Janitorial assistant vs sanitation worker

The differences between janitorial assistants and sanitation workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a sanitation worker has an average salary of $33,159, which is higher than the $28,949 average annual salary of a janitorial assistant.

The top three skills for a janitorial assistant include building floors, clean bathrooms and office furniture. The most important skills for a sanitation worker are cleanliness, pallet jack, and food safety.

Janitorial assistant vs sanitation worker overview

	Janitorial Assistant	Sanitation Worker
Yearly salary	$28,949	$33,159
Hourly rate	$13.92	$15.94
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	32,844	27,943
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 58%	High School Diploma, 61%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

Janitorial assistant vs sanitation worker salary

Janitorial assistants and sanitation workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Janitorial Assistant	Sanitation Worker
Average salary	$28,949	$33,159
Salary range	Between $22,000 And $36,000	Between $26,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	-	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	Michigan State University
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between janitorial assistant and sanitation worker education

There are a few differences between a janitorial assistant and a sanitation worker in terms of educational background:

	Janitorial Assistant	Sanitation Worker
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 58%	High School Diploma, 61%
Most common major	General Studies	Business
Most common college	-	-

Janitorial assistant vs sanitation worker demographics

Here are the differences between janitorial assistants' and sanitation workers' demographics:

	Janitorial Assistant	Sanitation Worker
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 63.9% Female, 36.1%	Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 4.8% White, 58.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 4.9% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between janitorial assistant and sanitation worker duties and responsibilities

Janitorial assistant example responsibilities.

Assist with light building repairs, maintain building cleanliness, strip and wax floors, order and manage supplies.
Operate power equipment such as wet and dry vacuums, buffers, polishers, and auto scrubbers.
Perform emergencies work requests, schedule and unschedule maintenance program, emergencies and coordinate special projects as directed.
Create automated daily stats report that reduce inaccuracies and provide management with an important decision-making tool.

Sanitation worker example responsibilities.

Operate a forklift for logistic, to manage and relocate BMW's fixture material.
Use power equipment such as floor sweepers, vacuums, scrubbers, mops, power washers.
Maintain cleanliness of entire facility according to OSHA and FDA regulations
Drive heavy equipment with CDL'S.
Train on (loto) lockout tag out
Landscape work including edging, mulching and mowing.

Janitorial assistant vs sanitation worker skills

Common janitorial assistant skills

Building Floors, 31%
Clean Bathrooms, 10%
Office Furniture, 7%
Restroom Facilities, 4%
Glass Partitions, 4%
Soapy Water, 4%

Common sanitation worker skills

Cleanliness, 14%
Pallet Jack, 13%
Food Safety, 11%
Safety Standards, 9%
Production Equipment, 5%
Safety Procedures, 4%

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Janitorial Assistant vs Sanitation Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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