A compiled reference of 24 statistics on cleaning industry employee turnover: what the documented benchmarking primaries actually report, how the famous 200% figure holds up when you trace it, median cleaner tenure, the federal replacement-demand projections, the wages underneath the churn, and what each departure costs. Every figure is drawn from a named public source (the ISSA/BSCAI benchmarking survey, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Gallup, SHRM, Marketdata) and independently checked before publishing; our own computations, and one widely repeated claim we could not trace to a primary, are explicitly labeled.
Key statistics
4 highlights from this report
Key statistics
Key takeaways
Cleaning turnover is real and expensive, but the documented numbers are messier than the lore: the only public benchmarking primary shows a wide spread, not a single 200% average, and federal data shows an occupation that refills about one seat in seven every year.
41% of cleaning contractors report 50%+ annual turnover; 1 in 5 keep it under 10%.
351,300 janitor openings a year, mostly replacement: one seat in seven refilled annually.
Median cleaner tenure has fallen from 4.3 years (2014) to 3.5 years (2024).
Replacing one cleaner costs roughly $18,500 to $74,000 at 0.5 to 2x salary.
The famous "200% average, up to 400%" turnover claim circulates without a named primary source.
Recruiting and retaining quality employees is the top-ranked business challenge among cleaning contractors.
How we built this report
Every figure was compiled in August 2026 from named public sources and checked against the original before publishing, including pulling the industry benchmarking survey's primary PDF rather than quoting summaries of it.
- Compiled from primary sources
The ISSA/BSCAI contractor benchmarking survey (primary document), US Bureau of Labor Statistics wage, tenure, and employment projections data, Gallup and SHRM workforce research, and Marketdata's residential cleaning industry study.
- Claims traced, not repeated
The most-quoted number in this category, a 200% average turnover rate, appears across vendor whitepapers and stat aggregators with no named primary. We report it as an untraceable claim, not as a fact.
- Disagreements shown, not averaged
The documented turnover picture is a distribution, from under 10% to over 50% by firm. We show the distribution rather than inventing a single industry average.
- Independent review
Written by one co-founder, reviewed by the other before publishing.
A scope note: no government series measures turnover for cleaning occupations specifically, and the best industry primary is a small member survey of commercial contractors (64 firms, 4% response rate, 2017). Residential cleaning companies are covered where residential-specific data exists and figures are labeled by segment. Treat every number here as what its source measured, not as a universal industry constant.
Cleaning employee turnover, by the numbers
All 24 figures, grouped into four themes. Each comes from a named public source and was independently verified; computations and untraceable claims are labeled.
The turnover rate: what is documented, and what is lore
The most recent public benchmarking primary we could locate comes from ISSA and BSCAI (bscai.org), whose 2017 building service contractor survey found 41% of firms reporting annual employee turnover of 50% or more, while 20% reported under 10%. That distribution is the documented reality. The number everyone actually quotes is different: a 2024 janitorial industry whitepaper from 4M Building Solutions (4-m.com) states turnover "averaging around 200% and sometimes reaching as high as 400% annually," and versions of that figure repeat across the industry without a named primary source anywhere in the chain. We searched for one and could not find it.
What contractors actually report
"What is your company's annual employee turnover rate?" Share of 64 firms, ISSA/BSCAI contractor benchmarking survey, 2017
Bar lengths are proportional to the share of firms in each bucket. The spread is the story: nearly as many firms report turnover under 30% (45.3%) as report 50% or more (40.6%).
Statistic 1
41% of building service contractors reported an annual employee turnover rate of 50% or more; 20% reported under 10%.
ISSA/BSCAI contractor benchmarking survey, 2017
Statistic 2
45.3% of surveyed cleaning contractors reported annual turnover below 30%, nearly matching the 40.6% who reported 50% or more.
ISSA/BSCAI contractor benchmarking survey, 2017
Statistic 3
Cleaning turnover "averaging around 200% and sometimes reaching as high as 400% annually" is asserted in vendor whitepapers with no named primary source; we could not trace one.
4M Building Solutions whitepaper, 2024; reported here as an untraceable claim
Statistic 4
Contractors ranked recruiting and retaining quality employees as their number one business challenge, ahead of margins and new business.
