Janitorial Wages in Georgia

The Fair Labor Standards Act sets a $7.25/hr floor for nearly all Georgia janitorial workers; the state's nominal $5.15/hr minimum applies only to employers with fewer than six employees not covered by FLSA, an effectively negligible category for commercial cleaning contractors. Market wages far exceed the legal floor. Statewide mean hourly wage is $16.38 and median $16.5/hr (BLS OEWS May 2025, SOC 37-2011), driven primarily by the Atlanta metropolitan economy which houses over 65% of the state's cleaning workforce.

What employers should plan for

• Floor: $7.25/hr federal minimum (FLSA); Georgia's $5.15/hr state minimum applies only to employers with fewer than 6 employees not covered by FLSA — an effectively negligible category for commercial cleaning contractors.
• Local floors: No Georgia city or county has enacted a local minimum wage ordinance. Atlanta and other municipalities have living wage requirements for city contractors, but these are procurement rules rather than general employer mandates.
• Loaded labor rate: Commercial cleaning bids in Georgia run approximately $25–$33/hr total loaded cost. Atlanta bids start higher at $28–$35/hr given the competitive labor market. Workers' comp adds ~$1.79/$100 payroll.
• Workers' comp class 9014 base rate approximately $1.79/$100 payroll (Georgia NCCI jurisdiction) — moderate to low compared to coastal states.

High-wage metros vs. low-wage metros

Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell MSA dominates at a median $17.00/hr (10th: $12.55, 75th: $18.33, 90th: $21.55) — driven by a dense corporate real estate market, Hartsfield-Jackson Airport facility contracts, and large healthcare systems. Savannah comes in second at median $15.02/hr, bolstered by the Port of Savannah logistics complex and growing industrial base. At the low end, Albany MSA (median $14.19/hr) and Macon-Bibb County ($14.60/hr) reflect Southwest/Central Georgia's thinner commercial market density.

Wage percentile distribution (BLS OEWS 2024)

• 10th percentile: $10.97/hr
• 25th percentile: $13.66/hr
• Median (50th): $16.5/hr
• 75th percentile: $17.76/hr
• 90th percentile: $20.96/hr

The wide lower tail — 10th percentile at $10.97/hr — reflects the large share of part-time, occasional, and lower-skill facility cleaning positions in rural Georgia markets. The $10.00/hr spread from 10th to 90th is among the widest in the Southeast, reflecting Georgia's pronounced economic geography.

Union presence

Georgia is a right-to-work state with private-sector union density approximately 3–4% statewide. SEIU 32BJ does not maintain a Georgia office or engage in commercial cleaning pattern bargaining. UNITE HERE has a small presence in Atlanta hotel housekeeping (unrelated to commercial cleaners). A small number of custodial workers at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport and public universities are covered by AFSCME contracts. The vast majority of commercial cleaning in Georgia is entirely non-union.

What this means for bid math

Georgia offers a favorable cost structure outside Atlanta: rural and secondary city markets can be priced at $20–$25/hr total loaded, while Atlanta contracts should budget $28–$35/hr. The Atlanta/non-Atlanta wage gap ($17.00 vs. $14–$15/hr median) is significant enough to warrant location-specific pricing for multi-site statewide contracts. Workers' comp at ~$1.79/$100 is below national average. No union wage floor complications to navigate.

Primary sources

• BLS OEWS May 2025 — Georgia
• O*NET Local Wages — Georgia (BLS 2024 data)
• DOL WHD State Minimum Wage Laws