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How to hire a senior custodian

Senior custodian hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring senior custodians in the United States:

  • There are currently 401,044 senior custodians in the US, as well as 8,357 job openings.
  • Senior custodians are in the highest demand in Los Angeles, CA, with 22 current job openings.
  • The median cost to hire a senior custodian is $1,633.
  • It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
  • Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
  • On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new senior custodian to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a senior custodian, step by step

To hire a senior custodian, you should clearly understand the skills and experience you are looking for in a candidate, and allocate a budget for the position. You will also need to post and promote the job opening to reach potential candidates. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to hire a senior custodian:

Here's a step-by-step senior custodian hiring guide:

  • Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
  • Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
  • Step 3: Make a budget
  • Step 4: Write a senior custodian job description
  • Step 5: Post your job
  • Step 6: Interview candidates
  • Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new senior custodian
  • Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a senior custodian do?

A senior custodian's main responsibility is to lead a team and assign team members various tasks related to the daily custodial activities. They regulate a variety of custodial tasks to provide a safe and clean working environment. They have to make sure that restrooms, meeting rooms, and other rooms are duly cleaned. They also ensure routine maintenance activities are performed.

Learn more about the specifics of what a senior custodian does
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  1. Identify your hiring needs

    Before you start hiring a senior custodian, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

    Determine employee vs contractor status
    Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

    A senior custodian's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, senior custodians from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

    The following list breaks down different types of senior custodians and their corresponding salaries.

    Type of Senior CustodianDescriptionHourly rate
    Senior CustodianJanitors and building cleaners keep many types of buildings clean, orderly, and in good condition.$11-21
    Day PorterDay porters are skilled employees who are responsible for conducting daily building maintenance at a facility to ensure it looks neat and presentable to the public. These porters are required to clean all common room areas such as the kitchen, cafeteria, and lobby as well as prepare conference rooms before and after meetings... Show more$10-17
    CleanerCleaners ensure that a room, building, or other area is spotless. They clean by mopping floors, dusting cabinets, wiping surfaces, among others... Show more$10-17
  2. Create an ideal candidate profile

    Common skills:
    • Ladders
    • Windows
    • Floor Care
    • Floor Machines
    • General Maintenance
    • Extractors
    • Scrubbers
    • Cleanliness
    • Dust Mop
    • Patient Rooms
    • Safety Regulations
    • Laundry Room
    • Safety Hazards
    • Minor Maintenance
    Check all skills
    Responsibilities:
    • Maintain cleanliness ofschools, monitor seventeen man work crew
    • Operate power equipment such as carpet extractors, pressure washer, hand, and power tools.
    • Maintain cleanliness throughout college campus which includes bathroom, hallways, laboratories lodges, offices, and lecture hall
    • Maintain exteriors by sweeping and/or blowing down sidewalks, stairs, or cleaning with high-pressure washers and riding sidewalk scrubbers.
    • Operate vacuum cleaners, floor scrubber, buffers, high pressure washer, carpet cleaning machines, wet/dry vacuums, extractors.
    • Operate cleaning machinery including floor buffers and scrubbers.
    More senior custodian duties
  3. Make a budget

    Including a salary range in the senior custodian job description is a good way to get more applicants. A senior custodian salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

    For example, the average salary for a senior custodian in New Mexico may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level senior custodian. Additionally, a senior custodian with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

    Average senior custodian salary

    $15.65hourly

    $32,547 yearly

    Entry-level senior custodian salary
    $23,000 yearly salary
    Updated December 16, 2025

    Average senior custodian salary by state

    RankStateAvg. salaryHourly rate
    1California$40,558$20
    2Minnesota$37,897$18
    3New York$35,359$17
    4New Jersey$33,418$16
    5Colorado$31,255$15
    6Illinois$31,022$15
    7Indiana$30,486$15
    8Utah$28,803$14
    9Virginia$26,240$13
    10Georgia$26,164$13
    11Missouri$25,168$12
    12Oklahoma$25,033$12
    13Texas$23,670$11
    14Tennessee$21,900$11
    15Louisiana$18,902$9

    Average senior custodian salary by company

    RankCompanyAverage salaryHourly rateJob openings
    1City of Los Angeles$69,973$33.64
    2Guidehouse$48,071$23.11
    3BNY Mellon$43,211$20.77
    4University of California-Berkeley$42,670$20.515
    5The Washington Post$42,598$20.48
    6University of California$41,496$19.9521
    7UC Santa Barbara$41,254$19.83
    8UC Merced$40,591$19.51
    9New Jersey Institute of Technology$40,516$19.48
    10City of McKinney$36,976$17.781
    11XPO Logistics$36,932$17.76
    12Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES$35,513$17.07
    13SoftHQ$35,187$16.92
    14Fresenius Medical Care North America Holdings Limited Partnership$34,391$16.53
    15UCI Health$34,167$16.433
    16Emory Healthcare$34,051$16.37
    17Emory University$32,821$15.78
    18City of El Dorado$32,417$15.59
    19Rochester Institute of Technology$32,408$15.58
    20Texas Tech University$31,909$15.34
  4. Writing a senior custodian job description

