Cleaning service statistics span several related but distinct measures: household cleaning time, consumer spending on supplies, paid establishments, occupational employment and worker safety. The figures below focus on the United States and identify the population, period and definition behind each measure.
Key Cleaning Service Statistics
These are the most broadly useful cleaning service statistics in the data:
- In 2024, U.S. people age 15 and over spent 2.01 hours per day on household activities on average.
- In 2024, 80.4% of the U.S. population age 15 and over participated in household activities on an average day.
- In 2024, housework occupied 0.62 hours per day for U.S. people age 15 and over on average.
- In 2024, 37.0% of U.S. people age 15 and over did housework on an average day.
- In 2024, U.S. consumer units spent an average of $877 on housekeeping supplies.
- From 2023 to 2024, average U.S. consumer-unit spending on housekeeping supplies rose 7.2%.
- In 2023, the United States had 67,799 employer establishments in NAICS 561720 janitorial services.
- In 2023, the broader U.S. NAICS 5617 building-and-dwelling services group had 227,045 employer establishments.
- In 2025, janitors and cleaners excluding maids and housekeeping cleaners accounted for an estimated 2.4326 million U.S. jobs.
- From 2025 to 2035, janitors and cleaners excluding maids are projected to add 53,600 U.S. jobs.
- From 2025 to 2035, janitors and cleaners excluding maids are projected to have 321,800 annual U.S. openings.
- In 2025, the median annual wage for janitors and cleaners excluding maids was $36,840 in the United States.
- In 2025, 13.7% of U.S. maids and housekeeping cleaners were self-employed according to the occupational estimate.
- In 2017, building cleaning workers recorded 60 fatal occupational injuries in the United States.
- In 2016, the rate of nonfatal janitorial injuries and illnesses involving days away from work was 277.4 per 10,000 full-time workers.
Contents
- Household cleaning time and participation
- Cleaning supplies spending and household trends
- Cleaning service industry scale and business counts
- Cleaning service jobs, wages and outlook
- Cleaning workforce composition and self-employment
- Cleaning worker injury and safety data
Household Cleaning Time and Participation Statistics
The American Time Use Survey measures primary activities, so simultaneous activities are excluded. Its household-activity figures are broader than paid cleaning and include housework, cooking, lawn care and household management.
In the 2024 annual average, U.S. civilians age 15 and over spent 2.01 hours per day on household activities, and 80.4% participated on an average day. Among participants, the average duration was 2.50 hours on days when they engaged in household activities. American Time Use Survey News Release – 2024 A01 Results
| 2024 U.S. ATUS measure | All people age 15+ | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|---|
| Household activities, hours per day | 2.01 | 2.34 | 1.67 |
| Household-activity participation | 80.4% | 86.6% | 73.9% |
| Housework participation | 37.0% | 48.5% | 24.9% |
Housework alone occupied 0.62 hours per day on average, while people who did housework spent 1.68 hours per day in that activity. These are primary-activity measures, not counts of cleaning-service purchases.
Housework participation was 41% on weekend days compared with 36% on weekdays in 2024. Among adults living with children under 18, those who were not employed spent about 2.9 hours per day on household activities, compared with 1.8 hours for employed people.
Cleaning Service Spending and Housekeeping-Supply Trends
Consumer spending on housekeeping supplies helps describe household cleaning inputs, but it does not measure payments to cleaning companies. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey reports these amounts for U.S. consumer units, and the figures are not inflation-adjusted unless stated otherwise.
| Year | Average housekeeping-supplies spending | Share of total expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $803 | 1.2% |
| 2022 | $787 | 1.1% |
| 2023 | $818 | 1.1% |
| 2024 | $877 | 1.1% |
Average spending on housekeeping supplies rose from $818 in 2023 to $877 in 2024, a 7.2% increase. Housekeeping supplies represented 1.1% of total annual consumer-unit expenditures in 2024, after representing 1.2% in 2021 and 1.1% in each of 2022 and 2023. Consumer expenditures in 2024
Average annual consumer-unit expenditures reached $78,535 in 2024, up 1.8% nominally from 2023. The BLS reported 2.9% inflation and -1.1% real spending growth for the broader measure, so total consumer spending should not be treated as cleaning-service revenue.
Utilities, fuels and public services spending increased 2.4% from 2023 to 2024. Household operations represented 2.4% of total spending in 2024, down from 2.6% in 2023; both categories are broader than cleaning.
Cleaning Service Industry Scale and Business Counts
Business counts depend on the classification boundary. The Census Bureau places janitorial services in NAICS 561720, while the broader NAICS 5617 group includes several building and dwelling services that should not be treated as cleaning alone.
