Building custodian vs porter

The differences between building custodians and porters can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a porter has an average salary of $29,861, 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 porter are excellent guest, dexterity, and customer service.

Building custodian vs porter overview

	Building Custodian	Porter
Yearly salary	$28,125	$29,861
Hourly rate	$13.52	$14.36
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	36,128	87,777
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	High School Diploma, 51%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Building custodian vs porter salary

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

	Building Custodian	Porter
Average salary	$28,125	$29,861
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $36,000	Between $23,000 And $37,000
Highest paying City	Lawrence, MA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Alaska
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Community Housing Innovations
Best paying industry	Government	Retail

Differences between building custodian and porter education

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

	Building Custodian	Porter
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	High School Diploma, 51%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Building custodian vs porter demographics

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

	Building Custodian	Porter
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1%	Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8%
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, 12.1% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 24.7% Asian, 4.9% White, 52.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between building custodian and 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.

Porter example responsibilities.

Wash down all kitchen walls, and cleaning stoves, fryers and also ovens.
Operate vehicles and power equipment, such as movers, tractors, twin-axle vehicles, snow blowers, and pruning saws.
Operate cardboard compactor to recycle boxes.
Put tenant's dishes away in the office.
Record mileage and VIN numbers of customer vehicle.
Clear dish rack & bring dishes down to dishwasher.

Building custodian vs porter skills

Common building custodian skills

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

Common porter skills

Excellent Guest, 24%
Dexterity, 11%
Customer Service, 8%
Cleanliness, 8%
Good Communication, 5%
General Maintenance, 3%

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Building and Grounds Maintenance Industry
Building Custodian
Building Custodian vs Porter

Updated January 8, 2025

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