Cleaner vs housekeeping cleaner

The differences between cleaners and housekeeping cleaners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a cleaner has an average salary of $28,075, which is higher than the $25,439 average annual salary of a housekeeping cleaner.

The top three skills for a cleaner include commercial cleaning, building floors and ventilation. The most important skills for a housekeeping cleaner are light fixtures, guest rooms, and cleanliness.

Cleaner vs housekeeping cleaner overview

	Cleaner	Housekeeping Cleaner
Yearly salary	$28,075	$25,439
Hourly rate	$13.50	$12.23
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	74,355	101,232
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 55%
Average age	49	48
Years of experience	-	-

What does a cleaner do?

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.

What does a housekeeping cleaner do?

A housekeeping cleaner is an individual who provides general cleaning services. Your tasks may vary but typically include vacuuming, dusting, mopping floors, and cleaning bathrooms, bedrooms, and kitchens. Other tasks that you will perform include changing towels and sheets, emptying bins and taking waste to disposal areas, and replenishing supplies such as toilet paper and soap. In addition, you will be responsible for cleaning windows, woodwork, and walls and lifting and moving lightweight equipment and objects. You will also be tasked to clean and maintain hallways.

Cleaner vs housekeeping cleaner salary

Cleaners and housekeeping cleaners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Cleaner	Housekeeping Cleaner
Average salary	$28,075	$25,439
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $36,000	Between $18,000 And $34,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Dedham, MA
Highest paying state	Washington	Rhode Island
Best paying company	Columbia University in the City of New York	McCabe
Best paying industry	Education	Health Care

Differences between cleaner and housekeeping cleaner education

There are a few differences between a cleaner and a housekeeping cleaner in terms of educational background:

	Cleaner	Housekeeping Cleaner
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 55%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Cleaner vs housekeeping cleaner demographics

Here are the differences between cleaners' and housekeeping cleaners' demographics:

	Cleaner	Housekeeping Cleaner
Average age	49	48
Gender ratio	Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3%	Male, 20.7% Female, 79.3%
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, 9.6% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	5%	4%

Differences between cleaner and housekeeping cleaner duties and responsibilities

Cleaner example responsibilities.

Operate a forklift for logistic, to manage and relocate BMW's fixture material.
Remove snow from sidewalks, using snow blowers, and/or snow shovels, and spread snow melting chemicals.
Use of various equipment used for methods of cleaning areas in the school such sweepers and snow blowers.
Maintain church building and grounds by handling general maintenance including electrical and plumbing and providing custodial services
Complete weekly order for PPE.
Clean Toyota after trucks build.

Housekeeping cleaner example responsibilities.

Train and manage several maids and achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
Maintain high standards of cleanliness with bakery machinery/equipment to detail outside of machinery as well as deep clean inside machinery/equipment.
Run errands such as taking laundry to the cleaners and buying groceries.

Cleaner vs housekeeping cleaner skills

Common cleaner skills

Commercial Cleaning, 8%
Building Floors, 8%
Ventilation, 8%
Cleanliness, 7%
Customer Service, 7%
Work Ethic, 6%

Common housekeeping cleaner skills

Light Fixtures, 19%
Guest Rooms, 17%
Cleanliness, 10%
Window Sills, 9%
Patient Rooms, 5%
Laundry Room, 5%

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Cleaner vs Housekeeping Cleaner

Updated January 8, 2025

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