- The middle half earn between $17.79 and $23.72 an hour.
- Only 2 states pay house cleaners more at the median.
- California pays more than 2 of its 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 103,430 house cleaners on payrolls in California.
- At the state median wage, a cleaning company needs to bill about $106.61 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
House Cleaner pay in California, bottom to top
BLS files house cleaners under maids and housekeeping cleaners, a group that also includes hotel and hospital housekeeping staff.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.16 | $35,680 | $13.29 |
| 25th percentile | $17.79 | $36,990 | $14.59 |
| Median | $20.51 | $42,660 | $17.07 |
| 75th percentile | $23.72 | $49,330 | $19.03 |
| 90th percentile | $30.51 | $63,450 | $23.35 |
| Average (mean) | $22.08 | $45,930 | $17.83 |
From the bottom tenth ($17.16) to the top tenth ($30.51), the top of the scale pays about 1.8 times the bottom in California, close to the 1.8 times spread for house cleaners nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $17.16 against $13.29 at the bottom tenth, and $30.51 against $23.35 at the top.
The average wage, $22.08, sits 8% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical house cleaner makes.
How California compares with other states
Over a full year, the California median of $42,660 is $7,150 more than the national $35,510.
In the state ranking, California sits 3rd, between Nevada ($22.38) and the District of Columbia ($20.32). The range runs from $12.19 in Mississippi to $24.81 in Hawaii.
Against its neighboring states, California is in the middle: Nevada pays more, and Arizona and Oregon pay less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in California. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
How many house cleaners work in California
BLS estimates 103,430 house cleaners on payrolls in California, 12.0% of the 860,670 nationwide. No other state has more.
That is 5.7 of every 1,000 jobs in California, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a cleaning company in California should charge
Higher wages in California go straight into the price. Take a cleaning company in California paying the state median of $20.51 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its 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 | $20.51 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $45,924 |
| Break-even rate | ($45,924 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $90.62 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $90.62 ÷ 0.85 | $106.61 |
That is $106.61 per billable hour, 5.2 times the wage, and $6.04 more than the $100.57 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $23.72 in California, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $112.24.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $17.79, the rate only drops to $101.83.
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 a house cleaner in California
- Running the business. Quotes, invoices, booking and your website in one place: how cleaning companies 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 37-2012, maids and housekeeping cleaners, 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: house cleaner salary by state.