Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners Salary

The median maids and housekeeping cleaners salary in the United States is $35,510 per year ($17.07/hour). Salaries range from $27,640 at the entry level to $48,570+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 860,670 maids and housekeeping cleaners jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 0.4% through 2034.

Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Median Salary
$35,510
per year
Hourly Rate
$17.07
per hour
Employment
860,670
jobs in the U.S.

Salary Distribution

10th percentile
$27,640
25th percentile
$30,350
Median
$35,510
75th percentile
$39,590
90th percentile
$48,570

Job Growth (2024-2034)

+0.4%
Slower than average

Annual Openings

193,500
jobs/year (growth + replacements)

Education Required

No formal educational credential

Training Needed

Short-term on-the-job training

Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners Career Guide

Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for maids and housekeeping cleanerss.

Maids and housekeeping cleaners keep hotel rooms, private homes, hospitals, and offices habitable β€” clearing 14 to 16 guest rooms per 8-hour shift at a full-service Marriott or Hilton property, running biohazard clean of a code-brown room in a hospital EVS assignment, or turning over a residential home for Merry Maids. Median pay is $35,510 with the p10 at $27,640 (residential non-union in the South) and p90 near $48,570 (senior union room attendants at gateway-city union hotels β€” UNITE HERE Local 6 in NYC, Local 2 in SF, Local 5 in Honolulu β€” where full contract wages plus tips can clear $32 per hour). Nationally, employment is about 860,670. The job is physical: 8 hours on your feet, repeated bed lifts (a king mattress weighs 90-140 lbs), chemical exposure, and repetitive-strain injuries to shoulders and knees. Advancement is real but narrow: houseperson β†’ floor supervisor β†’ executive housekeeper β†’ director of housekeeping at a large property.

Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For

Brand-standard room turnover
Marriott 66-point checklist, Hilton CleanStay, Hyatt Global Care & Cleanliness β€” every branded hotel has a written standard. Room attendants who consistently pass GEI (Guest Experience Index) inspections keep the best floors and shifts.
Bed making and linen handling under time pressure
Triple-sheeted king beds in under 4 minutes, hospital corners, coverlet symmetry. The bed is the visual anchor of the room and the #1 reason a room fails inspection.
Chemical safety and OSHA Hazard Communication
Reading SDS sheets for quat sanitizers, bleach, glass cleaner, and floor stripper. Never mixing bleach with ammonia. Proper PPE β€” nitrile gloves, splash goggles for stripping.
Bloodborne pathogens and biohazard cleanup
Required in hospitals, standard practice in hotels. Double-bag, red-bag disposal, spill kit use. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1030 exposure control plan for hospital EVS.
Ergonomic bed lift and back protection
Bend at the hips, not the waist. Push the mattress rather than pull. Use the fitted-sheet knee-lift. OSHA has cited hotels under the general duty clause for musculoskeletal injuries from bed lifts β€” senior housekeepers know how to protect their backs and knees.
Rotational deep clean and turnover
Deep clean cycle β€” mattress rotation, curtain wash, headboard wipe, HVAC vent β€” usually every 60-90 days per room on a rolling schedule. Tracked on the room-attendant clipboard or the mobile PMS (Opera, HotSOS).
Guest service and language basics
Room attendants interact with guests every day. 'Buenos dΓ­as,' 'shall I come back?', and a professional smile drive tips. In union hotels, tip envelopes and A Card in Every Room (Marriott) programs matter.

How to Become a Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

  1. 1
    No formal education required β€” apply direct
    Hotels, hospitals, and residential cleaning companies (Merry Maids, MaidPro, Molly Maid) hire off the street. Bring ID for I-9, a clean background if the property runs one, and be ready to work weekends and holidays.
  2. 2
    Complete on-property orientation and brand-standard training
    Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, MGM all run 1-3 day training. You'll learn the room-turn sequence, cart setup, chemical safety, bloodborne pathogens, and how the PMS assigns rooms.
  3. 3
    Hit the 14-16 rooms-per-shift standard
    This is the union-negotiated or property-standard workload. Newer attendants take 8 weeks to build the pace. Falling behind repeatedly gets you moved to a lower-standard shift or terminated.
  4. 4
    Move to a specialty floor or role β€” VIP, suites, deep-clean team, houseperson
    Better tips on VIP/club-level floors. Houseperson (or 'houseman') role β€” restocking carts, stripping heavy linens, carpet extraction β€” pays $1-3/hour more and is easier on your back.
  5. 5
    Advance to Floor Supervisor / Inspector β†’ Executive Housekeeper
    Floor Supervisor inspects 30-50 rooms per shift, coaches attendants, handles guest complaints. Executive Housekeeper runs the department β€” 40-200 people, budget, PMS, labor. AHLA Certified Executive Housekeeper (CEH) helps.

