Three wage jurisdictions in one MSA, a SEIU 32BJ master agreement covering most Midtown towers, and a Port Authority waterfront corridor with specs unlike any suburban campus: the New York metro does not permit a single bid template to cover every sub-market. A BSC who walks a Jersey City Class B with the same price sheet used on a 32BJ Manhattan high-rise will underprice one account or overbid the other. Know the sub-market before the bid walk ends.

Wage Floor and Labor Cost Inputs

BLS OEWS May 2024 (SOC 37-2011) puts the NY-Newark MSA mean at approximately $21.29/hr, median near $19.50. New York State minimum wage is $16.50/hr for NYC, Long Island, and Westchester; the rest of the state holds at $15.50. New Jersey reached $15.49/hr in January 2024, indexed to CPI.

Burden math on a $21/hr NYC base: FICA 7.65% = $1.61; FUTA/SUTA ~2% = $0.42; workers’ comp ~$3.00–$3.50 per $100 payroll per the NY Workers’ Compensation Board; health insurance $3.50–$4.50/hr; vacation ~5%. Total burden: 27–33%, loading the rate to roughly $27–$28/hr. See the wages breakdown for the New York MSA.

Sample Scope of Work: Class B Office Building

Hypothetical 55,000 sq ft Class B tower in Midtown South or Jersey City financial district.

What Buildings Are Paying in 2026

Manhattan and Jersey City Class B commands $0.18–$0.26/sq ft/month for 5x/week. Mid-borough buildings (Brooklyn DUMBO, LIC) run $0.14–$0.20. Suburban NJ corporate parks land at $0.10–$0.14. Day-porter bill rate: $27/hr x 2.3 = approximately $62/hr; a 5-hr/day 5-day porter runs roughly $1,550/month. Use the day-porter ROI calculator to model fit. Medical office adds +25–35%; food service +15–25%; post-construction Manhattan +50–60%.

Local Licensing and Insurance Requirements

New York City requires registration with the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) for janitorial companies. Operating without DCWP registration at contract award means disqualification; the process runs 30–60 days. Manhattan Class A towers require $2M/$5M GL; Class B standard is $1M/$2M. NY workers’ comp for janitorial: $3.00–$3.50 per $100 payroll. NJ runs approximately $2.20–$2.80 per $100 under NJCRIB. Janitorial bonds of $10,000–$25,000 are expected; government contracts require performance bonds at 10–20% of contract value.

Union Landscape and Prevailing Wage Triggers

SEIU 32BJ covers most Class A towers in Manhattan, portions of Brooklyn and Queens, and select Jersey City high-rises. The 32BJ master agreement runs $2–$5/hr above the BLS MSA mean plus fully-funded health, pension, and training contributions. Bidding a 32BJ building without those contributions will generate a losing contract. Federal buildings fall under the Service Contract Act; check SAM.gov WD 2015-4233 (NYC area) for the current SCA floor. The NYC Living Wage Law sets floors for city-financed contracts above $500,000/year; verify the 2026 rate at nyc.gov/site/livingwage.

Bid Line-Item Structure

1. Monthly base service: hours x loaded rate by shift (evening janitorial, day porter, supervisor).
2. Supplies allowance: paper, soap, liners; itemized or included with unit cost schedule.
3. Equipment depreciation: 36–48 month amortization on auto-scrubbers and vacuums.
4. Vehicle and fuel: subway passes, tolls, or mileage for supervisor site visits.
5. Insurance and overhead: GL, workers’ comp, bond, and 12–18% indirect costs pro-rated to account.
6. Profit margin: 8–15% on commercial accounts. Pass-throughs (carpet extraction, specialty services) quoted separately.

Local quirk: NYC Local Law 196 requires OSHA-30 verification for any crew working on or adjacent to active construction. Budget the training cost and scheduling lead time for construction-adjacent properties.

Bid Walk Checklist: New York MSA

1. Confirm DCWP registration is active before the walk; some building managers check your license number at sign-in.
2. Check loading dock windows; many Manhattan buildings restrict deliveries to 6am–7am or after 6pm.
3. Confirm elevator access type; a single-elevator Class B building doubles your labor time per floor.
4. Identify all marble, terrazzo, and natural stone; these require pH-neutral cleaners and separate pricing.
5. Request the previous two years of service complaints to surface hidden scope items not visible in the building spec sheet.

Where This Market Punishes Mis-Tiered Bids

Bidding the MSA median wage on a 32BJ Class A tower will get the bid rejected at evaluation. The evaluator knows the labor floor, and a suspiciously low number signals misclassification or a loss-leader the operator cannot sustain past year one. Bidding 32BJ scale on a non-union New Jersey suburban campus prices you 15–20% above the market and hands the work to a local independent. Same metro, same SOC code, two completely different pricing realities. Figuring that out belongs in the bid walk, not after contract award.

Primary Sources

• BLS OEWS SOC 37-2011 (Janitors and Cleaners)
• NYC DCWP Business Licensing Portal
• New York State Workers’ Compensation Board
• US DOL Wage and Hour Division, Service Contract Act
• SAM.gov, SCA WD 2015-4233 (NYC Area)
• New Jersey DOL, Minimum Wage Schedule

Build your line-item response with the Opora bid generator, pressure-test margins in the bid stress-test tool, and audit the account profitability auditor for large-portfolio work. For medical-office tenants, review the healthcare cleaning hub.

By the Opora Editorial Team · Last updated: 2026