How We Estimate Cleaning Prices
Every price on this site comes from the same labor-based model that cleaning companies use to bid: how many hours the work takes, what those hours cost in your area, and the overhead and margin on top.
1. Hours on site
We estimate the hours per visit from standard janitorial production rates: how many square feet of each kind of space one worker can clean in an hour. The rates below are for a detailed clean; a standard scope takes about 75% as long.
| Area | Sq ft per hour |
|---|---|
| Warehouse full auto-scrub (weekly) | 9,000 |
| Warehouse travel lanes (nightly sweep) | 6,000 |
| Corridors and lobby | 5,500 |
| Sales floor | 4,500 |
| Sanctuary and seating | 4,500 |
| General office | 3,750 |
| Conference rooms | 3,750 |
| Classrooms | 3,750 |
| Private offices | 3,500 |
| Fitness floor | 3,500 |
| Locker rooms (dry areas) | 3,500 |
| Break room and kitchen | 2,000 |
| Clinical and exam rooms | 2,000 |
| Restroom area | 1,000 |
Restrooms are timed per fixture: 4 minutes per toilet, 3 per urinal, 2.5 per sink, 3 per shower, plus 3 minutes per room. Each visit also includes 15 minutes of setup. Buildings cleaned less often take a little longer per visit because more dirt builds up between visits.
2. What those hours cost where you are
We use the median hourly wage for janitors and cleaners (occupation 37-2011) in your metro area, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Outside metro areas we use the state median. We add 25% for payroll taxes, workers' compensation and benefits.
3. Supplies, supervision, overhead and margin
On top of labor we add 5% for cleaning supplies (8% for medical offices and 7% for gyms), 3% for equipment and 7% for supervision. Then we price for 12% overhead and a 15% contractor margin, with a minimum of $75 per visit. Paper towels, toilet paper and soap aren't included; most companies bill those separately.
Worked example
A 10,000 sq ft office cleaned 5 nights a week in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area, where the median janitor wage is $14.74 an hour:
| Hours per visit | 3.0 |
| Hours per month | 64.8 |
| Labor at $18.43 an hour, including taxes and benefits | $1,195 |
| Supplies, equipment and supervision | $179 |
| Overhead and margin | $508 |
| Estimated monthly price | $1,882 |
That works out to about $0.19 per square foot a month, or $29.03 per hour on site.
Why your proposal will differ
- Layout, clutter and how many restrooms you have change the hours more than square footage does.
- Floor care, carpet extraction and windows are priced separately.
- Union or prevailing-wage requirements, security rules and tight time windows raise costs.
- Companies differ in how they staff, supervise and price.
Treat the estimates as a planning range, then compare against a written proposal after a walkthrough.