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

Consider Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners if you want to keep buildings in clean and orderly condition. Consider Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners if you would rather perform any combination of light cleaning duties to maintain private households or commercial establishments, such as hotels and hospitals, in a clean and orderly manner. 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 Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners. 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
What this means in practice

The facts most likely to affect your decision

Start with earnings, the route into the job, training, available openings, and a day-to-day reality.

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

Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

National median pay (2025)
$35,510
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
Keep storage areas and carts well-stocked, clean, and tidy.
Annual openings (2025–2035)
175,500
Know before you choose

BLS projects essentially flat employment (0.6%) through 2035. Annual openings mostly reflect replacement, not a rapidly expanding field.

See the full Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners brief
See scores, detailed data, and how the comparison works

How the national numbers differ

1

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 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 Preparation categories do not establish admission difficulty, calendar time, tuition, time without earnings, or licensing difficulty.

2

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners has the edge on projected growth

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners is at 2.2% projected growth, compared with 0.6% projected growth for Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners.

3

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners has the edge on median pay

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners is at $36,840, compared with $35,510 for Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners.

4

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 175,500 annual openings for Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners.

49.5/ 100

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

vs
50/ 100

Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

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 Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

DimensionJanitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping CleanersMaids and Housekeeping Cleaners
Median pay (2025)$36,840$35,510
Pay percentile6.4 percentile3.6 percentile
Projected growth (2025–2035)2.2%0.6%
Annual openings (2025–2035)321,800175,500
2025 employment2,432,6001,332,100
How you qualifyNo formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensingNo formal educational credential; One month or less of on-the-job training, in addition to any qualifying education or licensing
O*NET preparation groupJob Zone 3Job Zone 2
Related work experienceNo prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
On-the-job trainingOne 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 briefRead Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners brief

Try another comparison

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

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
$36,840 · 2.2% growth
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
$39,150 · 4.7% growth
Compare careers →

Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners vs Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

Compare pay, growth, education, and the tradeoffs that affect the decision.

Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
$35,510 · 0.6% growth
Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers
$39,150 · 4.7% growth
Compare careers →
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