Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between cleaners and custodians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a custodian has an average salary of $30,176, which is higher than the $28,075 average annual salary of a cleaner.
The top three skills for a cleaner include commercial cleaning, building floors and ventilation. The most important skills for a custodian are cleanliness, work ethic, and customer service.
| Cleaner | Custodian | |
| Yearly salary | $28,075 | $30,176 |
| Hourly rate | $13.50 | $14.51 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 74,355 | 47,364 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | 4 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 51% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Cleaners ensure that a room, building, or other area is spotless. They clean by mopping floors, dusting cabinets, wiping surfaces, among others. They are in charge of ensuring that all areas are sanitized and always ready for use. They manage the sanitation of the washrooms. They also manage cleaning supplies and update the inventory when needed. They create requests for needed purchases of cleaning materials. They also keep a record of areas with routine cleaning needs to ensure that they will not be missed.
A custodian, also referred to as janitor, is responsible for maintaining cleanliness and helping protect all facilities. Custodians make sure everything is clean, neat, in order, and free from clutter and safe. They perform routine maintenance tasks and heavy cleaning duties. They do everyday things to sweep floors, mop, scrub, vacuum, collect and empty trash, dust furniture, walls, and equipment. They mix solutions and chemicals in containers based on proportions for disinfecting windows, mirrors, and other partitions requiring cleaning. Some also do minor building maintenance and light repairs, while others are exposed to biohazardous materials.
Cleaners and custodians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Cleaner | Custodian | |
| Average salary | $28,075 | $30,176 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $36,000 | Between $23,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Columbia University in the City of New York | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Education | Education |
There are a few differences between a cleaner and a custodian in terms of educational background:
| Cleaner | Custodian | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 51% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between cleaners' and custodians' demographics:
| Cleaner | Custodian | |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3% | Male, 64.4% Female, 35.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 5.0% White, 59.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 24.1% Asian, 5.0% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |