Jetted FoxCareers · Cleaning, sanitation & environmental
Maids and housekeeping cleaners
Clean hotel rooms, homes or care facilities: make beds, clean bathrooms, vacuum and restock. No college degree needed.
Start now · nothing needed
Starting pay ranges from about $10.57/hr in Mississippi to $22.05/hr in Hawaii.
Pay in every state
| State | Start | 2 years |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $10.74–12.23/hr | $13.21/hr |
| Alaska | $16.13–17.06/hr | $17.97/hr |
| Arizona | $15.07–16.46/hr | $17.13/hr |
| Arkansas | $11.39–12.82/hr | $13.44/hr |
| California | $17.16–17.79/hr | $20.51/hr |
| Colorado | $15.62–17.17/hr | $18.06/hr |
| Connecticut | $16.42–16.93/hr | $17.39/hr |
| Delaware | $15/hr | $16.42/hr |
| Florida | $13.87–14.55/hr | $16.28/hr |
| Georgia | $11.21–13.08/hr | $14.31/hr |
| Hawaii | $18.56–22.05/hr | $24.81/hr |
| Idaho | $13.27–13.99/hr | $16.62/hr |
| Illinois | $15–16.63/hr | $17.49/hr |
| Indiana | $13.56–14.04/hr | $15.11/hr |
| Iowa | $13.77–14.19/hr | $15.68/hr |
| Kansas | $12.65–13.40/hr | $14.95/hr |
| Kentucky | $11.44–13.43/hr | $14.85/hr |
| Louisiana | $10.25–10.86/hr | $12.79/hr |
| Maine | $16.60–17.47/hr | $18.09/hr |
| Maryland | $15–16.21/hr | $17.07/hr |
| Massachusetts | $16.50–17.64/hr | $18.73/hr |
| Michigan | $13.82–14.48/hr | $16.66/hr |
| Minnesota | $14.41–16.77/hr | $18.01/hr |
| Mississippi | $9.14–10.57/hr | $12.19/hr |
| Missouri | $13.75–14.47/hr | $16.19/hr |
| Montana | $13.50–14.33/hr | $17.18/hr |
| Nebraska | $13.62–14.50/hr | $16.43/hr |
| Nevada | $14.42–16.84/hr | $22.38/hr |
| New Hampshire | $16.06–17.20/hr | $17.75/hr |
| New Jersey | $15.75–16.85/hr | $18.26/hr |
| New Mexico | $12.96–13.78/hr | $14.65/hr |
| New York | $16.25–17.22/hr | $20.17/hr |
| North Carolina | $11.53–13.77/hr | $15.05/hr |
| North Dakota | $14.19–14.76/hr | $16.85/hr |
| Ohio | $13.29–14/hr | $15.47/hr |
| Oklahoma | $10.80–11.80/hr | $13.76/hr |
| Oregon | $16.33–17.20/hr | $18.07/hr |
| Pennsylvania | $13.16–14.05/hr | $16.29/hr |
| Rhode Island | $16.58–17.40/hr | $18.05/hr |
| South Carolina | $11.09–13.38/hr | $14.55/hr |
| South Dakota | $13.41–13.77/hr | $14.40/hr |
| Tennessee | $12.07–13.63/hr | $14.83/hr |
| Texas | $10.65–12.81/hr | $14.26/hr |
| Utah | $14.01–15.11/hr | $17.44/hr |
| Vermont | $15.27–17.31/hr | $18.12/hr |
| Virginia | $13.56–14.27/hr | $16.26/hr |
| Washington | $17.35–18.12/hr | $20.28/hr |
| Washington, DC | $18.25–18.43/hr | $20.32/hr |
| West Virginia | $10.82–12.17/hr | $13.51/hr |
| Wisconsin | $14.16–14.92/hr | $17.08/hr |
| Wyoming | $12.62–13.44/hr | $15.32/hr |
Estimates, May 2025. Start = what the lowest-paid 10–25% earn; 2 years = the median. US Bureau of Labor Statistics
What it takes
Before you're hired
Once you're hired
A normal day
At a hotel you get a list of rooms each morning and a cart, and work through 12-16 rooms making beds, scrubbing bathrooms and vacuuming. In home cleaning you ride with a small team to several houses a day. You work fast to a room count or a house schedule.
The good parts
Hired fast with no experience. Hotels promote housekeepers to supervisors and managers. Home cleaning can become your own business.
The hard parts
Bending, lifting mattresses and scrubbing all day is hard on backs and shoulders. Pay is low, and some jobs are part time. Weekend shifts are normal at hotels.
Where it leads
Housekeeping or janitorial supervisor (after 1–3 years). pay stays low as a housekeeper; it leads to supervisor, executive housekeeper or running a cleaning business.
Quick answers
Do maids and housekeeping cleaners need a college degree?
No. You can start now: nothing needed.
How long is the training for maids and housekeeping cleaners?
1–2 weeks of paid training at work.
How much do maids and housekeeping cleaners make?
About $13.29–14.59 an hour to start and $17.07 an hour at the median across the US (May 2025).
Is it a fit for you?
Answer a few questions and see your paths. Free, about 7 minutes.
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Last updated October 13, 2026. Pay: BLS OEWS, May 2025. Jobs: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35. Training, costs and requirements: Jetted Fox research (estimates). This site includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Jetted Fox has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Facts, not advice.