Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
Also called: Bed Maker, Bunk House Worker, Butler, Cabin Cleaner, Chambermaid, Charwoman, Cleaner, Cleaning Maid
Perform any combination of light cleaning duties to maintain private households or commercial establishments, such as hotels and hospitals, in a clean and orderly manner.
What maids and housekeeping cleaners do
Typical tasks
- Keep storage areas and carts well-stocked, clean, and tidy.
- Carry linens, towels, toilet items, and cleaning supplies, using wheeled carts.
- Clean rooms, hallways, lobbies, lounges, restrooms, corridors, elevators, stairways, locker rooms, and other work areas so that health standards are met.
- Empty wastebaskets, empty and clean ashtrays, and transport other trash and waste to disposal areas.
- Sweep, scrub, wax, or polish floors, using brooms, mops, or powered scrubbing and waxing machines.
- Replenish supplies, such as drinking glasses, linens, writing supplies, and bathroom items.
- Clean rugs, carpets, upholstered furniture, and draperies, using vacuum cleaners and shampooers.
- Wash windows, walls, ceilings, and woodwork, waxing and polishing as necessary.
- Dust and polish furniture and equipment.
- Disinfect equipment and supplies, using germicides or steam-operated sterilizers.
- Observe precautions required to protect hotel and guest property and report damage, theft, and found articles to supervisors.
- Sort, count, and mark clean linens and store them in linen closets.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners salary
The median annual wage for maids and housekeeping cleaners is $35,510 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $27,640 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $48,570. The mean annual wage is $37,080.
The mean hourly wage of $17.00 is 2.3× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $35,510 → in 3 years $38,800 → in 5 years $41,200 → in 10 years $47,900 (10-year range $41,200–$55,600). The model assumes pay growth of +3.0% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
The same job in Japan
| Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners United States | 客室清掃・整備担当（ホテル・旅館） Japan | 家政婦（夫） Japan | ハウスクリーニング Japan | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median / average pay | $35,510 | ¥3.62M ≈ $23,044 | ¥4.03M ≈ $25,607 | ¥3.99M ≈ $25,348 |
| Pay in 10 years (est.) | $47,900 | ¥5.02M | ¥5.68M | ¥5.38M |
| Outlook score | 48 | 55 | 62 | 54 |
| AI replacement risk | 22% Low | 18% Very low | 14% Very low | 24% Low |
| Workers | 861K | — | — | — |
Matched by occupation (SOC code). Yen converted at 157.25 JPY/USD for reference; Japanese figures are averages, U.S. figures are medians, and the surveys define occupations differently.
Skills, education and requirements for Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 2 — some preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★☆☆☆☆ Easy to enter (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become maids and housekeeping cleaners
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as maids and housekeeping cleaners
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.