- The middle half earn between $17.71 and $23.20 an hour.
- Only 3 states pay janitors more at the median.
- California pays more than all 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 234,240 janitors on payrolls in California.
- At the state median wage, a commercial cleaning company needs to bill about $105.27 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Janitor pay in California, bottom to top
BLS counts janitors and cleaners together, outside of maids and housekeeping. Office cleaning crews and school custodians are in this group.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $17.12 | $35,610 | $13.77 |
| 25th percentile | $17.71 | $36,830 | $15.50 |
| Median | $19.75 | $41,090 | $17.71 |
| 75th percentile | $23.20 | $48,250 | $21.18 |
| 90th percentile | $28.34 | $58,950 | $24.17 |
| Average (mean) | $21.25 | $44,210 | $18.64 |
From the bottom tenth ($17.12) to the top tenth ($28.34), the top of the scale pays about 1.7 times the bottom in California, close to the 1.8 times spread for janitors nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $17.12 against $13.77 at the bottom tenth, and $28.34 against $24.17 at the top.
The average wage, $21.25, 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 janitor makes.
How California compares with other states
Over a full year, the California median of $41,090 is $4,250 more than the national $36,840.
In the state ranking, California sits 4th, between New York ($20.02) and Vermont ($19.67). The range runs from $13.64 in Mississippi to $21.91 in Massachusetts.
California pays janitors more than any of its neighboring states, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Someone working near the border can earn more by taking work on this side of it.
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 janitors work in California
BLS estimates 234,240 janitors on payrolls in California, 10.6% of the 2,209,760 nationwide. No other state has more.
That is 12.9 of every 1,000 jobs in California, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a commercial cleaning company in California should charge
Higher wages in California go straight into the price. Take a commercial cleaning company in California paying the state median of $19.75 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 | $19.75 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $44,223 |
| Break-even rate | ($44,223 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $89.48 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $89.48 ÷ 0.85 | $105.27 |
That is $105.27 per billable hour, 5.3 times the wage, and $3.58 more than the $101.69 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $23.20 in California, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $111.33.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $17.71, the rate only drops to $101.69.
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 janitor 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 37-2011, janitors and cleaners, except 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: janitor salary by state.