- The middle half earn between $18.06 and $23.90 an hour.
- No state pays janitors more at the median.
- Massachusetts pays more than all 5 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 55,490 janitors on payrolls in Massachusetts.
- At the state median wage, a commercial cleaning company needs to bill about $109.07 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Janitor pay in Massachusetts, 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 | $16.97 | $35,290 | $13.77 |
| 25th percentile | $18.06 | $37,560 | $15.50 |
| Median | $21.91 | $45,580 | $17.71 |
| 75th percentile | $23.90 | $49,720 | $21.18 |
| 90th percentile | $28.78 | $59,860 | $24.17 |
| Average (mean) | $21.75 | $45,250 | $18.64 |
From the bottom tenth ($16.97) to the top tenth ($28.78), the top of the scale pays about 1.7 times the bottom in Massachusetts, close to the 1.8 times spread for janitors nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $16.97 against $13.77 at the bottom tenth, and $28.78 against $24.17 at the top.
The average, $21.75, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Massachusetts compares with other states
Over a full year, the Massachusetts median of $45,580 is $8,740 more than the national $36,840.
No state pays more. The next highest is Washington at $21.89, and the lowest is Mississippi at $13.64.
Massachusetts pays janitors more than any of its neighboring states, Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. 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 Massachusetts. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Massachusetts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $21.91 | $45,580 | |
| Connecticut | $18.25 | $37,960 | −$3.66 an hour |
| New Hampshire | $18.82 | $39,150 | −$3.09 an hour |
| New York | $20.02 | $41,640 | −$1.89 an hour |
| Rhode Island | $17.94 | $37,310 | −$3.97 an hour |
| Vermont | $19.67 | $40,910 | −$2.24 an hour |
How many janitors work in Massachusetts
About 55,490 janitors work on payrolls in Massachusetts, 2.5% of the 2,209,760 nationwide, the 12th largest count among the states.
That is 15.3 of every 1,000 jobs in Massachusetts, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a commercial cleaning company in Massachusetts should charge
Higher wages in Massachusetts go straight into the price. Take a commercial cleaning company in Massachusetts paying the state median of $21.91 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 | $21.91 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $49,059 |
| Break-even rate | ($49,059 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $92.71 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $92.71 ÷ 0.85 | $109.07 |
That is $109.07 per billable hour, 5 times the wage, and $7.38 more than the $101.69 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $23.90 in Massachusetts, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $112.56.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $18.06, the rate only drops to $102.30.
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 Massachusetts
- 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.