Porter vs janitorial maintenance worker

The differences between porters and janitorial maintenance workers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a porter has an average salary of $29,861, which is higher than the $24,698 average annual salary of a janitorial maintenance worker.

The top three skills for a porter include excellent guest, dexterity and customer service. The most important skills for a janitorial maintenance worker are cleanliness, HVAC, and light fixtures.

Porter vs janitorial maintenance worker overview

	Porter	Janitorial Maintenance Worker
Yearly salary	$29,861	$24,698
Hourly rate	$14.36	$11.87
Growth rate	4%	14%
Number of jobs	87,777	103,876
Job satisfaction	-	5
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 55%
Average age	49	47
Years of experience	-	4

What does a porter do?

A porter is responsible for managing the building's cleanliness and orderliness, together with the cleaning maintenance team. Duties of a porter include ensuring the premises' safety, operating cleaning tools and equipment, and performing basic troubleshooting for defective machines. Other tasks include assisting visitors with their inquiries, leading clients to the appropriate departments, adhering to the highest safety standards and procedures, and answering maintenance calls. A porter must have excellent time-management and multi-tasking skills to ensure daily smooth operations.

What does a janitorial maintenance worker do?

A janitorial maintenance worker is one of the busiest employees in a company. They are responsible for inspecting all the office's rooms and equipment daily. They do the workplace's maintenance, including completing necessary repairs and replacing supplies. They mop the floor, wipe windows and blinds, and disinfect dirty areas. They also ensure that all employees go in and out of the office in a clean and orderly manner.

Porter vs janitorial maintenance worker salary

Porters and janitorial maintenance workers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Porter	Janitorial Maintenance Worker
Average salary	$29,861	$24,698
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $37,000	Between $19,000 And $31,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Bellevue, WA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Maine
Best paying company	Community Housing Innovations	Brunswick
Best paying industry	Retail	Retail

Differences between porter and janitorial maintenance worker education

There are a few differences between a porter and a janitorial maintenance worker in terms of educational background:

	Porter	Janitorial Maintenance Worker
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 55%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Porter vs janitorial maintenance worker demographics

Here are the differences between porters' and janitorial maintenance workers' demographics:

	Porter	Janitorial Maintenance Worker
Average age	49	47
Gender ratio	Male, 86.2% Female, 13.8%	Male, 82.2% Female, 17.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.1% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 24.7% Asian, 4.9% White, 52.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.8% Asian, 2.6% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.4%
LGBT Percentage	5%	6%

Differences between porter and janitorial maintenance worker duties and responsibilities

Porter example responsibilities.

Wash down all kitchen walls, and cleaning stoves, fryers and also ovens.
Operate vehicles and power equipment, such as movers, tractors, twin-axle vehicles, snow blowers, and pruning saws.
Operate cardboard compactor to recycle boxes.
Put tenant's dishes away in the office.
Record mileage and VIN numbers of customer vehicle.
Clear dish rack & bring dishes down to dishwasher.

Janitorial maintenance worker example responsibilities.

Assist with light building repairs, maintain building cleanliness, strip and wax floors, order and manage supplies.
Perform minor maintenance including plumbing and electrical.
Climb ladders and lift heavy loads during set-up for events.
power wash parking lot, clean fryers, clean bathrooms.
Perform various landscaping duties such as mowing grass and pruning trees.
Sanitize the available facilities at the restroom; basins, urinals, and toilets.

Porter vs janitorial maintenance worker skills

Common porter skills

Excellent Guest, 24%
Dexterity, 11%
Customer Service, 8%
Cleanliness, 8%
Good Communication, 5%
General Maintenance, 3%

Common janitorial maintenance worker skills

Cleanliness, 26%
HVAC, 21%
Light Fixtures, 16%
OSHA, 4%
Plumbing, 4%
Building Floors, 3%

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Porter vs Janitorial Maintenance Worker

Updated January 8, 2025

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