School janitor vs professional cleaner

The differences between school janitors and professional cleaners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a school janitor has an average salary of $30,824, which is higher than the $27,268 average annual salary of a professional cleaner.

The top three skills for a school janitor include building floors, commercial cleaning and clean classrooms. The most important skills for a professional cleaner are building floors, clean bathrooms, and clean windows.

School janitor vs professional cleaner overview

	School Janitor	Professional Cleaner
Yearly salary	$30,824	$27,268
Hourly rate	$14.82	$13.11
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	74,188	119,875
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 44%
Average age	49	49
Years of experience	-	-

School janitor vs professional cleaner salary

School janitors and professional cleaners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	School Janitor	Professional Cleaner
Average salary	$30,824	$27,268
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $38,000	Between $20,000 And $35,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Massachusetts
Best paying company	-	Vacation
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between school janitor and professional cleaner education

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

	School Janitor	Professional Cleaner
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 51%	High School Diploma, 44%
Most common major	General Studies	Business
Most common college	-	-

School janitor vs professional cleaner demographics

Here are the differences between school janitors' and professional cleaners' demographics:

	School Janitor	Professional Cleaner
Average age	49	49
Gender ratio	Male, 67.4% Female, 32.6%	Male, 24.9% Female, 75.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 20.8% Asian, 4.9% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%	Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.2% Asian, 4.6% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3%
LGBT Percentage	5%	5%

Differences between school janitor and professional cleaner duties and responsibilities

School janitor example responsibilities.

Mow and trim lawns and shrubbery, using mowers and hand and power trimmers, clear debris from grounds.
Disinfect toilets and urinals plus restock paper materials.
Maintain working facilities-use floor scrubbers to clean assign areas-Polished floors-cleane bathrooms and take out garbage to maintain a clean environment
Mow and trim lawns and shrubbery, using mowers and hand and power trimmers, and clear debris from grounds.

Professional cleaner example responsibilities.

Supervise and train maids in their cleaning duties to ensure company standards of cleanliness are achieved.
Assist in cleaning restroom facilities including cleaning toilets, urinals, sinks, and mopping floors.
Execute commercial building following safety awareness to maintain cleanliness and neatness of working area and premises.
Sweep mop sanitize and disinfect surfaces dust buff floors clean restrooms basements clean out stoves and refrigerators etc

School janitor vs professional cleaner skills

Common school janitor skills

Building Floors, 34%
Commercial Cleaning, 16%
Clean Classrooms, 8%
Urinals, 8%
Class Rooms, 6%
Clean Restrooms, 5%

Common professional cleaner skills

Building Floors, 25%
Clean Bathrooms, 16%
Clean Windows, 13%
Office Buildings, 9%
Light Fixtures, 6%
Commercial Cleaning, 4%

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School Janitor vs Professional Cleaner

Updated January 8, 2025

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