Sanitation worker vs garbage collector

The differences between sanitation workers and garbage collectors 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 $29,093 average annual salary of a garbage collector.

The top three skills for a sanitation worker include cleanliness, pallet jack and food safety. The most important skills for a garbage collector are hoisting, recyclable materials, and maintenance checks.

Sanitation worker vs garbage collector overview

	Sanitation Worker	Garbage Collector
Yearly salary	$33,159	$29,093
Hourly rate	$15.94	$13.99
Growth rate	4%	6%
Number of jobs	27,943	3,431
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 61%	High School Diploma, 60%
Average age	49	43
Years of experience	-	12

Sanitation worker vs garbage collector salary

Sanitation workers and garbage collectors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Sanitation Worker	Garbage Collector
Average salary	$33,159	$29,093
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $41,000	Between $21,000 And $39,000
Highest paying City	Santa Rosa, CA	Fairfield, CA
Highest paying state	Alaska	Alaska
Best paying company	Michigan State University	City of Charleston
Best paying industry	Government	Manufacturing

Differences between sanitation worker and garbage collector education

There are a few differences between a sanitation worker and a garbage collector in terms of educational background:

	Sanitation Worker	Garbage Collector
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 61%	High School Diploma, 60%
Most common major	Business	General Studies
Most common college	-	-

Sanitation worker vs garbage collector demographics

Here are the differences between sanitation workers' and garbage collectors' demographics:

	Sanitation Worker	Garbage Collector
Average age	49	43
Gender ratio	Male, 82.1% Female, 17.9%	Male, 95.0% Female, 5.0%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 13.1% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 2.8% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.0%
LGBT Percentage	5%	4%

Differences between sanitation worker and garbage collector duties and responsibilities

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.

Garbage collector example responsibilities.

Start hoisting device that raises refuse bin attach to rear of truck and dumps contents onto opening in enclose truck body.
Used pitch forks, shovels and similar hand tools to pick up general refuse and trash from curbside and other areas.
Return products to Comcast corporate locations

Sanitation worker vs garbage collector skills

Common sanitation worker skills

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

Common garbage collector skills

Hoisting, 26%
Recyclable Materials, 24%
Maintenance Checks, 7%
Residential Buildings, 7%
Drive Trucks, 7%
Property Damage, 6%

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Sanitation Worker vs Garbage Collector

Updated January 8, 2025

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