Janitor, custodian or cleaner: what the job covers
Janitors are counted in the occupation janitors and cleaners except maids and housekeeping cleaners. The group has 2,432,600 jobs and includes titles such as custodian, building custodian, building services worker, school custodian and facilities worker. Custodians typically maintain institutional buildings like schools and hospitals, and building superintendents, who look after apartment buildings and condominiums, also fall in this group. Workers who clean private homes and hotels are counted separately as maids and housekeeping cleaners.
The core of the job is the same everywhere: gather trash, clean floors, service restrooms, wipe down surfaces and keep the building safe. The difference between jobs is how far the role goes beyond cleaning. Some janitors clean only. Others make minor repairs, watch over the heating and cooling system, mow lawns or remove snow, and act as the first line of building maintenance.
Contract crews, schools and hospitals
About 35% of janitors work for companies that provide services to buildings and dwellings, mostly contract cleaning firms. These crews typically clean offices in the evening, follow a fixed route through assigned floors and report to a night supervisor. The work is efficient and repetitive, and you rarely see the people whose offices you clean.
Schools and colleges employ 17%. A school custodian usually works days or a split of early morning and afternoon shifts, opens and locks the building, sets up for events, responds to spills and handles small repairs. Healthcare and social assistance employ 7%. Hospital cleaning runs around the clock, so shifts can include nights, weekends and holidays. Government employs 5%, and about 5% of janitors are self-employed, often running small cleaning businesses that win their own contracts.
Where the jobs and the pay are
California has the most jobs: 234,240, with a median of $41,090. New York follows with 195,250 jobs and a median of $41,640; its location quotient of 1.42 means janitors make up a larger share of jobs there than nationally. Texas has 184,840 jobs at a median of $33,010, Florida 131,900 at $34,490 and Illinois 93,760 at $37,810. The highest state medians are in Massachusetts ($45,580), Washington ($45,520) and New York ($41,640).
Nationally, the median was $36,840, the lowest-paid 10% earned less than $28,640 and the top 10% more than $50,270. The middle half earned between $32,240 and $44,060. Pay by years of experience is not published. The clearest ways to earn more are moving up to a lead or supervisor role, taking on repair work, or working in a higher-wage state.
What employers look for
Most employers do not ask for a diploma or experience, and short-term on-the-job training is typical. What they screen for is reliability: showing up on time for every shift, finishing the route and being trusted alone in a building after hours. If you have used floor buffers, auto scrubbers or carpet extractors, say so on your application. Basic repair skills, such as fixing a leaky faucet, are a plus, and elective high school courses in industrial arts can help.
Certification is optional. It can demonstrate competence and make you more appealing to employers. ISSA offers the Cleaning Industry Training Standard (CITS) for frontline workers, and the International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA) offers certification aimed at supervisors and managers. Under OSHA's hazard communication rules, employers must train you on the chemicals you use, so knowing how to read labels and safety data sheets is expected.
The honest downsides
The work is physically hard. Janitors spend most of the day walking, standing or bending and often move heavy supplies and equipment, which can strain the back, arms and legs. Sprains, strains and repetitive-motion soreness are among the typical injuries, and cleaning restrooms and trash areas is dirty work. Evening and night schedules can be hard on family life.
Growth is slow. Employment is projected to grow only 2% over the next decade, partly because the continued use of high-tech cleaning methods is expected to limit growth. Openings stay high, about 321,800 a year, but most come from people leaving the job. Pay is modest, and part-time and some contract jobs come with few benefits. The best-protected positions tend to be with school districts, hospitals and government, and with unionized commercial cleaning employers in some large cities.