Janitor vs service cleaner

The differences between janitors and service cleaners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a service cleaner has an average salary of $28,584, 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 service cleaner are urinals, window sills, and building floors.

Janitor vs service cleaner overview

	Janitor	Service Cleaner
Yearly salary	$27,954	$28,584
Hourly rate	$13.44	$13.74
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	57,146	77,556
Job satisfaction	3.67	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 56%	High School Diploma, 52%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Janitor vs service cleaner salary

Janitors and service cleaners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Janitor	Service Cleaner
Average salary	$27,954	$28,584
Salary range	Between $21,000 And $35,000	Between $22,000 And $36,000
Highest paying City	Lexington, MA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Argonne National Laboratory	Hudson Pacific Properties
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Government

Differences between janitor and service cleaner education

There are a few differences between a janitor and a service cleaner in terms of educational background:

	Janitor	Service Cleaner
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 56%	High School Diploma, 52%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Janitor vs service cleaner demographics

Here are the differences between janitors' and service cleaners' demographics:

	Janitor	Service Cleaner
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 63.1% Female, 36.9%	Male, 33.1% Female, 66.9%
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, 11.9% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 22.7% Asian, 4.9% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between janitor and service cleaner duties and responsibilities

Janitor example responsibilities.

Clean private residents entire home, floors, windows, using soapy water and other cleaners, sponges, and squeegees.
Use of floor extractors machine to strip, scrub, wax, and buff floors.
Wash windows and mirrors, tables and counter tops using window cleaner and cloths or paper, sponges, squeegees.
Organize supplies such as broom, mop, sponges, cleaning supplies, etc.
Used solvent, such as carbon dioxide, rags, brushes, pads, and sponges.
Dust and vacuums shred rooms and personal cubicle areas.

Service cleaner example responsibilities.

Make repairs around the stadium including, plumbing, electrical, HVAC etc.
Work alongside the head custodian in learning basic HVAC maintenance.
Sweep or shovels snow from steps and walks at building entrances.
Help repair furniture, windows, and plumbing fixtures for students living in the residence halls.
Make rounds of facility to check fire alarms, boilers, HVAC equipment, doors and windows.
Execute commercial building following safety awareness to maintain cleanliness and neatness of working area and premises.

Janitor vs service cleaner skills

Common janitor skills

Building Floors, 12%
Cleanliness, 12%
Patients, 9%
Window Sills, 6%
Commercial Cleaning, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

Common service cleaner skills

Urinals, 49%
Window Sills, 8%
Building Floors, 8%
Exam Rooms, 6%
Patient Rooms, 5%
Public Restrooms, 4%

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Janitor vs Service Cleaner

Updated January 8, 2025

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