The Level Index
CleaningHow does your cleaning company compare?
Labor leverage, contract retention, route density, and pricing benchmarks for U.S. commercial janitorial, residential cleaning, and specialty/healthcare cleaning operators. Sourced from BSCAI, ISSA, BLS OEWS, and Level engagements.
Last refreshed April 2026. BSCAI annual market study, ISSA pricing guidelines, BLS OEWS wage percentiles, public IFM 10-Ks (ABM, Aramark, Vestis), and Level engagements.
$110B
U.S. janitorial services revenue (2025)
1.25M+
Cleaning businesses in the U.S.
2.45M
Janitors & building cleaners (BLS)
$17/hr
Median cleaner wage (BLS 2024)
About the Data
The Level Index is compiled from operating data across 2,200+ service businesses plus named public filings, government statistics, and industry association surveys. This page focuses on commercial janitorial, residential, and specialty cleaning — drawn from BSCAI · ISSA · BLS · Level, public company 10-Ks, and Level engagements. Where private-company quartile data is not publicly published, we use the best available median, range, or surveyed cohort and label the source clearly.
Methodology
True P10–P90 percentile distributions for private cleaning operators in the $1–50M band are not published in free public sources. BSCAI member surveys, IBISWorld reports, and Verdantix research require licensing. Where percentile data is unavailable, this page uses BLS wage percentiles + BSCAI survey buckets + ISSA pricing bands + public-company proxies, clearly labeled.
The Level CLEAR Framework
Five pillars of cleaning financial health
Every metric in the Level Index maps to one of five pillars. Together they give you a complete picture of where money is made, lost, stuck, or at risk.
DSO, working capital, payroll funding cycle. Property management clients can stretch payment to 60+ days; cash discipline matters.
Cleaner wage, hourly turnover (~200% industry avg), supervisor ratios, workloading discipline. Labor is 50–90% of job cost — there is no bigger lever.
Gross margin by service type, EBITDA margin, route density. ABM as a public anchor runs ~12% gross, ~6% adj. EBITDA at scale — most SMBs run higher gross with thinner overhead.
Account retention (BSCAI: 73% lose <10%/yr), contract size, pricing per sq ft, sales cycle length. Top-quintile accounts often drive 60–80% of profit.
Workers comp exposure, customer concentration, geographic concentration, insurance cost, bad debt. WC class 9014 is a structural margin tax.
Key Finding
Contract cleaning runs ~200% annual hourly turnover — you're rehiring your entire workforce twice a year.
Industry consensus puts annualized turnover at 100–400% (BSCAI / Swept industry research), with ~200% as the most-cited median. For comparison, the average U.S. service-industry turnover is ~20%. The labor model isn't broken — it was built around the assumption that workers are interchangeable, which made retention nobody's job. The companies that win in this market made retention everyone's job.
BSCAI 2024 data shows 73% of cleaning operators lose <10% of accounts per year — but those companies are also the ones investing in supervisor density (1:10 to 1:20) and route stability.
Public IFM operators run ~60-day DSO. Most SMB cleaners run higher.
Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
Source / sample: ABM FY2024 10-K + ezstaffingfactoring.com guidance
Slow-paying property management firms and large institutional clients can stretch DSO to 60+ days. Negotiate ACH-on-receipt or 2/10 net 30 terms; a 2% discount for 20 days early payment is cheaper than financing $500K of AR.
Cleaner wages span $11–$23/hr — and your local market sets your unit economics.
Janitor & Cleaner Hourly Wage (BLS OEWS)
Source / sample: BLS OEWS May 2023 — SOC 37-2011 (n: national)
These are employee wages, not employer fully-loaded cost. Add 25–35% for taxes, WC, and benefits to get your real cost per hour. In high-cost markets (NYC, Bay Area), the P90 has been the floor since 2024.
Labor is 50–80% of total job cost. There is no other lever that matters as much.
Labor as % of Total Job Cost (Industry Range)
Source / sample: BSCAI production rate guidance + facility-side benchmarks
FMLink benchmarking: facility-side labor often makes up 85–90% of janitorial cost. This is why workloading discipline (square feet per cleaner-hour) matters more than equipment, supplies, or even pricing in most contracts.
Office cleaning prices range from $0.09 to $0.17 per sq ft — and operators leave money on the table at both ends.
