Building custodian vs window cleaner

The differences between building custodians and window cleaners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a window cleaner has an average salary of $29,697, 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 window cleaner are ladders, clean windows, and safety procedures.

Building custodian vs window cleaner overview

	Building Custodian	Window Cleaner
Yearly salary	$28,125	$29,697
Hourly rate	$13.52	$14.28
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	36,128	40,491
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 41%	High School Diploma, 48%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Building custodian vs window cleaner salary

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

	Building Custodian	Window Cleaner
Average salary	$28,125	$29,697
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $36,000	Between $23,000 And $38,000
Highest paying City	Lawrence, MA	Burien, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Washington
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Janus Henderson U.S.
Best paying industry	Government	Construction

Differences between building custodian and window cleaner education

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

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

Building custodian vs window cleaner demographics

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

	Building Custodian	Window Cleaner
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 74.9% Female, 25.1%	Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6%
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, 9.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 4.2% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between building custodian and window 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.

Window cleaner example responsibilities.

Operate a forklift for logistic, to manage and relocate BMW's fixture material.
Used tools such as scrubbers, squeegees, scrapers, extension poles, adjustable pole angles.
Use tools such as shovels, pick axes, jackhammer.
Scrape black caulking off the windows.
Clean building windows using squeegees and/or wands.
Handle maintenance work; caulking, remolding and framework.

Building custodian vs window cleaner skills

Common building custodian skills

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

Common window cleaner skills

Ladders, 23%
Clean Windows, 10%
Safety Procedures, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
Exterior Windows, 5%
Commercial Cleaning, 5%

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Building Custodian vs Window Cleaner

Updated January 8, 2025

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