House Cleaning Rates Per Hour: 2026 Pricing Guide

Walk into any cleaning forum and you will find the same post a dozen times: someone who has been cleaning houses for two years, fully booked, working six days a week, and still barely clearing what a part-time retail job pays. They are not slow. They are not bad at the work. They are charging $25 an hour because that is what the person who trained them charged, and they never raised it.

That is the underpricing trap, and it is the single most expensive mistake in this trade. A cleaner who charges $30 an hour and a cleaner who charges $55 an hour can do the exact same work, in the same town, for the same houses. One of them goes out of business by spring.

This guide gives you the real 2026 numbers. House cleaning rates per hour, per room, per square foot, and per visit, with the bands grounded in current US market data. Then it walks through what actually moves the price and how to turn all of it into a price list you can quote from without doing napkin math in someone's driveway.

What are average house cleaning rates in 2026?

House cleaning rates in 2026 run $35 to $75 per hour per cleaner, with a national midpoint around $50 per hour for a standard clean. A typical 2 to 3 bedroom home runs $120 to $280 per visit flat. Per square foot, standard cleans land at $0.08 to $0.15, and deep cleans at $0.15 to $0.30 or more.

Here is the full picture across every pricing model, drawn from current US market data:

| Pricing model | Standard clean | Deep / move-out clean | |---|---|---| | Per hour (per cleaner) | $35 to $75 | $60 to $80 | | Per square foot | $0.08 to $0.15 | $0.15 to $0.35 | | Flat per visit (2-3 bed) | $120 to $280 | $250 to $450 | | 2-person team, per hour | $90 to $140 total | $120 to $160 total |

Sources: South Mountain Window Cleaning's 2026 rate breakdown, HomeGuide deep-clean data, and Angi's regional cost reporting.

A couple of those numbers deserve a flag before you anchor on them. The low end of the hourly range, $30 to $45, is where solo independent cleaners cluster. Insured companies with payroll, liability coverage, and supplies built in sit at $45 to $75. If you are running a real business and quoting at the solo independent rate, you are leaving money on every job.

What actually drives the price of a clean

Square footage is the headline number, but four other factors swing the price more than most cleaners account for. Get these wrong in your quote and you eat the difference.

Home condition is the biggest variable. A 2,000 square foot home that gets cleaned every two weeks takes a fraction of the time of the same home that has not been touched in six months. This is why a first-time or one-time clean costs 10 to 25% more than the recurring rate for the identical house. You are detailing neglected areas and learning the layout on that first visit.

Frequency changes both the per-visit price and your effective hourly rate. Once a home is "reset," maintenance is faster, so recurring work earns more per hour even at a lower sticker price. Weekly and biweekly clients are the backbone of a stable cleaning business for exactly this reason.

• One-time / first clean: highest per-visit, often deep-clean territory
• Weekly: lowest per-visit, fastest to clean, best hourly yield
• Biweekly: the most common recurring cadence, slightly above weekly per visit
• Monthly: priced closer to a one-time clean because dirt accumulates longer

Pets, kids, and clutter add real time. Pet hair clings to baseboards and upholstery, and a cluttered home means you are moving things before you can clean under them. Many cleaners add a flat $20 to $40 per pet or build it into the square-foot rate. Decide your policy before you quote, not after.

Add-ons are where margin hides. Inside the oven, inside the fridge, interior windows, baseboards by hand, laundry. These are à la carte for a reason. Bundle them into a "standard" clean and you will work an extra hour for free every visit.

Tip: Photograph the home during the walkthrough quote. When a client claims the kitchen "wasn't that bad," your before photo settles it. It also helps you price the next job of similar condition.

One-time vs. recurring vs. deep clean pricing

These three are different products at different price points, and confusing them is how cleaners lose money. Price each one deliberately.

Standard recurring clean. This is your bread and butter. For a 2 to 3 bedroom home in an average metro, a recurring weekly or biweekly visit runs $150 to $250. A 1,500 to 2,000 square foot home lands around $160 to $240 per visit. Discount the recurring rate 10 to 25% below your one-time price to reward the commitment, not more. If you are still figuring out the basics of getting a cleaning operation off the ground, the guide to starting a cleaning business covers registration, insurance, and your first clients.

