- The middle half earn between $14.22 and $17.92 an hour.
- Tennessee ranks 41st of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- Tennessee pays more than 4 of its 8 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 38,120 janitors on payrolls in Tennessee.
- At the state median wage, a commercial cleaning company needs to bill about $98.83 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Janitor pay in Tennessee, 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 | $12.85 | $26,720 | $13.77 |
| 25th percentile | $14.22 | $29,580 | $15.50 |
| Median | $16.08 | $33,440 | $17.71 |
| 75th percentile | $17.92 | $37,280 | $21.18 |
| 90th percentile | $21.96 | $45,690 | $24.17 |
| Average (mean) | $16.66 | $34,650 | $18.64 |
From the bottom tenth ($12.85) to the top tenth ($21.96), the top of the scale pays about 1.7 times the bottom in Tennessee, close to the 1.8 times spread for janitors nationwide.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $0.92 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $2.21 less than the national top tenth.
The average, $16.66, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How Tennessee compares with other states
Over a full year, the Tennessee median of $33,440 is $3,400 less than the national $36,840.
In the state ranking, Tennessee sits 41st, between Georgia ($16.50) and Texas ($15.87). The range runs from $13.64 in Mississippi to $21.91 in Massachusetts.
Against its neighboring states, Tennessee is in the middle: Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia pay more, and Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi pay less.
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 Tennessee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | $16.08 | $33,440 | |
| Alabama | $14.72 | $30,620 | −$1.36 an hour |
| Arkansas | $14.30 | $29,750 | −$1.78 an hour |
| Georgia | $16.50 | $34,310 | +$0.42 an hour |
| Kentucky | $15.54 | $32,320 | −$0.54 an hour |
| Mississippi | $13.64 | $28,380 | −$2.44 an hour |
| Missouri | $17.26 | $35,900 | +$1.18 an hour |
| North Carolina | $16.59 | $34,500 | +$0.51 an hour |
| Virginia | $16.91 | $35,170 | +$0.83 an hour |
How many janitors work in Tennessee
About 38,120 janitors work on payrolls in Tennessee, 1.7% of the 2,209,760 nationwide, the 21st largest count among the states.
That is 11.6 of every 1,000 jobs in Tennessee, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a commercial cleaning company in Tennessee should charge
A lower wage helps the price less than you might expect, because the overhead does not shrink with it. Here is a commercial cleaning company in Tennessee paying the state median of $16.08, 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 | $16.08 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $36,005 |
| Break-even rate | ($36,005 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $84.00 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $84.00 ÷ 0.85 | $98.83 |
That is $98.83 per billable hour, 6.1 times the wage, and $2.86 less than the $101.69 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $17.92 in Tennessee, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $102.06.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $14.22, the rate only drops to $95.56.
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 Tennessee
- 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.