Career Progression

Room Attendant / Residential Cleaner / EVS Aide
0-3 yrs$27k-$40k ($13-$19/hr non-union; $22-$32/hr union hotel with tips)
  • β€’Clean 14-16 assigned rooms per 8-hour shift to brand standard
  • β€’Stock and organize the housekeeping cart at start and end of shift
  • β€’Report maintenance issues (burned bulbs, running toilets, torn linens) via the PMS or floor supervisor
  • β€’Follow OSHA bloodborne pathogen and chemical safety protocols
Next: Senior Room Attendant, Houseperson, or VIP-floor attendant at 3-6 years.
Senior Room Attendant / Houseperson / VIP Floor
3-8 yrs$32k-$48k (union senior scale + tips at gateway-city hotels can push higher)
  • β€’Work highest-standard floors β€” VIP, club level, suites β€” with elevated inspection rate
  • β€’Cover heavy linen strip, cart restock, carpet extraction on houseperson shifts
  • β€’Train new hires shadow-style and sign off on their first solo shifts
  • β€’Cover shift lead when the floor supervisor is out
Next: Floor Supervisor / Inspector at 6-10 years.
Floor Supervisor / Housekeeping Inspector
6-12 yrs$38k-$55k
  • β€’Inspect 30-50 rooms per shift against brand-standard checklist
  • β€’Assign daily room boards; adjust for early departures, stayovers, VIP arrivals
  • β€’Coach room attendants on missed points; document write-ups per HR process
  • β€’Handle guest complaints in-room; comp minibar / breakfast at the manager's discretion
Next: Assistant Executive Housekeeper at 10-15 years.
Assistant Executive Housekeeper / Executive Housekeeper
10+ yrs$48k-$95k+ at large full-service or luxury properties
  • β€’Run department of 40-200 room attendants, housepersons, laundry staff
  • β€’Own labor budget, chemical/linen ordering, PPE inventory, capital projects (carpet, mattresses)
  • β€’Interface with Front Office and Engineering on daily forecast and PMs
  • β€’Represent housekeeping in union grievance meetings and CBA negotiations
Next: Director of Housekeeping or Director of Rooms at flagship properties.

Interview Questions & Answers

5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 18 total plus resume bullets for every level.

Q1. How do you handle a room that's booked for a same-day check-in but the guest hasn't left yet?situational
Never enter without knocking, announcing housekeeping, and waiting. If the guest is still in the room past checkout, radio the floor supervisor β€” do not confront the guest. The supervisor calls the front desk to confirm late checkout or contact the guest. In the meantime, I'd flip to my next assigned room on the board and come back after resolution. Front-of-house owns the guest conversation, housekeeping owns the room.
Q2. Walk me through how you clean a checkout room from start to finish.technical
Knock twice, announce, wait 10 seconds, enter with the door propped. Strip linens and towels to the cart. Empty trash and remove room-service trays. Spray bathroom chemicals so they can dwell while I do the room. Dust top-down, wipe surfaces, vacuum last so I don't recontaminate. Make the bed to brand standard β€” triple-sheet, hospital corners. Return to bathroom, scrub toilet, tub, sink, mirror. Restock amenities. Vacuum out. Final walk-through against the checklist. Close the door and mark the room clean in Opera or HotSOS.
Q3. You find blood on the sheets. What do you do?technical
Bloodborne pathogen protocol. Don a fresh pair of nitrile gloves. Do not shake or ball the linens β€” that aerosolizes contaminants. Place linens directly into a red biohazard bag (or in some hotels, a marked laundry bag). Do not launder with regular linens. Disinfect the mattress surface with an EPA-registered disinfectant, dwell for the label contact time. Notify the floor supervisor. Log the incident per OSHA 1910.1030 in hospitals, or the hotel's exposure control plan.
Q4. How do you protect your body over a full career doing this work?behavioral
The two career-ending injuries are shoulder impingement from repetitive bed lifts and lumbar strain from bending wrong to make the bed. I bend at the hips, keep my back straight, and push the mattress with my legs instead of yanking with my arms. Alternate which side of the bed I lead with. Wear supportive non-slip shoes and replace them every 6 months. Take the 10-minute break on the schedule β€” don't skip it to get ahead. Report any pain early to the safety committee.
Q5. Why do you want this job?culture
I like the rhythm of the work β€” you know what a good day looks like and you finish it. I like walking a floor at the end of a shift and seeing every room done to standard. Hotel work also gives me a real career ladder β€” houseperson, supervisor, executive housekeeper β€” and benefits and paid time off that I don't get in residential cleaning. If this is a union property, mention that: 'The UNITE HERE contract, the pension, and the healthcare are what brought me here specifically.'

