Custodian vs professional cleaner

The differences between custodians and professional cleaners 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 $27,268 average annual salary of a professional cleaner.

The top three skills for a custodian include cleanliness, work ethic and customer service. The most important skills for a professional cleaner are building floors, clean bathrooms, and clean windows.

Custodian vs professional cleaner overview

	Custodian	Professional Cleaner
Yearly salary	$30,176	$27,268
Hourly rate	$14.51	$13.11
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	47,364	119,875
Job satisfaction	4	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	High School Diploma, 44%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Custodian vs professional cleaner salary

Custodians and professional cleaners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Custodian	Professional Cleaner
Average salary	$30,176	$27,268
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $39,000	Between $20,000 And $35,000
Highest paying City	San Jose, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Los Alamos National Laboratory	Vacation
Best paying industry	Education	Manufacturing

Differences between custodian and professional cleaner education

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

	Custodian	Professional Cleaner
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 48%	High School Diploma, 44%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Custodian vs professional cleaner demographics

Here are the differences between custodians' and professional cleaners' demographics:

	Custodian	Professional Cleaner
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 64.4% Female, 35.6%	Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1%
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, 10.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 4.6% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between custodian and professional cleaner duties and responsibilities

Custodian example responsibilities.

Operate janitorial equipment including: vacuum cleaners, floor scrubbers, carpet cleaners, presser washers, leaf blowers, etc.
Fill in for custodians when they need off, clean schools, mow grass, salt lots.
Rake leaves, cut and water grass.
Clean windows, glass partitions, or mirrors, with sponges, or squeegees.
Strip and wax floors, clean windows, replace burnt-out light bulbs and ballasts.
Clean and perform preventative maintenance on all mechanical equipment (HVAC & ventilation systems).

Professional cleaner example responsibilities.

Supervise and train maids in their cleaning duties to ensure company standards of cleanliness are achieved.
Assist in cleaning restroom facilities including cleaning toilets, urinals, sinks, and mopping floors.
Execute commercial building following safety awareness to maintain cleanliness and neatness of working area and premises.
Sweep mop sanitize and disinfect surfaces dust buff floors clean restrooms basements clean out stoves and refrigerators etc

Custodian vs professional cleaner skills

Common custodian skills

Cleanliness, 13%
Work Ethic, 8%
Customer Service, 6%
Building Floors, 6%
Minor Maintenance, 5%
Ladders, 3%

Common professional cleaner skills

Building Floors, 25%
Clean Bathrooms, 16%
Clean Windows, 13%
Office Buildings, 9%
Light Fixtures, 6%
Commercial Cleaning, 4%

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Building and Grounds Maintenance Industry
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Custodian vs Professional Cleaner

Updated January 8, 2025

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