What It Means
House cleanerCleaning serviceA business or person you pay to clean your home, usually by the visit or by the hour, on a one-time or regular schedule. See more cost is what a household pays to have its home cleaned, by a company, by an independent cleaner, or by someone the household hires and directs itself. Cleaners usually quote either an hourly rate or a flat price for a visit, and a flat price is easiest to compare once you divide it by the hours and the number of people who come. Any price you're quoted is different from what the cleaner takes home: the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) put the median wage for maids and housekeeping cleaners at $17.07 an hour in May 2025.
Try It: Break a Cleaning Quote Down by the Hour
Put in the quote you were given. The starting numbers are only an example.
For comparison, BLS put the median wage for maids and housekeeping cleaners at $17.07 an hour in May 2025. That's pay to the worker, and a company's price also has to cover its own costs.
How People Say It at Work
- "They quoted a flat price for the whole house."
- "Two of them come and they're done in a couple of hours."
- "Is that per hour or per visit?"
The Breakdown
Worked example. A cleaning company quotes $160 a visit. Two cleaners come and stay about two hours, every two weeks. These are example numbers.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Cleaner hours per visit (2 × 2) | 4 |
| Price per cleaner per hour ($160 ÷ 4) | $40.00 |
| Visits a year | 26 |
| Cost per year | $4,160 |
What the result means. The price per cleaner per hour lets you compare a flat quote with an hourly one. It will usually be higher than a cleaner's wage, since a company's price covers its own costs too (Buhata's note). The BLS median for maids and housekeeping cleaners was $17.07 an hour in May 2025; that survey covers wage and salary workers at businesses and leaves out the self-employed and household workers.
What moves the price (Buhata's own list)
- The size of the home and the number of bathrooms
- A first visit or a deep clean, as opposed to regular upkeep
- How often the cleaners come
- Extras such as inside the oven, inside the fridge or windows
- Pets, since hair adds time
Good to Know
Who the cleaner works for matters for taxes. The IRS says a worker is your household employeeHousehold employeeA worker you hire to do household work, such as a nanny or housekeeper, when you control both what work they do and how they do it. See more when you can control both what work they do and how they do it. A worker provided by an agency that controls the work isn't your employee, and neither is a self-employed cleaner who controls how the job is done, typically brings their own tools and offers their services to the public. If you do have a household employee, IRS Publication 926 (2026) says social security and Medicare taxes apply once you pay that person $3,000 or more in cash wages in 2026, and federal unemploymentUnemployment benefitsWeekly payments from a state's unemployment insurance program to eligible workers who lose a job through no fault of their own, with rules set by each state. See more tax applies once you pay $1,000 or more in cash wages to household employees in any calendar quarter. For your own situation, read the current edition of Publication 926 or ask a tax professional.
FAQ
How much does a house cleaner cost per hour?
It depends on your area, your home and who you hire, so this page doesn't quote a national price. Divide any flat quote by the hours and the number of cleaners to get a price per cleaner per hour you can compare.
How much do house cleaners earn?
BLS put the median wage for maids and housekeeping cleaners at $17.07 an hour in May 2025. That covers workers employed by businesses; the self-employed and household workers aren't in the survey.
Is a cleaner I hire myself my employee?
Only if you control what work they do and how they do it, according to the IRS. A cleaner from an agency that controls the work, or a self-employed cleaner running their own business, generally isn't your employee.
Do It in Buhata
Bills (Plus), Budget
Add the cleaning visits to Bills (Plus) on their schedule, so you can see what's due and when, and track the cost in Budget.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Cleaning service
A business or person you pay to clean your home, usually by the visit or by the hour, on a one-time or regular schedule.
- Housekeeper salary
The pay a housekeeper earns for cleaning and keeping a home or rooms in order; BLS put the median for maids and housekeeping cleaners at $17.07 an hour in May 2025.
- Tipping house cleaners
Giving a house cleaner extra money beyond the price of the service, either at visits or once a year, which is a choice with no official rule.
- Household employee
A worker you hire to do household work, such as a nanny or housekeeper, when you control both what work they do and how they do it.
- Cleaning checklist
A written list of household cleaning jobs, often split into daily and weekly tasks, that you tick off so nothing gets missed.
Sources
O*NET OnLine, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, "37-2012.00 Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners"; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Overview"; IRS, "Hiring household employees"; IRS, Publication 926 (2026), "Household Employer's Tax Guide"
Last updated .