Resume Template β€” Room Attendant / Residential Cleaner (0-3 yrs)

Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.

Room Attendant / Residential Cleaner (0-3 yrs)
  • β–ΈClean 14-16 checkout and stayover rooms per 8-hour shift to Marriott brand-standard, sustaining a 96% GEI inspection pass rate over 18 months.
  • β–ΈTrained on OSHA bloodborne pathogen response, chemical safety per SDS, and Marriott CleanStay protocol; zero recordable injuries or exposures.
  • β–ΈRecognized as Housekeeping Associate of the Quarter Q2 FY24 for perfect attendance and inspection scores; guest-mentioned by name in 22 online reviews.
  • β–ΈBilingual English/Spanish; comfortable with Opera PMS and HotSOS mobile assignment. UNITE HERE Local 6 member in good standing.

What Gets You Rejected

  • βœ—Can't consistently hit the 14-16 room-per-shift standard after the training ramp β€” leads to write-ups and eventually separation.
  • βœ—Skips the checklist and gets caught by inspection β€” an inspector-failed room is a re-clean, and repeat failures move you to a lower-tier floor.
  • βœ—Mixes cleaning chemicals or ignores SDS instructions β€” OSHA-recordable exposure ends a career fast.
  • βœ—Complaints about guests, coworkers, or the property posted on social media β€” most hotels have an explicit policy and terminate for cause.
  • βœ—Poor attendance, especially on weekends and holidays when demand is highest β€” housekeeping is a 365-day operation and reliability drives promotions.
  • βœ—Reluctance to report injuries β€” untreated shoulder or back injuries become chronic and end careers years before they had to.

Salary Negotiation Levers

  • βœ“Union hotel vs non-union β€” UNITE HERE contracts in NYC, SF, Chicago, Honolulu, Boston, LA add $5-10/hour and add pension, healthcare, and layoff protection.
  • βœ“Full-service vs limited-service β€” a full-service Marriott / Hilton / Hyatt pays more than a Fairfield Inn or Hampton because the room count and standard are higher.
  • βœ“Shift differential β€” evening shift, overnight houseperson, and weekend-only shifts add $0.50-$2/hour.
  • βœ“Tips β€” VIP/club-level floors, suite floors, and airport hotels with business travelers tip more than convention floors. Ask about the tip pool structure before you accept the assignment.
  • βœ“Certifications β€” AHLA Certified Guest Room Attendant (CGRA) and Certified Executive Housekeeper (CEH) push you into the supervisor lane and add $2-5/hour.
  • βœ“Deep-clean team / VIP team β€” specialty rotations pay 5-10% above standard and prep you for supervisor promotion.

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Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners Salary by State

Best Cities (cost-adjusted) β†’

Salary Map β€” Click a state for details

$25K
$52Kβ–  No data

Top Paying States

Hawaii
$52K
+45%
Nevada
$47K
+31%
California
$43K
+20%
District of Columbia
$42K
+19%
Washington
$42K
+19%
New York
$42K
+18%
Massachusetts
$39K
+10%
New Jersey
$38K
+7%
Vermont
$38K
+6%
Maine
$38K
+6%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
StateMedianvs. National
Hawaii$51,600+45.3%
Nevada$46,550+31.1%
California$42,660+20.1%
District of Columbia$42,260+19.0%
Washington$42,180+18.8%
New York$41,950+18.1%
Massachusetts$38,950+9.7%
New Jersey$37,980+7.0%
Vermont$37,680+6.1%
Maine$37,630+6.0%
1–10 of 51

Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners Salary by Metro Area

Metro AreaMedianvs. National
Urban Honolulu, HI$53,850+51.6%
Kahului-Wailuku, HI$53,030+49.3%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA$48,200+35.7%
Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV$48,140+35.6%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA$46,590+31.2%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA$44,900+26.4%
Napa, CA$44,260+24.6%
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ$44,010+23.9%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA$43,530+22.6%
Vallejo, CA$43,090+21.3%
1–10 of 395
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A maids and housekeeping cleaners earning $35,510/year would need 1679 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 1802 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries β†’
πŸ“ˆ See how maids and housekeeping cleaners salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners salary trend (2011–2024) β†’