home value can be smaller than the gap in wages.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Louisiana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | $13.27 | $27,600 | |
| Arkansas | $16.81 | $34,970 | +$3.54 an hour |
| Mississippi | $13.77 | $28,640 | +$0.50 an hour |
| Texas | $14.16 | $29,450 | +$0.89 an hour |
How many auto detailers work in Louisiana
About 4,140 auto detailers work on payrolls in Louisiana, 1.1% of the 380,430 nationwide, the 33rd largest count among the states.
That is 2.1 of every 1,000 jobs in Louisiana, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a detailing business in Louisiana should charge
A lower wage helps the price less than you might expect, because the overhead does not shrink with it. Here is a detailing business in Louisiana paying the state median of $13.27, on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers: 40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $13.27 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $29,713 |
| Break-even rate | ($29,713 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $79.81 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $79.81 ÷ 0.85 | $93.89 |
That is $93.89 per billable hour, 7.1 times the wage, and $6.95 less than the $100.85 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $16.08 in Louisiana, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $98.83.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $11.16, the rate only drops to $90.19.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Working as an auto detailer in Louisiana
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how detailers run on Koira.
- Getting found. The free Koira report checks how your business shows up in search and on maps against shops near you.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 53-7061, cleaners of vehicles and equipment, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: auto detailer salary by state.