ISSA/BSCAI contractor benchmarking survey, 2017
Statistic 5
The benchmarking survey behind these figures covers 64 qualified firms at a 4% email response rate, surveyed March to May 2017; it describes itself as a limited study.
ISSA/BSCAI contractor benchmarking survey, 2017
What this means: the honest turnover picture is a wide distribution measured by a small, old survey, plus a viral round number nobody can source. Both facts matter: high churn is real for a large minority of firms, and any blog quoting "200% average" as settled fact is quoting a number nobody can source.
Tenure and the replacement machine
Federal data does not measure cleaning turnover directly, but it measures the two things around it: how long cleaners stay, and how many must be hired to stand still. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov), median tenure with the current employer in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations was 3.5 years in January 2024, down from 4.3 years a decade earlier. Its employment projections show the replacement machine at full speed: 351,300 openings per year for janitors and building cleaners through 2034, most from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force.
Statistic 6
Median tenure in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations was 3.5 years in January 2024, down from 4.3 years in 2014.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employee tenure data (2024)
Statistic 7
Service occupations have the lowest median tenure of any major occupational group at 2.7 years, versus 5.7 years in management.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, employee tenure data (2024)
Statistic 8
BLS projects 351,300 openings for janitors and building cleaners each year from 2024 to 2034, most from the need to replace workers who transfer or exit.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (2024-34 projections)
Statistic 9
Janitor and building cleaner employment is 2,447,700 (2024), projected to grow just 2%, or 47,800 jobs, by 2034.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (2024-34 projections)
Statistic 10
Across all building and grounds cleaning occupations, 788,700 openings are projected each year, largely to replace workers who leave the occupations permanently.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook (2024-34 projections)
Statistic 11
Projected annual openings equal 14.4% of total janitor and building cleaner employment: with growth near zero, roughly one seat in seven is refilled every year. A RapidEye computation from BLS projections.
RapidEye Research computation (2026)
What this means: occupation-level attachment (3.5-year median tenure) and firm-level churn (up to 50%+) coexist. Cleaners often stay in cleaning; they leave individual employers. That distinction is why one company can run 10% turnover while its competitor runs 100%, and why retention is a management outcome, not an industry constant.
The workforce and the wages underneath the churn
The churn happens in one of America's largest hourly workforces. May 2025 BLS data counts 2,209,760 janitors and cleaners at a median wage of $17.71 per hour, and 860,670 maids and housekeeping cleaners at a median of $17.07, figures we also use in our move-out cleaning cost statistics study. On the residential side, according to Marketdata (marketdataenterprises.com), whose 2026 residential maid services industry study was published via ISSA (issa.com), residential maids and house cleaners average roughly $33,000 to $37,600 per year. The benchmarking survey shows why raising pay is hard: field labor already consumes more than half of revenue at most contractors.
Statistic 12
The US employs 2,209,760 janitors and cleaners at a median wage of $17.71 per hour ($36,840 per year); the mean is $18.64 ($38,760).
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS (May 2025)
Statistic 13
Janitor wages span $13.77 per hour at the 10th percentile to $24.17 at the 90th.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS (May 2025)
Statistic 14
Maids and housekeeping cleaners number 860,670 at a median $17.07 per hour and mean $37,080 per year.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS (May 2025)
Statistic 15
Services to buildings and dwellings, the industry containing cleaning companies, employs 829,300 janitors and 92,440 maids and housekeeping cleaners.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS (May 2025)
Statistic 16
Residential maids and house cleaners earn approximately $33,000 to $37,600 per year on average.
Marketdata residential maid services industry study, 2026, via ISSA
Statistic 17
Field labor costs exceed 50% of revenue at 72% of cleaning contractors, and exceed 60% at 41%.
ISSA/BSCAI contractor benchmarking survey, 2017
What this means: the wage floor and the churn are the same fact. With labor above half of revenue, a cleaning company cannot simply out-pay turnover; the levers left are scheduling, management quality, and making good work visible, which is where verification and recognition tools earn their keep.