Pricing $/sq ft/month (ISSA Guidelines)
Source / sample: ISSA Commercial Cleaning Rates per Square Foot
Pricing is the public-facing anchor. Profit is won/lost on workloading + wage + frequency. A $0.13/sq ft contract at 5,000 sq ft per cleaner-hour is profitable; at 2,500 sq ft per cleaner-hour it's losing money.
2 more findings
Unlock the full Cleaning index
See all 6 findings with charts, sources, and detailed methodology.
Benchmarks by Service Type
CleaningCost structure and pricing leverage vary by what you clean. Specialty work commands premium rates but carries compliance overhead.
Office Janitorial
Pricing range (ISSA)
$0.09–$0.17 / sq ft / mo
Medical / Healthcare
Pricing range (ISSA)
$0.14–$0.29 / sq ft / mo
Industrial / Manufacturing
Pricing range (ISSA)
$0.08–$0.20 / sq ft / mo
Warehouse / Distribution
Pricing range
$0.07–$0.15 / sq ft / mo
Residential / Maids
Median cleaner wage
$16.66/hr (BLS)
Specialty / Post-Construction
Premium vs. office
1.5–3× standard rates
Advanced Cleaning Metrics
Sub-segment breakdowns, advanced operational metrics, and percentile distributions for commercial janitorial, residential, and specialty cleaning.
Want the full breakdown?
See all 10 sub-segment metrics with bottom/median/top quartile splits.
Benchmarks for other service businesses
How does your cleaning company compare?
We'll benchmark your labor leverage, route density, gross margin, and contract retention against the industry. Free audit included.
No commitment. Real numbers, not generic advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a healthy gross margin for a commercial cleaning company?
Office janitorial typically runs 30–40% gross margin, with top quartile above 45%. Specialty work (healthcare, post-construction) runs higher (40–55%) because of premium pricing. Public IFM operators like ABM run ~12% consolidated — much lower because their model includes integrated facility services with thinner gross structures.
Why is cleaning industry turnover so high?
Industry consensus puts annual hourly turnover at 100–400%, with ~200% as the most-cited median. The labor model historically treated workers as interchangeable, which made retention nobody's job. Operators who invest in supervisor density (1:10 to 1:20), route stability, and meaningful pay raises consistently halve their turnover — and dramatically improve margin via lower training cost and account retention.
What should I price commercial cleaning per square foot?
ISSA pricing guidelines: $0.09–$0.17/sq ft/month for office, $0.14–$0.29 for medical, $0.08–$0.20 for industrial, $0.07–$0.15 for warehouse. But pricing is the floor — profit is determined by workloading. A $0.13 office contract is profitable at 5,000 sq ft/cleaner-hour and unprofitable at 2,500. Always price the labor minutes, then convert to $/sq ft.
How concentrated should my customer base be?
Top quartile cleaning operators keep top-5 customer concentration below 20%. Above 60% (bottom quartile) is platform risk — losing one contract can be existential. The Pareto reality: even diversified operators usually have top-quintile accounts driving 60–80% of profit, so concentration of profit (not just revenue) is the real risk to manage.
What's a normal DSO in commercial cleaning?
Healthy SMB cleaners run 45–60 day DSO; public IFM operators like ABM are around 60 days. Property managers and large institutional clients often pay slowly. Negotiate ACH-on-receipt for new contracts, offer 2/10 net 30 discounts (a 2% discount for 20 days early payment is cheaper than financing $500K of AR), and escalate at 30 days past due, not 60.
Sources
- • BSCAI 2024 Industry Market Study (account turnover buckets)
- • ISSA Commercial Cleaning Pricing Guidelines
- • BLS OEWS — janitors and building cleaners (SOC 37-2011) wage percentiles
- • ABM, Aramark, Vestis 10-K filings (working capital, gross margin, EBITDA proxies)
- • FMLink janitorial staffing benchmarks
- • NCCI workers comp loss cost guides (Class 9014)
- • Level Index — operating data across 2,200+ service businesses + cleaning operator engagements
The Level Index represents the personal analysis and professional opinions of the Level team, compiled from public industry surveys, government statistics, SEC filings, and Level engagements. All data is anonymized and aggregated. Specific figures are rounded and should be treated as directional benchmarks, not precise measurements. The Level Index does not constitute financial advice. Individual results vary based on segment, geography, company size, and operational maturity. © 2026 Level. All rights reserved.