Cleaning business marketing statistics for 2026: 28 numbers with their sources
28 US cleaning business statistics for 2026: industry size, how customers choose a cleaner, Google Ads costs and time spent on housework, all sourced.
Three numbers frame cleaning business marketing in the US in 2026. The country had 83,041 private janitorial services establishments with paid staff in 2025 (BLS). A cleaning or maid service lead from search ads cost a median of $46.99 in the 2025 home services benchmarks (LocaliQ). And 97 percent of US consumers read reviews for local businesses (BrightLocal).
This page lists 28 statistics. Each one was opened and checked at its source on 2 October 2026, and each row gives the year and what was counted.
The short version
- The US had 83,041 private janitorial services establishments in 2025, employing an average of 1,069,828 people, according to the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.
- BLS counts 2,432,600 janitor and building cleaner jobs in 2025 and projects 2 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, with about 321,800 openings a year.
- Cleaning and maid service search ads cost a median of $8.50 a click and $46.99 a lead in LocaliQ’s 2025 home services benchmarks for US campaigns.
- In those benchmarks 17.65 percent of cleaning and maid service ad clicks became leads, the highest conversion rate of the 16 home service trades listed.
- The American Time Use Survey found that 81 percent of people in the US did household activities on an average day in 2025, for about two hours.
- BrightLocal’s 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults found that 68 percent will only use a local business with four stars or more.
How big is the cleaning industry in the US?
It is one of the largest service trades by headcount. BLS counted 83,041 private janitorial services establishments in 2025, with more than a million employees between them.
| Statistic | Figure | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| Janitor and building cleaner jobs, US | 2,432,600 | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025 |
| Projected job growth | 2 percent, 2025 to 2035 | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025 |
| Projected openings each year | About 321,800 | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025 to 2035 |
| Median pay, janitors and building cleaners | $36,840 a year, $17.71 an hour | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025 |
| Share of those jobs in services to buildings and dwellings | 35 percent | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025 |
| Share of those jobs in educational services | 17 percent | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025 |
| Private janitorial services establishments (NAICS 561720) | 83,041 | BLS QCEW, 2025 annual average |
| Employees at those establishments | 1,069,828 | BLS QCEW, 2025 annual average |
| Average weekly wage at those establishments | $662 | BLS QCEW, 2025 annual average |
| Private carpet and upholstery cleaning establishments (NAICS 561740) | 6,660 | BLS QCEW, 2025 annual average |
The two job figures differ because they count different things. The 2,432,600 is everyone who works as a janitor or building cleaner, including those employed directly by schools, hospitals and offices. The 1,069,828 is the payroll of cleaning firms only.
Janitorial services is the industry code BLS uses for cleaning firms. It mixes commercial janitorial contractors with home cleaning companies, and the data does not split the two. An establishment is a location with paid staff. A self-employed cleaner with no employees is not in the count.
The carpet cleaning count has fallen, from 7,176 in 2023 to 6,660 in 2025. The janitorial count was close to flat over the same years.
For how employer counts and business counts differ in general, see US small business counts by market.
Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.
How do customers find and choose a cleaning company?
Reviews do much of the choosing. No survey we could open breaks this out for cleaning alone, so the figures below cover all local businesses in the US.
They come from the Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, which asked 1,002 US adults and was published on 11 February 2026 (BrightLocal).
| Statistic | Figure | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| Consumers who read reviews for local businesses | 97 percent | BrightLocal, US, 2026 |
| Consumers who use Google to read reviews | 71 percent, down from 83 percent in 2025 | BrightLocal, US, 2026 |
| Consumers who use ChatGPT or other AI tools for local recommendations | 45 percent, up from 6 percent in 2025 | BrightLocal, US, 2026 |
| Consumers who will only use a business with four stars or more | 68 percent | BrightLocal, US, 2026 |
| Consumers who will not use a business with fewer than 20 reviews | 47 percent | BrightLocal, US, 2026 |
| Consumers who look for reviews written in the last three months | 74 percent | BrightLocal, US, 2026 |
| Consumers who expect the owner to respond to reviews | 89 percent | BrightLocal, US, 2026 |
A cleaner works inside the customer’s home, often when nobody is there. It is reasonable to think trust signals count for more in this trade than the average. The survey does not test that, so treat it as our view.
What do Google Ads cost for cleaning companies?
A cleaning or maid service click cost a median of $8.50 and a lead cost $46.99 in the 2025 home services benchmarks. That report covers 3,211 US search campaigns that ran from April 2024 to March 2025, and its averages are medians (LocaliQ).
| Statistic | Figure | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per click, cleaning and maid services | $8.50 | LocaliQ home services benchmarks, US, 2025 |
| Click-through rate, cleaning and maid services | 9.01 percent | LocaliQ home services benchmarks, US, 2025 |
| Conversion rate, cleaning and maid services | 17.65 percent | LocaliQ home services benchmarks, US, 2025 |
| Cost per lead, cleaning and maid services | $46.99 | LocaliQ home services benchmarks, US, 2025 |
| Cost per lead, window cleaning | $66.69 | LocaliQ home services benchmarks, US, 2025 |
| Cost per lead, Home and Home Improvement (not cleaning alone) | $90.92 | LocaliQ search benchmarks, 2026 |
The last row is the wider Home and Home Improvement category from the 2026 report. It is there for scale. LocaliQ had not published a 2026 cleaning row on the pages we opened.