What a departure costs, and the industry absorbing it
Every one of those departures has a price. According to Gallup (gallup.com), replacing an individual employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary, and 52% of voluntarily exiting employees say their manager or organization could have done something to prevent it. According to SHRM (shrm.org) benchmarking data, the average cost per hire alone is nearly $4,700. The bill lands on a fragmented industry: Marketdata's 2026 study counts 32,270 residential cleaning companies sharing a $17.2 billion market, two-thirds of them grossing under $300,000 a year.
Statistic 18
Replacing an individual employee costs one-half to two times their annual salary; US businesses lose $1 trillion a year to voluntary turnover.
Gallup workplace research (2019)
Statistic 19
At the mean maid and housekeeping cleaner wage of $37,080, Gallup's range prices one departure at roughly $18,500 to $74,000. A RapidEye computation from Gallup and BLS figures.
RapidEye Research computation (2026)
Statistic 20
52% of voluntarily exiting employees say their manager or organization could have done something to prevent them from leaving.
Gallup workplace research (2019)
Statistic 21
The average cost per hire is nearly $4,700, before training and lost-productivity costs.
SHRM benchmarking data (2022)
Statistic 22
The US residential maid services industry generated $17.2 billion in 2025 and is forecast to grow 5.5% in 2026.
Marketdata residential maid services industry study, 2026, via ISSA
Statistic 23
32,270 residential cleaning companies operate in the US, including 3,900 solo operators; 67% gross under $300,000 per year.
Marketdata residential maid services industry study, 2026, via ISSA
Statistic 24
16% of US households, about 22 million, use a maid or residential cleaning service.
Marketdata residential maid services industry study, 2026, via ISSA
What this means: for a typical small residential company grossing under $300,000, losing two or three cleaners in a year can consume the entire margin, and Gallup's 52% figure says half of those losses were preventable. Retention is the highest-leverage line on a cleaning company's P&L.
Cite this study
Academic or press use: copy a ready-made reference. RapidEye is the publisher.
Quick FAQ
What is the average employee turnover rate in the cleaning industry?
There is no single documented average. In the most recent public benchmarking primary, a 2017 ISSA/BSCAI survey of 64 building service contractors, 41% of firms reported annual employee turnover of 50% or more, while 20% kept it under 10%. The widely repeated claim that cleaning turnover averages 200% and reaches 400% circulates in vendor whitepapers without a named primary source. Federal data shows heavy churn without supporting a 200% average: BLS projects 351,300 janitor and building cleaner openings per year, mostly to replace workers who leave.
How long do cleaning employees stay in their jobs?
Median tenure with the current employer in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations was 3.5 years in January 2024, down from 4.3 years in 2014, per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Service occupations overall have the lowest median tenure of any major group at 2.7 years.
How much does it cost to replace a cleaner?
Gallup's research puts the cost of replacing an employee at one-half to two times annual salary, which at the mean maid and housekeeping cleaner wage of $37,080 works out to roughly $18,500 to $74,000 per departure, a RapidEye computation. SHRM benchmarking data separately puts the average cost per hire at nearly $4,700 before training and lost-productivity costs.
How many cleaners does the US cleaning workforce hire each year just to stand still?
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 351,300 openings per year for janitors and building cleaners from 2024 to 2034, most from the need to replace workers who transfer or exit, against 2,447,700 total jobs, roughly one seat in seven refilled every year. Across all building and grounds cleaning occupations the figure is 788,700 openings per year.
Data sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these named public sources, each checked against the original before publishing; the one untraceable industry claim is labeled as such where it appears.
BSCAIBuilding service contractor benchmarking survey, with ISSA, 2017bscai.org
ISSAIndustry association publishing of the Marketdata residential study, 2026issa.com
US Bureau of Labor StatisticsOEWS wages (May 2025), employee tenure (2024), employment projections (2024-34)bls.gov
GallupWorkplace turnover cost research, 2019gallup.com
SHRMCost-per-hire benchmarking data, 2022shrm.org
Marketdata LLCResidential maid services industry study, 2026 (published via ISSA)marketdataenterprises.com
4M Building SolutionsJanitorial turnover whitepaper, 2024 (cited for the unattributed 200% claim)4-m.com