One-time / first-time clean. Add 10 to 25% over your recurring rate for the same home. The first visit always takes longer, and if the client never rebooks, that one clean has to stand on its own. Never quote a one-time clean at your recurring rate.

Deep clean. Budget 1.5 to 2 times the cost of a regular recurring visit. National deep-clean pricing runs $200 to $600 and up depending on size, condition, and metro, with Angi and HomeAdvisor data putting the typical range at $180 to $400. On a per-square-foot basis, charge $0.15 to $0.30 instead of your standard $0.08 to $0.15.

Move-out / move-in clean. Price at or above a deep clean. A 3-bedroom move-out commonly runs $250 to $450, and in markets like Houston the per-square-foot rate climbs to $0.35. These are empty, neglected, and inspected, so they are slow and exacting work.

Here is the pattern that catches new cleaners off guard: a "$99 for two tune-ups" style intro deal on the cleaning side, where you advertise a recurring rate but the first visit is really a deep clean. You will lose money on that first visit every time. Quote the first clean as the deep clean it actually is, then drop to the recurring rate.

Commercial and office cleaning rates per square foot

Commercial work runs on a different model. You quote per square foot, you bill monthly, and the margins are thinner but the dollars are bigger and more predictable. One office contract can equal a dozen residential clients in revenue stability.

General office cleaning runs $0.09 to $0.17 per square foot, with broader commercial work spanning $0.05 to $0.20 depending on facility type, per ISSA's commercial rate data. Specialty spaces price higher because of compliance and risk.

| Facility type | Rate per sq ft | |---|---| | General office | $0.09 to $0.17 | | Medical / healthcare | $0.14 to $0.29 | | Industrial / manufacturing | $0.08 to $0.20 | | Retail | $0.07 to $0.15 | | Schools / educational | $0.07 to $0.14 |

Source: ISSA commercial cleaning rates per square foot.

Translated to a monthly contract, a 2026 janitorial pricing snapshot puts a 1,000 to 5,000 square foot space at $400 to $1,200 per month and a 5,000 to 10,000 square foot space at $1,200 to $2,200, assuming basic several-times-a-week cleaning of trash, restrooms, and common areas.

Two things kill commercial margins if you ignore them. First, payment terms. Commercial clients pay net-30 or net-60, so money you have earned sits unpaid for a month or two, and that carrying cost is real. Second, specialized scope. Medical and food-service spaces demand compliance you cannot wing, so price them at the top of the band or pass on them until you are equipped.

How regional differences change your rate

The same clean costs wildly different amounts depending on the metro, and your prices have to track your local market, not a national average. A national midpoint is a starting point, not a quote.

Coastal gateway metros run 20 to 40% above the national average. Sun Belt cities sit in the middle. Midwest and rural Southern markets run lowest. Here is what standard residential rates look like across representative US metros, per Housefly's metro pricing data:

| Metro | Hourly (per cleaner) | Flat per visit | |---|---|---| | New York, NY | $25 to $60 | $170 to $300 | | Los Angeles, CA | $22 to $50 | $150 to $280 | | Seattle, WA | $22 to $48 | $140 to $270 | | Chicago, IL | $20 to $45 | $130 to $250 | | Houston, TX | $18 to $40 | $100 to $220 | | Atlanta, GA | $19 to $42 | $110 to $230 | | Phoenix, AZ | $19 to $40 | $110 to $210 |

The takeaway is not "charge what New York charges." It is that a 1,000 to 1,500 square foot standard clean runs $175 to $300 in a high-cost coastal metro, $120 to $180 in a mid-cost Sun Belt city, and $80 to $140 in a lower-cost Midwest market, per regional pricing analysis. Find your tier, then price toward the top of it if you are insured and reliable.

How to build your own house cleaning price list

A price list is what separates a business from a hobby. Without one, you quote off feel, you forget the pet surcharge, and you undercharge the clients who intimidate you. With one, you quote the same number every time and you quote it with a straight face. Build yours in five steps.

