Building custodian vs office cleaner

The differences between building custodians and office cleaners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a building custodian has an average salary of $28,125, which is higher than the $27,453 average annual salary of an office cleaner.

The top three skills for a building custodian include GRASS, building floors and ladders. The most important skills for an office cleaner are commercial cleaning, window sills, and office buildings.

Building custodian vs office cleaner overview

	Building Custodian	Office Cleaner
Yearly salary	$28,125	$27,453
Hourly rate	$13.52	$13.20
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	36,128	77,079
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	High School Diploma, 48%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Building custodian vs office cleaner salary

Building custodians and office cleaners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Building Custodian	Office Cleaner
Average salary	$28,125	$27,453
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $36,000	Between $21,000 And $34,000
Highest paying City	Lawrence, MA	Tacoma, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Washington
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Southern
Best paying industry	Government	Finance

Differences between building custodian and office cleaner education

There are a few differences between a building custodian and an office cleaner in terms of educational background:

	Building Custodian	Office Cleaner
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	High School Diploma, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Building custodian vs office cleaner demographics

Here are the differences between building custodians' and office cleaners' demographics:

	Building Custodian	Office Cleaner
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1%	Male, 28.8% Female, 71.2%
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, 10.3% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.1% Asian, 4.8% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between building custodian and office cleaner 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.

Office cleaner example responsibilities.

Operate a forklift for logistic, to manage and relocate BMW's fixture material.
Use of heavy cleaning equipment-buffing machines, scrubbers, wall washing.
Use and maintain assign power equipment and hand tools; buffers, auto scrubbers etc.
Mix cleaning solutions to clean, disinfect and deodorize urinals, toilet bowls, and sinks.
Sanitize restrooms including sinks and urinals.
Clean restaurants during the evenings and ensure protocols are followed according to restaurant cleanliness guidelines.

Building custodian vs office cleaner skills

Common building custodian skills

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

Common office cleaner skills

Commercial Cleaning, 18%
Window Sills, 16%
Office Buildings, 14%
Trash Removal, 8%
Clean Restrooms, 6%
Office Space, 3%

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Building and Grounds Maintenance Industry
Building Custodian
Building Custodian vs Office Cleaner

Updated January 8, 2025

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