Building custodian vs day porter

The differences between building custodians and day porters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a day porter has an average salary of $28,820, which is higher than the $28,125 average annual salary of a building custodian.

The top three skills for a building custodian include GRASS, building floors and ladders. The most important skills for a day porter are commercial cleaning, customer service, and work ethic.

Building custodian vs day porter overview

	Building Custodian	Day Porter
Yearly salary	$28,125	$28,820
Hourly rate	$13.52	$13.86
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	36,128	84,003
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	High School Diploma, 52%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Building custodian vs day porter salary

Building custodians and day porters have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Building Custodian	Day Porter
Average salary	$28,125	$28,820
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $36,000	Between $22,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City	Lawrence, MA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Washington
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Northwest Center
Best paying industry	Government	Utilities

Differences between building custodian and day porter education

There are a few differences between a building custodian and a day porter in terms of educational background:

	Building Custodian	Day Porter
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	High School Diploma, 52%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Building custodian vs day porter demographics

Here are the differences between building custodians' and day porters' demographics:

	Building Custodian	Day Porter
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1%	Male, 55.8% Female, 44.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 22.1% Asian, 5.1% White, 57.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 28.5% Asian, 5.3% White, 51.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between building custodian and day porter duties and responsibilities

Building custodian example responsibilities.

Use of floor scrubbers and carpet machine.s.
Clean all bathrooms including fixtures, urinals, toilets, washbowls and wall tiles.
Sweep all floors, scrub interior and exterior surfaces including underside lips of commodes, urinals and wash basins.
Maintain a positive accountability for cleanliness for a secure government building.
Perform mechanical repairs and services to plumbing, electrical, mechanical systems and large rotating equipment including refrigeration systems.
Perform emergencies work requests, schedule and unschedule maintenance program, emergencies and coordinate special projects as directed.

Day porter example responsibilities.

Replenish paper supplies, maintain restrooms including toilets, urinals, counters, and sinks.
Sanitize of hundreds of rooms, perform carpet maintenance utilizing chemicals, cleaning machinery such as scrubbers and buffers.
Clean and sanitize restroom facilities and fixtures including sinks, urinals and toilets, wash windows, mirrors and walls.
Operate automatic sweepers and scrubbers.
Maintain cleanliness of grounds using designate equipment.
Subject to quarterly safety and cleanliness inspections.

Building custodian vs day porter skills

Common building custodian skills

GRASS, 10%
Building Floors, 9%
Ladders, 6%
Light Fixtures, 6%
Cleanliness, 6%
Building Maintenance, 5%

Common day porter skills

Commercial Cleaning, 15%
Customer Service, 13%
Work Ethic, 12%
ABM, 8%
Cleanliness, 6%
Office Buildings, 3%

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Building Custodian vs Day Porter

Updated January 8, 2025

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