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House cleaning price per hour: what to charge per cleaner
Charge per cleaner-hour, not per team-hour. Companies that publish an hourly rate charge a median $58 per cleaner-hour across 10 price lists, with the middle half at $51–$68. HomeGuide’s April 2024 range is $25–$75, and the BLS May 2024 median wage for maids and housekeeping cleaners is $16.66 an hour.
Calculate a price
Starting point: $0.14 per sq ft. Regular clean (US guide): $0.10–$0.17 per square foot. Our midpoint of that range, rounded to cents. Routine cleaning of floors, bathrooms, kitchen surfaces and reachable dusting areas. HomeGuide: house cleaning prices, checked 2026-10-15.
Extras, travel and minimum
The result is per visit. Cleaner-hours means people × hours, so two cleaners for two hours is four cleaner-hours. Use a rate for the selected frequency.
Enter home area (square feet).
House cleaning price per hour: published rates
| Job or unit | Published price | What the price covers | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly, per cleaner (US guide) | $25–$75 per cleaner-hour | Rate is per worker, not per team. | HomeGuide: house cleaning prices · Published · Checked |
| Per cleaner (Seattle, WA) | $65 per cleaner-hour | Two cleaner-hour minimum. | NW Maids: Seattle house cleaning prices · Checked |
| Deep cleaning, per cleaner (Seattle, WA) | from $75 per cleaner-hour | Hour estimate given up front. | MagiClean: Seattle house cleaning · Checked |
| Standard or deep, per cleaner (Chicago, IL) | $69 per cleaner-hour | Premium deep cleaning is $119. | Spotless Home Cleaners: Chicago rates · Checked |
| Any service, per cleaner (Chicago, IL) | $50 per cleaner-hour | The customer chooses the team size. | Lana Li Cleaning: Chicago rates · Checked |
| Any service, per cleaner (Twin Cities, MN) | $55 per cleaner-hour | No travel surcharge. | KLY Cleaning: Twin Cities rate · Checked |
| Deep or move, per cleaner (Denver, CO) | $60 per cleaner-hour | No minimum, no contract. | Hello Clean & Company: Denver residential cleaning · Checked |
| Recurring, per maid (Charlotte, NC) | $50 per cleaner-hour | Three to five hours a visit, depending on the home. | Superb Maids: Charlotte prices · Checked |
| Any service, per cleaner (San Diego County, CA) | from $55 per cleaner-hour | Three-hour minimum booking. | Comforts Cleaning Services: San Diego County rates · Checked |
| Hourly cleaning (Pittsburgh, PA) | $75 per cleaner-hour | Cleaners are employees. | Wexford Cleaning: Pittsburgh prices · Checked |
| Custom jobs, per maid (Brooklyn, NY) | $42 per cleaner-hour | Minimum two maids for two hours. | Diamond Maids: Brooklyn rates · Checked |
What do cleaning companies charge per hour?
The published rates run from $42 per maid at Diamond Maids in Brooklyn, for custom jobs, to $75 at Wexford Cleaning in Pittsburgh and MagiClean Seattle. Most sit between $50 and $69: Lana Li in Chicago and Superb Maids in Charlotte at $50, KLY in the Twin Cities and Comforts in San Diego County at $55, Hello Clean in Denver at $60 and Spotless Home Cleaners in Chicago at $69.
Every one of these is per cleaner. Two cleaners for three hours is six cleaner-hours, so a $55 rate makes that visit $330, not $165.
How do you turn a cleaner’s wage into an hourly rate?
Start with what you pay for an hour of cleaning, add what that hour costs you on top, then divide by one minus your margin. The BLS put the May 2024 median wage for maids and housekeeping cleaners at $16.66 an hour; payroll taxes, workers’ comp, supplies, drive time between homes and unpaid admin hours all sit on top of that.
Working alone, count your own pay at the rate you would accept from an employer, then add the same costs. A rate that only covers the hours you are inside the house leaves the drive, the supply runs and the invoicing unpaid.
Should you quote house cleaning hourly or flat?
Flat for homes you know, hourly for jobs you cannot size. Most companies here publish flat prices by bedrooms or square feet and keep hourly for custom, extra messy or extra large homes, as Diamond Maids does, or for deep and move cleans, as MagiClean Seattle and Hello Clean & Company do.
Hourly needs a minimum so a short visit still pays for the drive. NW Maids sets two cleaner-hours, Comforts Cleaning three hours and Diamond Maids two maids for two hours.
How do you explain an hourly quote to a customer?
Give the team size, an hour range and the price range together: “Two cleaners, three to three and a half hours, $330–$385 at $55 per cleaner-hour.” MagiClean Seattle gives an hour estimate up front for the same reason.
Agree what happens if the job runs long: stop at the estimate and list what is left, or keep going at the same rate with the customer’s OK. Writing that down before you start avoids the argument at the end.
Three worked prices
The first two multiply cleaner-hours by a published hourly rate; the third adds up what one cleaner-hour costs, starting from the BLS median wage, with our own allowance for payroll costs, supplies and drive time.
Two cleaners for three hours. Six cleaner-hours at KLY Cleaning’s $55 per-cleaner rate.
House cleaning, two cleaners: 6 cleaner-hours × $55 = $330.
Example total: $330. Rate source: KLY Cleaning: Twin Cities rate, checked 2026-10-15.
A minimum hourly booking. Diamond Maids’ minimum of two maids for two hours at its $42 custom-job rate.
Custom cleaning, two maids: 4 maid-hours × $42 = $168.
Example total: $168. Rate source: Diamond Maids: Brooklyn rates, checked 2026-10-15.
What one cleaner-hour costs before margin. The BLS median wage plus our allowance for payroll costs, supplies, drive time and admin. Your costs will differ; put them in the calculator above to add your margin.
Cleaner wage (BLS median): 1 hour × $16.66 = $16.66.
Payroll taxes and workers’ comp, about 15% of wage: 1 hour × $2.50 = $2.50.
Supplies, drive time and admin: 1 hour × $8 = $8.
Example total: $27.16. Rate source: BLS OEWS: May 2024 employee wages, checked 2026-10-15.
Frequently asked questions
Is the hourly rate per cleaner or per team?
Per cleaner at every company here that says so. Two cleaners for two hours is four cleaner-hours; quote it that way so the customer sees the arithmetic.
What is a fair minimum for an hourly clean?
Two to three hours. NW Maids sets two cleaner-hours, Comforts Cleaning in San Diego County three hours, and Diamond Maids two maids for two hours.
Should I charge more per hour for a deep clean?
Some do: Spotless Home Cleaners in Chicago charges $69 for standard and deep work and $119 for its premium deep clean, while KLY and Lana Li keep one rate and let the hours rise instead.
Sources
- HomeGuide: house cleaning prices · Published · Checked
- MagiClean: Seattle house cleaning · Checked
- BLS OEWS: May 2024 employee wages · Published · Checked
- NW Maids: Seattle house cleaning prices · Checked
- Spotless Home Cleaners: Chicago rates · Checked
- Lana Li Cleaning: Chicago rates · Checked
- KLY Cleaning: Twin Cities rate · Checked
- Hello Clean & Company: Denver residential cleaning · Checked
- Superb Maids: Charlotte prices · Checked
- Comforts Cleaning Services: San Diego County rates · Checked
- Wexford Cleaning: Pittsburgh prices · Checked
- Diamond Maids: Brooklyn rates · Checked