Cleaning has the highest conversion rate in the 2025 table, at 17.65 percent. Window cleaning is next at 13.58 percent. Clicks cost about the same as in other home trades, and more of them turn into enquiries. That is why a cleaning lead costs about half of the $90.92 home category median in the 2026 report.
The Google Ads cost guide explains how the auction sets click prices. The cost per lead benchmarks post covers the other industries.
Photo: Tima Miroshnichenko on Pexels.
When do customers buy and what do they pay?
Demand is steady across the year, on the staffing evidence. On price, we found no government, trade body or survey source for what US customers pay a cleaning company, so this page gives none.
| Statistic | Figure | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| Janitorial services employment, lowest month (January) | 1,056,373 | BLS QCEW, US, 2025 |
| Janitorial services employment, highest month (August) | 1,080,043 | BLS QCEW, US, 2025 |
| People who did household activities on an average day | 81 percent, for about two hours | BLS American Time Use Survey, US, 2025 |
| Women and men who did household activities on an average day | 87 percent of women, 75 percent of men | BLS American Time Use Survey, US, 2025 |
| People who did housework on a weekend day, against a weekday | 40 percent against 35 percent | BLS American Time Use Survey, US, 2025 |
The gap between the lowest and highest month is about 2 percent, by our arithmetic on the two BLS rows. Cleaning has no season in the way garden work does. We read that as the effect of commercial contracts, which run all year. BLS does not say it.
The time use rows describe the work a home cleaning company replaces. BLS gives housework, cooking, lawn care and household management as examples of household activities. On days they did these, women spent 2.8 hours and men 2.1 hours. The release was published on 25 June 2026.
Many house cleaning price figures circulate online. The ones we found traced back to lead sellers or marketing blogs with no stated sample, so they are left out.
What does this mean for your marketing?
This section is our reading at Mavix. It is opinion built on the figures above.
Search ads suit this trade better than most. A 17.65 percent conversion rate means people who search for a cleaner are ready to enquire. Work out what a recurring customer is worth with the lead generation calculator, then look at Google Ads for cleaning companies.
Reviews carry the trust. If 47 percent of consumers skip a business with fewer than 20 reviews, a new cleaning firm needs reviews before it needs ads. Local SEO for cleaning companies covers the map results, and the local SEO cost guide covers what the work costs.
There is no quiet season to hide in. Steady demand means steady competition. SEO for cleaning companies is slow and lasting. The cleaning services marketing page sets out how we approach the trade.
The bottom line
A statistic is useful when you know who counted, what they counted and when. The government figures here are firm, and they mix commercial and home cleaning. The survey and benchmark figures are medians and samples. Use them to set expectations, then measure your own enquiries and bookings.
Questions people ask about this
How many cleaning businesses are there in the US?
BLS recorded 83,041 private janitorial services establishments in 2025, plus 6,660 carpet and upholstery cleaning establishments. An establishment is one location with paid staff. The janitorial figure mixes commercial contractors with home cleaning firms, and it leaves out self-employed cleaners who have no employees.
What is the average cost per lead for a cleaning company on Google Ads?
The median was $46.99 in LocaliQ’s 2025 home services search benchmarks, in the category it calls cleaning, maid and butler services. The median click cost $8.50 and 17.65 percent of clicks became leads. The report covers 3,211 US campaigns that ran from April 2024 to March 2025.
Is the cleaning industry growing?
Slowly. BLS projects 2 percent growth in janitor and building cleaner jobs from 2025 to 2035, which it calls slower than average. It still expects about 321,800 openings a year over the decade.
How much do cleaners earn in the US?
The median pay for janitors and building cleaners was $36,840 a year in 2025, or $17.71 an hour, according to BLS. Across private janitorial services establishments, the average weekly wage was $662 in 2025. The second figure is an average across every job in those firms.
Is there a busy season for cleaning companies?
Not in the national payroll data. Janitorial services employment moved between 1,056,373 and 1,080,043 across 2025, a range of about 2 percent. The industry code covers commercial contractors as well as home cleaners. Home cleaning may have its own peaks, and we found no primary source that measures them.
How much time do Americans spend on housework?
On an average day in 2025, 81 percent of people did household activities and spent about two hours on them. That is from the American Time Use Survey, and the category includes cooking and lawn care as well as cleaning. Housework alone was done by 40 percent of people on weekend days and 35 percent on weekdays.
Do reviews matter for a cleaning company?
The available survey covers all local businesses and does not single out cleaning. In BrightLocal’s 2026 survey of 1,002 US adults, 97 percent read reviews for local businesses. In the same survey, 68 percent said they will only use a business with four stars or more.
Sources for every number on this page
- Janitors and Building Cleaners, Occupational Outlook Handbook, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025 data.
- Number of establishments, NAICS 561720, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- All employees, NAICS 561720, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Average weekly wage, NAICS 561720, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Number of establishments, NAICS 561740, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- American Time Use Survey, 2025 results, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 25 June 2026.
- Local Consumer Review Survey 2026, BrightLocal, published 11 February 2026.
- 2025 Search Ad Benchmarks for Home Services, LocaliQ.
- Search Advertising Benchmarks for Every Industry, 2026, LocaliQ.
Last checked against the sources on 2026-10-02.
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