- The middle half earn between $17.48 and $24.09 an hour.
- Only 2 states pay janitors more at the median.
- New York pays more than 4 of its 5 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 195,250 janitors on payrolls in New York.
- At the state median wage, a commercial cleaning company needs to bill about $105.75 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Janitor pay in New York, 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 | $16.61 | $34,540 | $13.77 |
| 25th percentile | $17.48 | $36,360 | $15.50 |
| Median | $20.02 | $41,640 | $17.71 |
| 75th percentile | $24.09 | $50,100 | $21.18 |
| 90th percentile | $29.73 | $61,830 | $24.17 |
| Average (mean) | $21.55 | $44,830 | $18.64 |
From the bottom tenth ($16.61) to the top tenth ($29.73), the top of the scale pays about 1.8 times the bottom in New York, close to the 1.8 times spread for janitors nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $16.61 against $13.77 at the bottom tenth, and $29.73 against $24.17 at the top.
The average wage, $21.55, 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 New York compares with other states
Over a full year, the New York median of $41,640 is $4,800 more than the national $36,840.
In the state ranking, New York sits 3rd, between Washington ($21.89) and California ($19.75). The range runs from $13.64 in Mississippi to $21.91 in Massachusetts.
Against its neighboring states, New York is in the middle: Massachusetts pays more, and Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Vermont pay less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in New York. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against New York |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | $20.02 | $41,640 | |
| Connecticut | $18.25 | $37,960 | −$1.77 an hour |
| Massachusetts | $21.91 | $45,580 | +$1.89 an hour |
| New Jersey | $18.09 | $37,630 | −$1.93 an hour |
| Pennsylvania | $17.56 | $36,520 | −$2.46 an hour |
| Vermont | $19.67 | $40,910 | −$0.35 an hour |
How many janitors work in New York
BLS estimates 195,250 janitors on payrolls in New York, 8.8% of the 2,209,760 nationwide. Only 1 state has more.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 20.2 of every 1,000 jobs in New York, 1.4 times the national share.
What a commercial cleaning company in New York should charge
Higher wages in New York go straight into the price. Take a commercial cleaning company in New York paying the state median of $20.02 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 | $20.02 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $44,827 |
| Break-even rate | ($44,827 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $89.88 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $89.88 ÷ 0.85 | $105.75 |
That is $105.75 per billable hour, 5.3 times the wage, and $4.06 more than the $101.69 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $24.09 in New York, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $112.89.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $17.48, the rate only drops to $101.29.
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 New York
- 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.