Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners vs Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers: $37K vs $39K Median Pay

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners vs Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers: what changes?

Consider Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners if you want to keep buildings in clean and orderly condition. Consider Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers if you would rather landscape or maintain grounds of property using hand or power tools or equipment. Both list no formal educational credential; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners and Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

National median pay (2025): $36,840
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Service, clean, or supply restrooms.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 321,800

Know before you choose

Hands-on manipulation of tools, controls, or objects occupies a meaningful part of the workday.

See the full Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners brief

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

National median pay (2025): $39,150
Route into the job: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.
Work to investigate: Gather and remove litter.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 149,500

Know before you choose

The work can involve real occupational hazards. Training, protective equipment, and routine safety discipline matter every day.

See the full Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers brief

How the national numbers differ

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers has the edge on projected growth

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers is at 4.7% projected growth, compared with 2.2% projected growth for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners.

Typical preparation differs.

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers: No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers has the edge on median pay

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers is at $39,150, compared with $36,840 for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners.

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners has the edge on annual openings

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners is at 321,800 annual openings, compared with 149,500 annual openings for Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers.

49.5/ 100

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

61/ 100

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners vs Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

Dimension	Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
Median pay (2025)	$36,840	$39,150
Pay percentile	6.4 percentile	10.1 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)	2.2%	4.7%
Annual openings (2025–2035)	321,800	149,500
2025 employment	2,432,600	1,188,600
How you qualify	No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing	No formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation group	Job Zone 3	Job Zone 2
Related work experience	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.	No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job training	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.	One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing.

The table reports national benchmarks and reviewed work descriptions. It does not rate personal suitability, job security, or physical safety.

Read Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners brief Read Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers brief

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners vs Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers: what changes?

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

How the national numbers differ

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers has the edge on projected growth

Typical preparation differs.

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers has the edge on median pay

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners has the edge on annual openings

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners vs Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

Try another comparison

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners vs Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers vs Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners