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The differences between cleaners 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 $28,075 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 porter are excellent guest, dexterity, and customer service.
| Cleaner | Porter | |
| Yearly salary | $28,075 | $29,861 |
| Hourly rate | $13.50 | $14.36 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 74,355 | 87,777 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 51% | High School Diploma, 51% |
| 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 porter is responsible for managing the building's cleanliness and orderliness, together with the cleaning maintenance team. Duties of a porter include ensuring the premises' safety, operating cleaning tools and equipment, and performing basic troubleshooting for defective machines. Other tasks include assisting visitors with their inquiries, leading clients to the appropriate departments, adhering to the highest safety standards and procedures, and answering maintenance calls. A porter must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to ensure daily smooth operations.
Cleaners and porters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Cleaner | Porter | |
| Average salary | $28,075 | $29,861 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $36,000 | Between $23,000 And $37,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Columbia University in the City of New York | Community Housing Innovations |
| Best paying industry | Education | Retail |
There are a few differences between a cleaner and a porter in terms of educational background:
| Cleaner | Porter | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 51% | High School Diploma, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between cleaners' and porters' demographics:
| Cleaner | Porter | |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3% | Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8% |
| 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, 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% |