How profitable is a cleaning service?
Andrew Mclaughlin
Published Feb 09, 2026
As a matter of fact, the total revenue of janitorial services in the U.S. reached 61 billion dollars in 2018. Another way to say this is that the demand is huge. And so are the margins. It’s easy to charge between $40 to $50 per cleaner, per hour as a professional cleaning service.
How do I estimate cleaning services?
To give a customer an estimate, add the times for the areas given by the customer, divide those times by 60 to get how long it will take to clean, and multiply that number by your hourly rate. For example, 200/60 = 3.33 x $30 = $100. The number you get will be the amount you charge your customer.
How much does it cost to start a cleaning business?
Starting a small scale but standard cleaning company business that can only carry out routine cleaning services for homes and offices in the United States of America will cost about five thousand dollars to fifteen thousand dollars ($5,000 to $15,000).
How long does it take for a cleaning business to grow?
Although the expenses are lower when you are the only cleaning professional, your availability is also limited. Generally, this stage of your business may last for around a year, depending on how much effort you are putting into advertising and increasing your client base. If you focus more on advertising, your business and income can grow quickly!
How to estimate the cost of a house cleaning job?
Overhead is any cost not specifically associated with the job at hand, such as office rent, marketing etc. You should add 50 percent to cover these costs. 7. Add Your Markup You want to make a profit on this job, so you need to add a markup. Add 33 percent on top of your cost.
Which is better to start a residential or commercial cleaning business?
But, it gets more complicated. Typically, the residential cleaning business is a lower cost to start; however, commercial can be very lucrative because of the add-on services such as floor waxing, window washing, and deep disinfecting. You also want to consider that residential is done during the day, and commercial is during the night.