1. Know your real cost per hour first. Add up supplies, mileage, insurance, taxes, and the wage you actually want to earn. If your fully loaded cost is $30 an hour and you charge $35, you are running a charity. Your rate has to clear cost by a real margin. The field service math for true job costing walks through this calculation in detail.
2. Pick your primary model. Most established cleaners quote flat per visit and use square footage or bed/bath count to land the number. Hourly is fine for small or unpredictable jobs, but clients hate watching the clock, so flat-rate wins for recurring work.
3. Set base rates by home size. Build a simple table: under 1,000 square feet, 1,000 to 2,000, 2,000 to 3,000, and up. Anchor each tier to the bands above, adjusted for your metro tier.
4. List your add-ons separately. Oven, fridge, interior windows, baseboards, laundry, per-pet surcharge. Each one is a line item with its own price. This is where your margin lives.
5. Define your three products. Standard recurring, one-time, and deep / move-out, each with its own multiplier off the base. Recurring at base, one-time at base plus 10 to 25%, deep at 1.5 to 2 times base.

Once it is built, the list only works if you can hand a clean, branded quote to a prospect on the spot. Standing in a kitchen, doing math on your phone, and texting "I'll get back to you" loses the job to the cleaner who quoted before they left. The same goes for getting paid: a price list means nothing if the invoice goes out three weeks late, which is why invoicing and payment apps for house cleaners are worth setting up alongside your rate sheet.

This is where software earns its keep. With Fieldtics, you build and send branded quotes and estimates from the app during the walkthrough, so the client has a professional number in hand before you pull out of the driveway. You can save your price list as reusable line items, track which quotes turned into jobs, and invoice the same day the work is done. Service businesses on Fieldtics report a 99% same-day invoicing rate and recover $3,000 to $5,000 a month in revenue that used to slip through the cracks. The free tier covers unlimited clients, job scheduling, a customer CRM, and the mobile app with no credit card required. Quotes, estimates, invoicing, and online payments live on the $29/mo Professional plan. A free house cleaning cost calculator can speed the first draft of your list, but the numbers above are the bands to anchor it to. If you are weighing tools, the house cleaning business management software comparison and our roundup of the best cleaning business software break down how the main options handle quoting and invoicing.

Frequently asked questions

How much should I charge per hour for house cleaning?

Charge $35 to $75 per hour per cleaner in 2026, depending on your market and whether you run an insured business or clean solo. Solo independents cluster at $30 to $45, while insured companies charge $45 to $75. Price toward the top of your metro's range if you carry insurance and show up reliably.

How much does a deep clean cost?

A deep clean costs 1.5 to 2 times a regular recurring visit, typically $200 to $600 depending on home size, condition, and metro. On a per-square-foot basis, charge $0.15 to $0.30 instead of the $0.08 to $0.15 standard rate. Move-out cleans price at or above deep cleans, often $250 to $450 for a 3-bedroom home.

Should I charge hourly or flat rate?

Flat rate wins for recurring residential work. Clients prefer knowing the price upfront, and your efficient cleans earn more per hour since you are not penalized for speed. Use hourly only for small, unpredictable jobs or first-time cleans where you genuinely cannot estimate the scope. Most established cleaners quote flat and use square footage to set the number.

What is the going rate for commercial office cleaning?

General office cleaning runs $0.09 to $0.17 per square foot, with broader commercial work spanning $0.05 to $0.20 depending on facility type. Medical and healthcare spaces command $0.14 to $0.29 because of compliance requirements. Commercial work bills monthly on net-30 or net-60 terms, so factor that carrying cost into your rate.

A price list does not just protect your margin. It changes how you sell. When the number is already written down, you stop apologizing for it, and clients stop negotiating against a figure you clearly believe in. The cleaner who walks in with a printed rate sheet and walks out with a signed quote is not better at scrubbing floors than the one charging $25 an hour. They just decided their work was worth quoting like a professional. Build the list, then start sending real quotes from the Fieldtics free tier so the next walkthrough ends with a number, not a "let me get back to you."