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The differences between janitors and cleaners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a cleaner has an average salary of $28,075, which is higher than the $27,954 average annual salary of a janitor.
The top three skills for a janitor include building floors, cleanliness and patients. The most important skills for a cleaner are commercial cleaning, building floors, and ventilation.
| Janitor | Cleaner | |
| Yearly salary | $27,954 | $28,075 |
| Hourly rate | $13.44 | $13.50 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 57,146 | 74,355 |
| Job satisfaction | 3.67 | 4 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 56% | High School Diploma, 51% |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Janitors are primarily responsible for maintaining the sanitation and cleanliness of the workspace. They are in charge of sweeping and mopping floors, wiping surfaces, and ensuring that the area they are assigned to is properly sanitized. They manage the inventory of supplies and ensure that they would never run out of cleaning supplies by properly tracking the usage of each material. Some skilled janitors are also responsible for doing minor repairs to different office equipment and fixtures. They also help in company event setups and cleanups, as well as in liaising tasks that the office might need.
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.
Janitors and cleaners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Janitor | Cleaner | |
| Average salary | $27,954 | $28,075 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $35,000 | Between $21,000 And $36,000 |
| Highest paying City | Lexington, MA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | Argonne National Laboratory | Columbia University in the City of New York |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Education |
There are a few differences between a janitor and a cleaner in terms of educational background:
| Janitor | Cleaner | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 56% | High School Diploma, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between janitors' and cleaners' demographics:
| Janitor | Cleaner | |
| Average age | 49 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9% | Male, 49.7% Female, 50.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 4.4% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |