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The differences between custodians and porters 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 $29,861 average annual salary of a porter.
The top three skills for a custodian include cleanliness, work ethic and customer service. The most important skills for a porter are excellent guest, dexterity, and customer service.
| Custodian | Porter | |
| Yearly salary | $30,176 | $29,861 |
| Hourly rate | $14.51 | $14.36 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 47,364 | 87,777 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 48% | High School Diploma, 51% |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
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.
Custodians and porters have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Custodian | Porter | |
| Average salary | $30,176 | $29,861 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $39,000 | Between $23,000 And $37,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Alaska |
| Best paying company | Los Alamos National Laboratory | Community Housing Innovations |
| Best paying industry | Education | Retail |
There are a few differences between a custodian and a porter in terms of educational background:
| Custodian | Porter | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 48% | High School Diploma, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between custodians' and porters' demographics:
| Custodian | Porter | |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.4% Female, 35.6% | Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |