Keeping a home clean at all times might seem a difficult task, especially for those with chaotic daily schedules. The internet abounds with tips and tricks for establishing and sticking to a specific cleaning routine—you can even turn it into a creative activity, which is quite encouraging.
However, this isn’t another cleaning guide. We’re committed to presenting you with hard facts and figures exclusively. Take a look at our cleaning industry statistics, and find out how much money is at stake behind your spending on cleaning products, how different cleaning branches rank within this prosperous industry, and much more.
Key Cleaning Industry Statistics and Facts
- It’s been estimated that the overall cleaning industry could reach $74 billion by 2022.
- Windows are the number-one priority for 49% of spring cleaners.
- Approximately $5 billion is earned annually from carpet cleaning.
- There was a 2.52% growth in the employment of janitors and building cleaners from 2017 to 2018.
- There are nearly 900,000 maids currently working in the US.
- House cleaning statistics reveal there are 60 million people employed as domestic workers around the world.
- The cleaning product market could grow at a CAGR of 5% until 2024.
- In Australia, a cleaner earns around AUD 32,900 per year.
- £24 billion per year (USD 30 billion) is earned from cleaning services in the UK.
- Roughly 20 million square feet of new office space has been developed in Canada, increasing the number of available cleaning industry jobs.
Cleaning Industry Trends and Stats in the United States
In this section, you’ll find out the value of the cleaning industry in the US, the number of employees in the janitorial services industry, the number of maids, and more.
1. It’s been estimated that the overall cleaning industry could reach $74 billion by 2022.
(Franchise Window Genie)
If you wonder why this is so, we’ve come up with some figures that could explain it. Statistics show that 61% of American families have two working parents. With that in mind, it’s understandable that basic housework (including cleaning) can sometimes get neglected, so families often employ housekeepers for ongoing maintenance. This explains the home cleaning market size.
Another reason the cleaning industry is profitable is fairly simple: cleaning work can’t be fully automated and will always require a human workforce.
2. According to 2019’s cleaning habits and cleaning industry statistics, windows are the number-one priority for 49% of spring cleaners.
(American Cleaning Institute)
Almost half of the survey participants revealed that window cleaning tops the list of items for spring cleaning. In addition, a large number of respondents (42%) said that clothes, closets, and drawers are among their priorities. Furthermore, one in four respondents said that cleaning floors is their priority.
3. Carpet cleaning industry statistics show that approximately $5 billion is earned annually from these services.
(Brandon Gaille)
The carpet cleaning industry is only one of this industry’s specialties, but it’s a remarkable money maker. There are almost 40,000 companies in the US providing carpet cleaning services, with 70,000 employees total. Additionally, it accounts for about 10% of the general cleaning industry profits.
4. Moving on to the janitorial services industry, statistics report that it employs over 3.2 million people in the United States.
(Brandon Gaille)
Most of these employees work in residences, business facilities, and school districts. Since 2014, the janitorial services industry has generated more than $40 billion in the US. In fact, it was forecasted to earn over $46 billion in 2020.
5. Janitorial industry statistics from the US demonstrate a 2.52% growth in the employment of janitors and building cleaners from 2017 to 2018.
(Data USA)
More precisely, the number of janitorial workers leaped from 2,490,527 to 2,553,326 over one year. Dwelling-cleaning services engage the most significant percentage of janitors (23.4%), while educational institutions employ around 14.4% of the janitorial workforce.
6. Residential cleaning industry statistics show that there are nearly 900,000 maids currently working in the US.
(Infographic Journal)
Based on location, most of them are employed in California and Florida, which are immediately followed by Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania.
General Cleaning Services Industry Statistics
In this section, we’ll compare the commercial cleaning industry with the industrial and residential cleaning industries.
7. In the case of the commercial cleaning industry, statistics indicate that this represents the greatest portion of the overall cleaning industry (55%).
(Cleaning Service Reviewed)
The commercial cleaning industry is bigger in comparison to the industrial (30%) and residential (15%) cleaning industries. In terms of growth rate, it also exceeds these two branches, with a compound annual growth rate of 5.13%—as compared to 4.85% and 4.17% for industrial and residential cleaning, respectively, as illustrated by the residential and commercial cleaning industry trends.
8. As for the global dry-cleaning industry, statistics show that the market size is expected to grow to $180 billion by 2022.
(Business Wire)
Having reached a value of nearly $118.9 billion in 2018, this prosperous market is expected to expand at a fast pace. More precisely, the expected compound annual growth rate is 10.9%, reaching $180 billion within the next two years.
9. Due to COVID-19 lockdowns and loss of business, it’s been estimated that overall commercial cleaning company revenue could decline by 1.6%.
(Market Research)
Nevertheless, despite the loss, with a 7.4% profit gain forecast for 2021, the aftermath of COVID-19 is actually expected to help service providers and increase the market’s value. It’s not hard to guess why: managers will likely aim at increasing the number of regular cleaning contracts due to lingering COVID-19 concerns.