    A job description for a senior custodian role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a senior custodian job description:

    Senior custodian job description example

    1. To dust all available horizontal surfaces, being careful not to disturb papers or open desk drawers.

    2. To remove all trash and replace receptacle liners. To bring trash to the designated disposal area.

    3. To vacuum all carpet areas, extending cleaner under desks, along walls and moving items easily moved.

    4. To clean chalkboards, erasers and other classroom supplies.

    Restroom Cleaning

    1. To service all paper dispensers to capacity.

    2. To remove all trash and replace receptacle liners. To bring trash to the designated disposal area.

    3. To swab toilet bowls, making sure to clean under the rims. To damp wipe toilet seats, lids and sides of bowl. To leave lid in raised position.

    4. To clean all mirrors with glass cleaner. To dust above the mirrors and around air vents. To wipe down pipes under the sinks and polish all stainless-steel fixtures.

    5. To clean shower stalls daily.

    6. To wipe down bathroom walls, doorsills and partitions with disinfectant cleaner.

    7. To broom sweep and damp mop using disinfectant cleaner.

    Garage Maintenance

    1. To spot clean oil and grease spillage using absorbent that requires crushing with foot.

    2. To police assigned area for debris, (inc. but not limited to: paper, cigarette butts, dirt and other trash), using a broom and dust pan.

    3. To empty all trashcans and replace liners as needed.

    4. To clean ashtrays by removing ashes, butts, nicotine build-up and tar stains.

    Outside Maintenance

    1. To police the designated area and remove trash, (inc. but not limited to: cigarette butts, boxes, and other foreign debris), using a broom and dustpan.

    2. To service the push sweeper before use. (Check oil level before starting.)

    3. To machine sweep using the push sweeper.

    General

    1. To report to work when scheduled for periodic work.

    Skills and Abilities:

    1. Must be able to interact cordially and productively with a variety of people.

    2. Must be able to market Goodwill and explain the mission to the general public.

    3. Must establish and maintain effective working relationships with, and among, contract personnel.

    4. Must be able to read and communicate clearly in English.

    5. Must be able to work a flexible schedule on short notice, including nights and weekends, and occasionally, long or extended hours.

    6. Must use personal protective equipment as instructed.

    7. Must be able to lift and carry objects up to 10 #s frequently and 20 #s occasionally.

    8. Must have vision corrected to within normal limits.

    9. Must be able to engage in prolonged standing, walking and in frequent bending, stooping, and stretching and climbing stairs.

    10. Must be able to function in a hectic work environment with occasional periods of high stress.

    Requirements:

    1. Training or experience in the custodial field required.
    2. Must wear company issued uniform.

    Working Conditions:

    Frequent physical exertion, exposure to cleaning chemicals and potentially infectious materials, some duties will require working in inclement weather conditions.

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  5. Post your job

    To find senior custodians for your business, try out a few different recruiting strategies:

    • Consider internal talent. One of the most important talent pools for any company is its current employees.
    • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and your current work to ask if they know any senior custodians they would recommend.
    • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit entry-level senior custodians with the right educational background.
    • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter have more than 3.5 billion users, and they're a great place for company branding and reaching potential job candidates.
    Post your job online:
    • Post your senior custodian job on Zippia to find and recruit senior custodian candidates who meet your exact specifications.
    • Use field-specific websites.
    • Post a job on free websites.
  6. Interview candidates

    During your first interview to recruit senior custodians, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

    It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

    The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

  7. Send a job offer and onboard your new senior custodian

    Once you've selected the best senior custodian candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

    It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

    To prepare for the new senior custodian first day, you should share an onboarding schedule with them that covers their first period on the job. You should also quickly complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Finally, Human Resources must ensure a new employee file is created for internal record keeping.

  8. Go through the hiring process checklist

    • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
    • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
    • Define job responsibilities and requirements
    • Establish budget and timeline
    • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
    • Write job description
    • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
    • Promote the job internally
    • Process applications through applicant tracking system
    • Review resumes and cover letters
    • Shortlist candidates for screening
    • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
    • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
    • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
    • Conduct background checks on top candidates
    • Check references of top candidates
    • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
    • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
    • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
    • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
    • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
    • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a senior custodian?

Before you start to hire senior custodians, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire senior custodians pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

You can expect to pay around $32,547 per year for a senior custodian, as this is the median yearly salary nationally. This can vary depending on what state or city you're hiring in. If you're hiring for contract work or on a per-project basis, hourly rates for senior custodians in the US typically range between $11 and $21 an hour.

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