Akron's transition from rubber manufacturing to healthcare, education, and polymer research has reshaped its commercial real-estate mix — but janitorial wages have lagged this economic evolution. The metro consistently reports rates below both the Ohio average and the national mean of $17.43/hr (BLS OEWS 2024). Cleaning contractors serving Summit County face the dual challenge of keeping wages above an increasingly competitive labor floor while managing the pricing expectations of clients accustomed to a historically cheap market. Getting the wage-to-price translation right is essential before submitting bids on healthcare or university accounts, which carry quality requirements inconsistent with bargain-basement staffing.

BLS Wage Data: What Janitors Earn in Akron

Akron MSA OEWS data places janitorial compensation in the lower Midwest band of $14.50–$17/hr, with Summit County rates tracking at the lower end of that range relative to Cleveland or Columbus.

The median falls $2.43 below the national mean. BEA RPP for the Akron area runs approximately 89–93, making the real-wage differential smaller than the nominal gap suggests.

Why Akron Wages Sit Below the Ohio Average

Akron's unemployment rate, historically 4–6% per BLS LAUS, provides cleaning employers with more staffing flexibility than Columbus or Cincinnati. The transition away from rubber manufacturing left a large pool of workers comfortable with physical labor at moderate wages. Cleveland's proximity provides some upward pressure on the upper wage percentiles — workers willing to commute can access better-paying opportunities — but the median is kept in check by the local supply dynamics.

Loaded Labor Cost: What Employers Actually Pay

Ohio employer burden includes FICA (7.65%), FUTA/SUTA (~2.6% blended), workers' compensation, and optional benefits. Total burden runs 28–34% above base wage. At the $15.00/hr median, all-in employer cost is approximately $19.20–$20.10/hr. Ohio also levies a state income tax that affects net take-home pay but does not alter employer cost structure; use a 1.28–1.34 multiplier for labor budgeting.

Ohio Minimum Wage and Local Provisions

Ohio's minimum wage adjusts annually for inflation; the 2024 rate was $10.45/hr for non-tipped employees (Ohio BWC). No Akron or Summit County ordinance exceeds the state floor. The market entry rate for reliable cleaning workers runs $13.00–$14.50/hr, well above the statutory minimum, driven by competition with Amazon fulfillment and other logistics employers in the region.

Union Landscape and Collective Bargaining

Ohio is not a right-to-work state, and Akron has some union density in building services — primarily at University of Akron facilities and select healthcare accounts. SEIU Local 1 represents workers at certain Cleveland-adjacent properties, and contracts sometimes extend into Summit County. For private commercial accounts, wages are predominantly market-set, but operators should research whether specific facilities carry any union agreements before pricing labor assumptions into their bids.

Workers' Compensation Rates for NAICS 561720

Ohio operates a state-fund workers' compensation system through the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation. Janitorial services (NAICS 561720) carry base rates typically in the range of $4.00–$6.50 per $100 of payroll. The Ohio BWC retrospective rating program can reward safety-focused contractors with significant premium reductions. Budget $0.60–$0.98/hr per worker as a base comp line item.

Prevailing Wage and Service Contract Act Implications

Federal facilities in Summit County trigger SCA requirements. SAM.gov wage determinations for the Akron area set building services rates at approximately $14.50–$16.50/hr. Ohio also has a state prevailing wage law that applies to public construction projects; cleaning contractors on state-funded capital projects should consult the Ohio prevailing wage schedule for applicable rates.

Total Compensation: Benefits, Turnover, and Hiring Cost

Benefits add $1.80–$3.20/hr for full-time employees per BLS ECEC. Turnover in the 35–65% annual range (ISSA) generates hiring costs of $800–$1,200 per departure. Akron's healthcare and education sectors — Summa Health, Cleveland Clinic affiliate facilities, and the University of Akron — provide stable long-term cleaning contracts but come with quality and compliance standards that require lower-churn crews.

Healthcare Growth and the Wage Floor It Sets

Akron's fastest-growing employment segment is healthcare, and that matters for janitorial pricing. Hospital environmental services departments typically pay $1.50–$2.50/hr above commercial janitorial market rates, and those wages become the reference point for workers across the metro. Contractors bidding on office or retail cleaning must price near the healthcare floor to retain workers — or accept that they will be staffed with whoever healthcare didn't hire. Running the cleaning bid benchmarks tool by facility type before submission prevents systematic underpricing of labor in this market.

Primary Sources

• BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — Metro Area Tables
• BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics
• BEA Regional Price Parities by Metro
• SAM.gov — Service Contract Act Wage Determinations
• DOL Wage and Hour Division — Service Contract Act
• Ohio Bureau of Wage and Hour — Minimum Wage
• Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation
• ISSA — Cleaning Industry Benchmarks

Akron contractors: Akron bid template, bid benchmarks, bid generator, and cleaning for healthcare.

By the Opora Editorial Team · Last updated: 2026