There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a pressure washer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.55 an hour? That's $32,339 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 4% and produce 156,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What Does a Pressure Washer Do

There are certain skills that many pressure washers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed customer-service skills, mechanical skills and time-management skills.

How To Become a Pressure Washer

If you're interested in becoming a pressure washer, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 8.9% of pressure washers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.1% of pressure washers have master's degrees. Even though some pressure washers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Pressure Washer Career Paths

Average Salary for a Pressure Washer

Pressure Washers in America make an average salary of $32,339 per year or $16 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $42,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $24,000 per year.
Average Pressure Washer Salary
$32,339 Yearly
$15.55 hourly

What Am I Worth?

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Roles and Types of Pressure Washer

There are several types of pressure washer, including:

Detailer

Role:

All about the details. It's true, detailers are focused on the details. Whether it's detailing a car to a client's request or polishing off construction plans, detailers make sure they go over all the fine print before anything.

You'll notice that becoming a detailer will mean you'll become pretty nit-picky about things. After all, if you want to do your job right it's all in the details. In general, you'll probably only need a high school diploma. As long as you're good about getting into the nitty gritty of specific details, we're sure you'll do just fine.
  • Average Salary: $29,506
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Car Detailer

Role:

Car detailers clean the exterior and interior of automobiles to meet the company's or client's specifications. They wash, wax, and buff the exterior of vehicles thoroughly to remove debris and dirt. Likewise, they clean the windows using the proper cleaning products. They shampoo and vacuum the interior fabrics in the vehicle, such as the floor mats, overhead linings, and seats. Similarly, they wash vehicle tires, wheel wells, and mudguards. Also, they maintain all automotive cleaning tools and equipment.

This career path does not require any special education or training. With a high school diploma or higher education, you can get this job. However, you need a valid driver's license. The employer may provide on-the-job training. However, you must be able to use cleaning equipment and tools and possess communication, attention to detail, customer service, and sales skills. Annually, you will earn $31,472 on average. This will range from $22,000 to $45,000.

  • Average Salary: $29,125
  • Degree: High School Diploma

Auto Detailer

Role:

Auto detailers are responsible for detailing vehicles according to the customer's instructions. They work in car dealerships, auto-detailing shops, or mobile services. Primarily, they clean the exterior and interior of automobiles. Their duties revolve around cleaning mechanical parts like the engine, waxing, and buffing the vehicle's body. Asides from that, they prepare new, used, and demo vehicles for sales. They remove stickers, add decals, and check vehicles to confirm they are clean. Additionally, they use special equipment to dry the inside and outside surfaces.

A minimum of a high school diploma or its equivalent is the educational requirement for this position. You may be required to have a valid driver's license with a clean driving record. You must possess customer service, attention to detail, communication, multitasking, observational, problem-solving, and time management skills. Auto detailers are paid about $24,893 yearly. Their salary ranges $17,000 and $36,000.

  • Average Salary: $28,746
  • Degree: High School Diploma

States With The Most Pressure Washer Jobs

Number Of Pressure Washer Jobs By State

RankStateNumber of JobsAverage Salary
1Florida65$25,143
2Texas39$25,127
3Pennsylvania26$32,308
4New York23$36,527
5Tennessee23$24,169
6Nevada21$25,648
7Massachusetts18$39,343
8Arizona17$27,220
9Wisconsin16$31,446
10Georgia15$24,594
11Minnesota13$34,927
12California13$35,991
13Ohio13$29,974
14Indiana12$31,207
15Illinois10$35,250
16Alabama10$24,973
17Maryland9$30,138
18Washington8$35,471
19Virginia8$27,180
20Louisiana8$22,840
21Iowa7$31,794
22New Jersey6$32,638
23Utah6$26,601
24Michigan6$27,650
25South Carolina6$26,449
26North Carolina6$25,486
27Alaska5$34,999
28Oregon5$32,340
29Colorado5$32,358
30Maine3$39,402
31Montana3$34,081
32Kansas2$30,213
33Missouri2$30,864
34Arkansas2$26,037
35New Hampshire1$37,194
36Wyoming1$32,020
37Delaware1$33,342
38Connecticut1$34,058
39Idaho1$31,518
40Kentucky1$28,253
41Nebraska1$27,874
42Oklahoma1$26,742
43Mississippi1$22,504
44Rhode Island0$37,537
45Vermont0$37,422
46North Dakota0$32,931
47South Dakota0$30,395
48Hawaii0$32,060
49West Virginia0$26,462
50New Mexico0$24,853

Pressure Washer Education

Pressure Washer Majors

22.1 %

Pressure Washer Degrees

High School Diploma

54.2 %

Diploma

18.1 %

Associate

13.0 %

Top Skills For a Pressure Washer

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, 29.4% of pressure washers listed pressure wash on their resume, but soft skills such as customer-service skills and mechanical skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Pressure Washer Resume templates

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

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Pressure Washer Demographics

Pressure Washer Gender Distribution

Male
Male
94%
Female
Female
6%

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

  • Among pressure washers, 6.1% of them are women, while 93.9% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among pressure washers is White, which makes up 57.0% of all pressure washers.

  • The most common foreign language among pressure washers is Spanish at 76.3%.

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Top Pressure Washer Employers

Most Common Employers For Pressure Washer

RankCompanyAverage SalaryHourly RateJob Openings
1Harsco$41,658$20.034
2Briggs & Stratton$35,354$17.006
3Tube City IMS$34,986$16.824
4Gibson$33,670$16.197
5MPW$32,980$15.865
6Coastline$32,593$15.674
7FLEETWASH$32,258$15.5119
8Quala$32,227$15.494
9ManpowerGroup$31,857$15.3210
10HOODZ International$31,837$15.314

Pressure Washer Videos