Clean up, clean up. Everybody, everywhere. As a janitor, the song you used to sing as a kid, when your parents made you clean your room, is even useful today, in your job. The majority of your day will be spent making sure everything is clean and in good condition.

Janitors typically work inside, although some may need to extend their duties to maintaining cleanliness outside as well. From sweeping the floors to mowing the lawn, everything stays in pristine order with you in charge.

Usually, janitors work evening shifts. This gives you plenty of space to work with no one in your way. That way you can get in and get out quickly. You won't need a formal education as a janitor, but you will learn on-the-job, so make sure you're paying attention during training.

What Does a Janitor Do

Janitors and building cleaners keep many types of buildings clean, orderly, and in good condition.

Learn more about what a Janitor does

How To Become a Janitor

Most janitors and building cleaners learn on the job. Formal education is not required.

Learn More About How To Become a Janitor

Janitor Job Description

Janitors are skilled professionals who manage the overall cleanliness and sanitation of a specific area or even an entire building. They do this by ensuring that surfaces are clean at all times, adhering to cleaning schedules, ensuring that cleaning materials are always available, and emptying trash bins often.

Learn more about Janitor Job Description

Janitor Career Paths

Average Salary for a Janitor

Janitors in America make an average salary of $27,954 per year or $13 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $35,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $21,000 per year.
Average Janitor Salary
$27,954 Yearly
$13.44 hourly

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Roles and Types of Janitor

The role of a janitor includes a wide range of responsibilities. These responsibilities can vary based on an individual's specific job, company, or industry.Here are some general janitor responsibilities:

  • Clean all office facilities, break rooms,
  • Perform heavy cleaning duties clean floors by sweeping
  • Performs all cleaning, floor care, moving, cosmetic, maintenance, grounds work,

There are several types of janitor, including:

Housekeeper

Role:

Housekeepers are in charge of making sure a private home or commercial establishment, like a hotel, is clean. Simply put, you vaccuum, wash the sheets, replace the old sheets with clean sheets, straighten up the rooms, and make the beds.

Generally, you won't have to interact with visitors unless it is a private home. This means communication skills aren't really needed but a good set of headphones might do you some good. You can finally catch up on that podcast or catch the latest tunes, or whatever the kids are listening to nowadays.

There is a lot of opportunity in this field, as there are a lot of places that could use a good cleaning. So really it comes down to what kind of company you hope to work for. It's nice to have options, isn't it?

  • Average Salary: $29,306
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Cleaner

Role:

As a cleaner, it is your responsibility to ensure the building or buildings you're in charge of are spotless. From sweeping the floors and washing windows to cleaning the bathrooms and maybe even mowing the lawn, your goal is to make the building(s) shine.

A lot of your job is done after hours usually, as that's when everyone has gone home and will be out of your way. Some of the work may be unpleasant since there will be areas that are more dirty than others.

Luckily, the job isn't too demanding education wise, so you should be able to pick it up after a bit of on-the-job training. Other than training, you won't need any formal education. Another plus for this position is that you can essentially work anywhere. Everyone needs an exceptional cleaner.

  • Average Salary: $28,075
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Custodian

Role:

Custodians are an essential job at every business. They clean and keep the building in orderly condition. Without custodians, who knows what that mess would be like.

Usually, custodians learn while they're on the job. For the most part, there aren't any education requirements. Usually they work inside, but sometimes their job takes them outside. Especially if part of their job is sweeping sidewalks or mowing lawns.

  • Average Salary: $30,176
  • Degree: High School Diploma

States With The Most Janitor Jobs

Mouse over a state to see the number of active janitor jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where janitors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.

Average Salary: Job Openings:

Number Of Janitor Jobs By State

Janitor Education

Janitor Majors

18.3 %

Janitor Degrees

High School Diploma

56.2 %

Diploma

16.0 %

Associate

12.6 %

Top Skills For a Janitor

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 11.7% of janitors listed building floors on their resume, but soft skills such as interpersonal skills and physical strength are important as well.

  • Building Floors, 11.7%
  • Cleanliness, 11.6%
  • Patients, 9.2%
  • Window Sills, 6.4%
  • Commercial Cleaning, 5.4%
  • Other Skills, 55.7%

Choose From 10+ Customizable Janitor Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Janitor templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Janitor resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Janitor diversity

Janitor Gender Distribution

Male
Male
63%
Female
Female
37%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among janitors, 36.9% of them are women, while 63.1% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among janitors is White, which makes up 58.5% of all janitors.

  • The most common foreign language among janitors is Spanish at 79.3%.

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Best States For a Janitor

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a janitor. The best states for people in this position are Massachusetts, Washington, New York, and Vermont. Janitors make the most in Massachusetts with an average salary of $34,833. Whereas in Washington and New York, they would average $33,992 and $33,003, respectively. While janitors would only make an average of $32,505 in Vermont, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Maine

Total Janitor Jobs: 171
Highest 10% Earn:
$37,000
Location Quotient:
1.16

2. Vermont

Total Janitor Jobs: 82
Highest 10% Earn:
$39,000
Location Quotient:
0.97

3. New Hampshire

Total Janitor Jobs: 187
Highest 10% Earn:
$37,000
Location Quotient:
0.97
Full List Of Best States For Janitors

How Do Janitors Rate Their Jobs?

5/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Janitor Reviews

5.0
Apr 2021
Pros

Carpet shampoo ceramic vaffinh

Cons

People irresponsible to true the personal use every where


5.0
Jul 2020
Pros

Sweeping,mopping,buffing floors,taking out trash,

Cons

Stripping,waxing,cleaning walls,cleaning restrooms.


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Top Janitor Employers

Most Common Employers For Janitor

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Walmart$31,164$14.98408
2ManpowerGroup$28,782$13.84277
3Kelly Services$28,476$13.69154
4PeopleReady$28,474$13.69285
5Aramark$28,125$13.52282
6Aerotek$27,792$13.36172
7Jani-King$26,873$12.921,054
8Kimco Facility Services$26,854$12.91876
9Diversified Maintenance$26,853$12.91231
10Enviro-Clean$26,839$12.90159

Janitor Videos

Becoming a Janitor FAQs

How Long Does It Take To Become A Janitor?

It takes 2 years of professional experience to become a janitor. That is the time it takes to learn specific janitor skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education.

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