10. A recent cleaning product industry analysis revealed that this market could grow at a CAGR of 5% until 2024.
(Guru Focus)
The household cleaning product industry, including everything from surface-cleaning chemicals to dishwashing liquids, has been estimated to grow by $15.7 million by 2024. As a note, these figures could get even bigger as a result of post-pandemic residential and office maintenance, ensuring a germ-free environment.
Cleaning Industry Statistics Worldwide
Over 700,000 people are employed in the cleaning industry in the UK. In Australia, a cleaner earns around USD 26,500 annually. Find out more stats from around the world.
11. According to 2019’s cleaning industry statistics from Canada, roughly 20 million square feet of new office space has been developed in Canada, increasing the number of available cleaning industry jobs.
(Clean Link, Canada Construct Connect)
Commercial construction in Canada is expected to keep growing vigorously, especially in bigger cities. For instance, by the end of 2019, Toronto and Vancouver solely accounted for 17 million square feet of the total national 20 million square feet of the commercial space under construction.
12. Based on cleaning industry statistics in Australia, a cleaner earns around AUD 32,900 per year.
(SalaryExplorer)
This is just under USD 26,500. People working in the housekeeping and cleaning industry can expect to earn between AUD 23,600 and AUD 50,000 per year.
13. UK cleaning industry statistics report that £24 billion per year (USD 30 billion) is earned from cleaning services.
(Tidy Choice)
The cleaning industry’s value in the UK is evident when it comes to employment—cleaning services count over 700,000 employees. Another positive is that wages in the cleaning services sector are growing at a higher rate than the national average (6.4% compared to 2.3%).
14. Statistics about the household cleaning industry indicate there are over 60 million people employed as domestic workers around the world.
(Wiego)
This group includes housekeepers who provide cleaning services, as well as employees who help run errands, watch the children, etc. The majority of housekeeping staff are women from poor communities, but there are also male domestic workers, who usually have better incomes as gardeners, personal drivers, or security.
15. According to 2019’s market research, the demand for cleaning services in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness growth at a notable pace.
(Allied Market Research)
While North America has consistently been a fruitful market for the cleaning industry and is not expected to shrink, there are other areas forecast to grow over the following years, such as the Asia-Pacific region.
Furthermore, market research on cleaning services based on region shows that the demand is most prominent in China, Japan, and India. This is presumably due to construction industry growth (i.e., the rise in the number of new commercial and non-commercial facilities) and more women attaining higher education and professional recognition. Cleaning industry statistics for India, Japan, and China show that the cleaning industry is rapidly growing.
Conclusion
Paying for cleaning services has become a necessity for a large number of households. For business offices, hiring cleaning staff has always been a must—impeccable workplace hygiene is one of the most basic professional standards.
The cleaning services industry statistics clearly show it’s a lucrative business, so if you’re thinking of setting one up, it’s a great choice. Most importantly, this is a field where humans will probably never be completely replaced by machines. However, make sure you have a clear vision of what type of cleaning you’d like to specialize in and do thorough market research. We’re positive that our cleaning industry statistics up to 2022 have shed light on at least some of its key aspects.
FAQ
What is the target market for a cleaning service?
If you want to market your cleaning business, you need to start by knowing what makes your service unique. Then, you need to clearly define the demographic you want to market to. Is it working parents? Businesspeople who don’t have time to care for their homes? Landlords who rent out their property for vacation rentals like Airbnb? Remember to advertise the benefits of using your cleaning service rather than just what you offer.
Then, create a marketing plan after analyzing cleaning service industry statistics, which will help you network with potential customers. You should, by this stage, have a website that makes it easy for people to google your business. After you’ve been operating for a while, you should have customer reviews available online so that when people search your company, they find references. Also, create an email list that helps you market the business.
It’s a good idea to have a loyalty program where people can earn points or rewards for referring others to your cleaning business.
Lastly, do an amazing job so that people will naturally want to tell their peers about your service.
(Marketing Systems By Design)
How much is the cleaning industry worth?
According to some predictions, the cleaning industry could reach more than $46 billion during the present year, and it might grow by 10% over the next six years.
(Franchise Help)
How much do cleaning companies make a year?
This heavily depends on the phase the business is in, as the average yearly income and salaries will depend on it as well. At the very start, you could earn anywhere between $30,000 to $50,000 annually while you’re still focused on attracting clients. When you’ve engaged enough cleaning staff and gained some faithful clients, you can expect to earn $50,000 to $70,000 a year—or up to $100,000 a year for commercial cleaning.
(Cleaning Business Boss)
How big is the residential cleaning industry?
Residential cleaning is one of the smaller segments of the general cleaning services industry. These workers are responsible for maintaining private homes. The statistics show that there are over 60 million domestic workers all over the world and that the majority of them are women from poor communities, according to cleaning industry statistics. However, almost half of them don’t have any kind of contract.
(MRO Supply, Parent24, Wiego)
Sources:
- Allied Market Research
- American Cleaning Institute
- Brandon Gaille
- Business Wire
- Canada Construct Connect
- Cleaning Business Boss
- Cleaning Service Reviewed
- Clean Link
- Franchise Help
- Franchise Window Genie
- Infographic Journal
- Marketing Systems By Design
- Market Research
- MRO Supply
- SalaryExplorer
- Tidy Choice
- Wiego
