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The differences between housekeepers 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 $29,306 average annual salary of a housekeeper.
The top three skills for a housekeeper include customer service, cleanliness and patients. The most important skills for a custodian are cleanliness, work ethic, and customer service.
| Housekeeper | Custodian | |
| Yearly salary | $29,306 | $30,176 |
| Hourly rate | $14.09 | $14.51 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 111,501 | 47,364 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 53% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| Average age | 48 | 49 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Housekeepers are responsible for taking care of their employers' houses. They are usually tasked to do work related to cleaning. Their primary responsibilities include sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping floors, managing recycling, taking out the trash, dusting surfaces, cleaning the bathroom, among others. They are also responsible for doing laundry, folding clothes, and storing clothes in cabinets. They may also be given additional responsibilities such as shopping for groceries, managing and stocking the pantry, cooking, walking pets and watering the plants. Housekeepers should be responsible, trustworthy, and knowledgeable on housework.
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.
Housekeepers and custodians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Housekeeper | Custodian | |
| Average salary | $29,306 | $30,176 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $38,000 | Between $23,000 And $39,000 |
| Highest paying City | Dallas, TX | San Jose, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | McMenamins Pubs & Breweries | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Education |
There are a few differences between a housekeeper and a custodian in terms of educational background:
| Housekeeper | Custodian | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 53% | High School Diploma, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between housekeepers' and custodians' demographics:
| Housekeeper | Custodian | |
| Average age | 48 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 15.4% Female, 84.6% | Male, 64.4% Female, 35.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.3% Asian, 5.4% White, 59.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% | 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 | 4% | 5% |