Career
Maids and housekeeping cleaners
Clean homes, hotels and hospitals.
$35,510
Median pay
+0.6%
Job growth, 2025–35
175,500
Openings a year
No formal educational credential
Typical education
None required
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Keep storage areas and carts well-stocked, clean, and tidy.
- Carry linens, towels, toilet items, and cleaning supplies, using wheeled carts.
- Clean rooms, hallways, lobbies, lounges, restrooms, corridors, elevators, stairways, locker rooms, and other work areas so that health standards are met.
- Empty wastebaskets, empty and clean ashtrays, and transport other trash and waste to disposal areas.
- Sweep, scrub, wax, or polish floors, using brooms, mops, or powered scrubbing and waxing machines.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Keep storage areas and carts well-stocked, clean, and tidy.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Service Orientation, Coordination, Time Management, Social Perceptiveness.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
No degree beyond high school, though short-term on-the-job training is typical, for a median of $35,510 a year and 175,500 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- NO MATCHCIP 99.9999
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners$36,840 · +2.2%
- Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers$34,890 · +4.3%
- Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants$36,300 · +6.4%
- Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers$33,980 · +5.3%
- Dishwashers$34,810 · -1.0%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.