Cleaning Labor Cost Calculator
See what one cleaner really costs you per paid hour and per billable hour.
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The cleaning labor cost calculator shows what a cleaner costs your company once you add what you pay on top of the wage. Enter an hourly wage, or leave it empty to use the Bureau of Labor Statistics median for maids and housekeeping cleaners in your state. Enter paid hours per week and the number of cleaners. Then set your state unemployment rate, your workers’ compensation rate, paid time off and the share of paid hours you cannot bill.
You get the loaded cost per paid hour, the cost per billable hour, the cost of one cleaner for a year and the monthly cost for the whole team, with a receipt that lists each line and a table for the five national wage levels. It runs in your browser, is free and needs no account. It is a planning figure, not payroll advice.
How to use the Cleaning Labor Cost Calculator
- Pick your State. If you leave the wage empty, the calculator uses that state’s median wage for maids and housekeeping cleaners (BLS, May 2025).
- Enter the hourly wage you pay, if you know it.
- Enter the paid hours per week for each cleaner and the number of cleaners.
- Enter your state unemployment tax rate from your state’s rate letter. The starting value is 2%.
- Check the state unemployment wage base (our starting value is $7,000; many states tax more) and enter your workers’ compensation rate from your insurance quote. The starting value is 4% of wages.
- Enter paid time off as a share of wages, and the non-billable time, which is the share of paid hours spent driving, loading and training.
- Check the table under the receipt to see where your wage sits against the national levels.
- Read the big box for the loaded cost per paid hour and the sentence below it for the cost per billable hour. The receipt shows each cost line.
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If you are unsure of a rate, leave it at the starting value and see how much the answer moves when you change it. Workers’ compensation and non-billable time move the result the most. Print the result if you want to keep it with your pricing notes.
How much does a cleaner really cost per hour?
More than the wage. With the defaults, a cleaner paid the US median of $17.07 an hour for 30 hours a week costs $19.75 per paid hour: wages $26,629 a year, paid time off (our 3% starting value) $799, employer Social Security and Medicare $2,098, federal unemployment $42, state unemployment $140 (our 2% starting rate on the first $7,000 only) and workers’ compensation (our 4% starting value) $1,097, a total of $30,805 a year. That is about 16% above the wage. If 15% of paid hours go on driving and set-up, one billable hour costs $23.23 before supplies, vehicles, insurance, management and profit.
What payroll taxes does a cleaning company pay?
An employer pays its half of Social Security and Medicare, 7.65% of wages (the 15.3% total is split between employer and employee, IRS self-employment tax page, read 2026-10-20). It also pays federal unemployment tax: 6.0% on the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages, reduced to a net 0.6%, or $42 per employee, when state unemployment tax is paid on time (IRS Topic 759, updated 2026-09-24). State unemployment tax is charged only up to a taxable wage base per employee. The U.S. Department of Labor says the base differs by state (State Law Information, updated 2026-09-11), and California’s Employment Development Department states a $7,000 limit. The calculator starts at $7,000 and lets you enter your state’s base and rate; it stops charging once an employee’s wages pass the base. The federal figure assumes your state tax is paid on time; an employer in a state that owes the federal government (a credit reduction state) pays more, and the IRS publishes those states each year. Workers’ compensation varies by state, class code and your claims history, so enter your own rate.
What is a billable hour in cleaning?
A billable hour is an hour you can charge a client for. A cleaner paid for 30 hours may only spend 25 of them cleaning, because the rest goes on driving between homes, loading the car and training. Your price has to cover the paid hours that cannot be billed, which is why cost per billable hour is higher than cost per paid hour. Enter the share of non-billable time from your own records; 15% is a starting value, not a published figure.
How much does labor cost at different wage levels?
The table under the receipt shows one cleaner at the national wage levels for maids and housekeeping cleaners (BLS OEWS, May 2025): $13.29 for the lowest 10%, $14.59 at the 25th percentile, $17.07 at the median, $19.03 at the 75th percentile and $23.35 for the top 10%. At 30 hours a week and the default percentages, the loaded cost per paid hour runs from $15.40 to $26.97.
Use the figure to set your rates with the how much to charge for house cleaning calculator, or to check a bid with the cleaning bid calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Does the calculator include health insurance and overtime?
No. It leaves out health insurance, overtime, bonuses, uniforms, mileage and the time you spend managing staff. Add them yourself if they apply.
Is workers’ compensation really 4%?
4% is a starting value, not a published rate. Insurers charge per $100 of payroll by class code and state, and we have no dated source for a range, so we do not quote one. Your rate also depends on your claims history, so use the figure on your policy or quote.
Does this apply to independent contractors?
No. The costs here are employer costs. Whether a cleaner can be treated as an independent contractor depends on the law where you work, so ask an accountant before you classify anyone.
Where does the state wage come from?
From the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025, occupation 37-2012 Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners. The page shows the source and the date read.
Does the calculator include supplies, vehicles and insurance?
No. It covers the cost of the person only. Supplies, vehicle costs, general liability insurance, management time and profit belong in your price on top of the labor cost, and the cleaning bid calculator adds them.
Is the calculator free?
Yes. It is free, runs in your browser and needs no account. Nothing you type is uploaded.
Related tools
- Cleaning time calculator: Find how many hours a job takes.
- How much to charge for house cleaning: Turn costs into an hourly rate.
- Cleaning bid calculator: Add overhead and margin to the labor cost.
- Cleaning business plan: Plan the costs of the whole business.
- Cleaning estimate template: Put your price on paper for the client.
- How our estimates work: Sources and assumptions behind the numbers.