Residential interior cleaning
Revenue reported for this service by U.S. businesses with paid employees across covered industries, 2022. It is not an estimate of the entire market. U.S. Census
Industry knowledge base · Home services
House cleaning, by the numbers.
A steady roster of repeat clients changes the economics of cleaning. Here’s how big the industry is, what we know about buyers, and how the math changes when you go from cleaning homes yourself to running crews.
The national market
There’s already real demand.
Janitorial establishments selling the service
Workplaces with paid employees in the janitorial industry that reported residential interior cleaning in 2022. This counts locations, not unique firms. U.S. Census
Gross receipts at firms without paid employees
2024 receipts for the broader janitorial category, which includes home, office and other cleaning. Don’t add this to the figure for residential cleaning. U.S. Census
How the market changed: The same Census product line recorded $3.58 billion in 2017 and $5.35 billion in 2022, a 49% increase in dollars before inflation. That is measured spending across covered payroll businesses, not an estimate of job volume or a forecast. 2017 Economic Census.
The customer
A repeat client and a one-time job aren’t the same business.
Recurring households
Weekly or biweekly upkeep. This is the segment to study if you want a predictable route. Compare retention, billable hours and travel time.
Move-ins and move-outs
Renters and owners may book a one-off clean. Property managers can send repeat work, but individual units turn over on different schedules.
Occasional deep cleans
People may book for a reset or a special occasion. Because scope can vary, compare the time on site and what’s included before comparing prices.
| Comparison | Group and share | Group and share |
|---|---|---|
| Income | Top fifth · 16.5% | Bottom fifth · 2.9% |
| Housing | Owners with a mortgage · 10.1% | Renters · 2.5% |
| Age of reference person | 75+ · 13.5% | Under 35 · 2.9% |
Source: RapidEye’s weighted analysis of BLS 2025 survey microdata. These are national estimates, not state-level buyer profiles. In the same analysis, the median among those reporting spending was $600 over the quarter. That is a spending total across visits, not the price of one clean.
What the official survey says: The 2025 Consumer Expenditure Survey puts average annual spending on housekeeping services at $187.92 per consumer unit, including those that spent nothing. 6.79% reported spending in a typical quarterly interview period. These published totals are not annual market penetration or a typical bill. The buyer groups in the table are separate comparisons and can overlap. BLS detailed expenditure table.
Local market comparison
Find your state.
See how many businesses without payroll reported revenue in 2024 and what they brought in collectively. These are broad janitorial figures, not a home-cleaning sales estimate. Use them to compare market scale, not to pick a city or predict your sales.
All 50 states and D.C. · 2024 Census data
| State | Establishments | Gross receipts |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 19,975 | $349.8M |
| Alaska | 1,617 | $33.5M |
| Arizona | 21,684 | $567.3M |
| Arkansas | 10,928 | $185.9M |
| California | 115,877 | $2,816.8M |
| Colorado | 19,444 | $534.3M |
| Connecticut | 8,898 | $222.3M |
| Delaware | 2,500 | $65.9M |
| District of Columbia | 1,063 | $18.9M |
| Florida | 187,520 | $4,042.6M |
| Georgia | 57,835 | $1,260.8M |
| Hawaii | 4,559 | $151.2M |
| Idaho | 5,380 | $101.8M |
| Illinois | 37,251 | $770.2M |
| Indiana | 17,380 | $326.0M |
| Iowa | 7,051 | $133.1M |
| Kansas | 7,347 | $145.0M |
| Kentucky | 15,065 | $256.3M |
| Louisiana | 20,005 | $329.2M |
| Maine | 4,616 | $91.3M |
| Maryland | 19,188 | $483.8M |
| Massachusetts | 17,653 | $623.8M |
| Michigan | 30,973 | $585.8M |
| Minnesota | 11,440 | $258.7M |
| Mississippi | 13,041 | $202.2M |
| Missouri | 16,777 | $320.8M |
| Montana | 3,594 | $77.7M |
| Nebraska | 4,983 | $93.9M |
| Nevada | 11,769 | $236.7M |
| New Hampshire | 3,264 | $92.1M |
| New Jersey | 26,998 | $635.6M |
| New Mexico | 4,896 | $93.8M |
| New York | 55,995 | $1,015.4M |
| North Carolina | 39,571 | $861.6M |
| North Dakota | 2,079 | $38.6M |
| Ohio | 31,457 | $630.1M |
| Oklahoma | 13,505 | $250.0M |
| Oregon | 9,034 | $210.1M |
| Pennsylvania | 29,151 | $609.3M |
| Rhode Island | 2,905 | $68.5M |
| South Carolina | 20,688 | $462.9M |
| South Dakota | 2,481 | $41.5M |
| Tennessee | 29,898 | $627.4M |
| Texas | 138,175 | $2,649.2M |
| Utah | 8,609 | $229.4M |
| Vermont | 2,358 | $54.5M |
| Virginia | 25,675 | $597.1M |
| Washington | 15,352 | $426.7M |
| West Virginia | 3,283 | $47.3M |
| Wisconsin | 10,584 | $243.3M |
| Wyoming | 1,894 | $35.4M |
Source: Census Nonemployer Statistics, NAICS 56172. State-level residential-only revenue was not available in the product table used here. These counts include part-time businesses and do not measure households that hire a cleaner.
The owner math
What a full calendar could be worth.
Twenty clients on alternating weeks can fill a 10-visit weekly route. Two crews at 20 visits each need enough demand to fill 40 weekly visits. Here’s what that workload looks like on paper.
| Setup | Visits/week | Labor hrs/week | Annual gross sales | After modeled direct costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner-operated route | 10 | 30 | $72,000 | $30,240 |
| One crew | 20 | 60 | $144,000 | $60,480 |
| Two crews | 40 | 120 | $288,000 | $120,960 |
Assumptions, not market averages: $25 per labor-hour (including the owner’s labor at the same assumed rate) and $12 per visit for supplies and mileage. What’s left still has to cover insurance, scheduling, training, cancellations, overhead and taxes. These figures are neither profit nor take-home pay. Labor-hours add up across everyone on the job and exclude drive time and admin.
What some businesses have already reached: Census counted 25,461 U.S. janitorial businesses without paid employees reporting $100,000 to $249,999 in 2024 gross receipts, and 5,470 reporting $250,000 to $499,999. That’s the broader category, including commercial cleaning. Those are sales before expenses, not what an owner took home. 2024 Census receipt bands.
Before you expand: Track recurring clients, cancellations, collected revenue per visit and paid hours including travel. If adding a crew leaves too many empty slots or stretches the route, more bookings can mean more work without more profit.
Read the source data.
- 2022 Economic Census, residential interior cleaning product, 7000475000
- 2024 Nonemployer Statistics, janitorial services
- 2025 Consumer Expenditure Survey, Table 2500: Housekeeping services
Different sources measure different groups and years. Demographic comparisons use weighted survey estimates. The owner scenario is a model, not a record of actual earnings. Sources reviewed November 2026.