In 2023, the United States had 67,799 employer establishments in NAICS 561720 janitorial services. The broader NAICS 5617 services-to-buildings-and-dwellings group had 227,045 employer establishments in the same year. 561720: Janitorial Services – Census Bureau Profile
NAICS 561720 is the 2022 classification for janitorial services and includes custodial, service-station cleaning and degreasing, housekeeping and maid services. It covers cleaning building interiors, transportation interiors and/or windows, but it is not the complete cleaning-services market.
The classification excludes building-exterior or chimney cleaning, which is placed in NAICS 561790. Carpet and upholstery cleaning is separately classified in NAICS 561740 within the broader 5617 group, so those activities should not be added to 561720 without care.
Cleaning Service Jobs, Wages and Employment Outlook
Occupational statistics distinguish janitors and cleaners from maids and housekeeping cleaners. Employment estimates describe jobs, wage figures describe workers, and projected openings include replacement demand rather than only newly created positions.
| Occupation and period | Employment or projection | Openings or change | Wage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janitors and cleaners excluding maids, 2025 | 2.4326 million jobs | — | $36,840 median annual wage |
| Janitors and cleaners excluding maids, 2035 | 2.4862 million projected jobs | 53,600 added; 2.2% increase | — |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners, 2025 | 1.3321 million jobs | — | $35,510 median annual wage |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners, 2035 | 1.3395 million projected jobs | 0.6% increase; 175,500 annual openings | — |
The 2025 National Employment Matrix estimated 2.4326 million jobs for janitors and cleaners excluding maids and projected 2.4862 million in 2035. It also projects 321,800 openings per year from 2025 to 2035, including replacement demand. Occupational projections and worker characteristics
For maids and housekeeping cleaners, the matrix estimated 1.3321 million jobs in 2025 and projects 1.3395 million in 2035. The category is projected to have 175,500 annual openings from 2025 to 2035, and its 2025 median annual wage was $35,510.
The Occupational Outlook Handbook reports a May 2025 median hourly wage of $17.71 for janitors and building cleaners. Employment in that occupation is projected to grow 2% from 2025 to 2035, slower than average for all occupations, with about 321,800 openings annually, most from replacement needs. Janitors and Building Cleaners: Occupational Outlook Handbook
Cleaning Workforce Composition and Self-Employment Data
The occupational characteristics provide context about how cleaning work is organized, but they do not capture informal or unregistered work. The self-employment measure also applies to broad occupational groups, not only independent residential cleaning businesses.
Janitors and cleaners excluding maids represented 1.4% of U.S. employment in both 2025 and projected 2035. Maids and housekeeping cleaners represented 0.8% in both years.
- In 2025, 4.8% of janitors and cleaners excluding maids were self-employed.
- In 2025, 13.7% of maids and housekeeping cleaners were self-employed.
- Building cleaning workers classified as all other had 18,600 jobs in 2025, with 6.2% self-employment.
- Building cleaning workers classified as all other are projected to grow 2.0% to 19,000 jobs by 2035.
- Pest-control workers had 108,700 jobs in 2025, with 5.4% self-employment.
- Pest-control employment is projected to grow 5.5% to 114,700 jobs by 2035.
Pest control is included only as context for the broader building-services workforce; it is not cleaning-service employment itself. The 2025 and 2035 employment-distribution figures are BLS estimates and projections rather than business-count measures. Occupational projections and worker characteristics
Cleaning Worker Injury and Safety Statistics
The available safety figures are historical and should not be presented as a current annual risk rate. Fatal-injury counts and nonfatal lost-time rates also measure different outcomes.
In 2017, building cleaning workers recorded 60 fatal occupational injuries in the United States. Janitors and cleaners excluding maids accounted for 52, or 91.2%, while maids and housekeeping cleaners accounted for 5, or 8.8%, of the category total.
The displayed occupation rows sum to 57 while the all-category total is 60, so the source’s labels and category context should be retained rather than forced into a reconciliation. NIOSH Worker Health Charts: Count of Fatal Injuries by Occupation, 2017
Historical BLS figures summarized in a CDC-hosted report show approximately 42,740 lost-time injuries and illnesses in the U.S. janitorial industry in 2015, up from 39,290 in 2014. In 2016, the rate for nonfatal janitorial injuries and illnesses involving days away from work was 277.4 cases per 10,000 full-time workers. Occupational Safety and Health Concerns Among Janitors
The same 2016 evidence reported the following historical incidence rates among U.S. janitors for nonfatal cases requiring days away from work:
- Sprains, strains and tears: 113.1 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.
- Overexertion: 106.9 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.
- Falls, slips and trips: 79.8 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.
- Contact with objects: 62.0 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.
- Bruises: 26.5 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.
- Fractures: 23.3 cases per 10,000 full-time workers.
These injury measures describe specific historical periods and should be kept separate from current employment projections, consumer spending and household time-use estimates.