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The differences between auto detailers and car wash attendants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a car wash attendant has an average salary of $30,843, which is higher than the $28,746 average annual salary of an auto detailer.
The top three skills for an auto detailer include shampoo carpets, general maintenance and service tools. The most important skills for a car wash attendant are visual inspections, menu options, and competent demeanor.
| Auto Detailer | Car Wash Attendant | |
| Yearly salary | $28,746 | $30,843 |
| Hourly rate | $13.82 | $14.83 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 11,018 | 49,512 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 57% | High School Diploma, 57% |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
An auto or car detailer is an employee who provides internal and external cleaning services for vehicles according to the clients' needs. Auto detailers provide the necessary cleaning services that can include steaming the interiors, vacuuming the carpets, and applying waxes and polishes. They are required to perform inspections of vehicles and provide accurate records of the vehicle's condition. By clients' requests, auto detailers must also move and park the clients' vehicles or deliver them to a specific location.
As a car wash attendant, they wash and polish car exteriors and interiors. They often clean tires, dust, drying, applying soap solutions, vacuuming car interiors, scraping loose specks of dirt, cleaning seats, and removing the trash on a car. This type of job requires reliability, communication, physical fitness, and customer service skills. Formal education is not fully required though most of them hold a high school diploma. However, their attention to detail and good customer service may increase their employment opportunities.
Auto detailers and car wash attendants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Auto Detailer | Car Wash Attendant | |
| Average salary | $28,746 | $30,843 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $35,000 | Between $24,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bellevue, WA | Brentwood, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Washington |
| Best paying company | Chemung Arc | Charles River Center |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Technology |
There are a few differences between an auto detailer and a car wash attendant in terms of educational background:
| Auto Detailer | Car Wash Attendant | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 57% | High School Diploma, 57% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between auto detailers' and car wash attendants' demographics:
| Auto Detailer | Car Wash Attendant | |
| Average age | 38 | 38 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.2% Female, 10.8% | Male, 84.4% Female, 15.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 4.5% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | Black or African American, 12.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 4.1% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |