Janitorial wages — Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX metropolitan area
Austin has added commercial square footage faster than any other Texas metro since 2019, yet janitorial wages remain near the Sunbelt floor. The labor pool turns over at rates closer to South Texas border metros than to comparably tech-dense California cities. BSCs pricing new Austin accounts must treat turnover as a fixed cost before quoting the first monthly service amount.
BLS Wage Data: What Janitors Earn in Austin
Per BLS OEWS Metropolitan Area tables (May 2024), the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown MSA puts janitorial mean hourly wages (SOC 37-2011) in the $15–$16/hr range, roughly 8–12% below the national mean of $17.43/hr. The metro employs an estimated 14,000–18,000 janitors.
| Percentile | Est. Hourly Wage | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $11.50–$12.50 | Entry-level, part-time strip-mall accounts |
| 25th | $13.00–$14.00 | Suburban office parks, light industrial |
| 50th (median) | $14.50–$16.00 | Full-time commercial office and healthcare-adjacent |
| 75th | $17.00–$19.00 | Government campus, hospital EVS, lead cleaners |
| 90th | $20.00–$22.00 | Federal SCA contracts, senior biotech campus leads |
Wage Drivers: Why Austin Sits Below the National Mean
BEA Regional Price Parities place Austin near 97–100 nationally, per BEA Regional Price Parities. Housing surged after 2019, but janitorial wages have not tracked it. State government (Capitol complex), UT Austin, and tech campuses generate steady demand; construction and hospitality compete for the same entry-level pool. Texas unemployment tracked 3.8–4.5% through 2024 per BLS LAUS. Immigrant labor concentrated in the $13–$16/hr band migrates to construction when wages spike, compounding staffing gaps.
Loaded Labor Cost: What Employers Actually Pay
Take Austin’s estimated median of $15.00/hr and add burden:
Burden breakdown at $15.00/hr: FICA 7.65% ($1.15) + TX SUTA ~2% ($0.30) + workers’ comp $1.50–$2.50/$100 per Texas Department of Insurance + GL ($0.35/hr) + health insurance ($2.00–$3.00/hr) + PTO ($0.40/hr). $15.00 × 1.30 = $19.50 loaded cost; plus supervision $0.40–$0.60 = $19.90–$20.10 all-in. Use the production rate calculator to model these inputs per account.
State Minimum Wage and Local Premiums
Texas holds to the federal minimum of $7.25/hr; state law preempts local wage ordinances. The practical market floor for full-time janitorial sits well above $7.25 due to sector competition, but no ordinance mandates it. See Texas Workforce Commission, Minimum Wage Law. Tipped wage exemptions do not apply to janitorial work.
Union Landscape and Collective Bargaining
Austin is a Right-to-Work market with minimal janitorial unionization. SEIU Local 5 (Texas) has some organizing presence, but BSC contracts in the Austin MSA are almost entirely non-union. University of Texas custodial staff are directly employed at civil service pay scales above BSC market rates. State agency cleaning contracts are competitively bid but are not subject to collective bargaining in Texas. See SEIU.org for current organizing context.
Workers’ Compensation Rates for NAICS 561720
Texas is the only state where workers’ comp is not mandatory for private employers. BSCs face two options: subscriber carrier coverage (roughly $1.50–$2.50 per $100 payroll) or non-subscriber status, which waives WC but exposes the employer to direct tort liability. Most REIT property managers require WC certificates regardless. Details at Texas Department of Insurance, Workers’ Compensation.
Prevailing Wage and Service Contract Act Implications
Federal facilities in Austin (IRS campuses, federal courthouse, military-adjacent properties) require Service Contract Act (SCA) compliance. SCA wage determinations are at SAM.gov Wage Determinations; Austin SCA janitor floors run $16–$19/hr depending on WD code. See DOL Wage and Hour Division, Service Contract Act. Texas has no statewide prevailing wage law for janitorial service contracts.
Total Compensation: Benefits, Turnover, and Hiring Cost
Per BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC), benefits represent 28–32% of total compensation for service-sector workers. Per ISSA, janitorial turnover runs at 75–200% annually for commercial BSC employees. In Austin, where construction, hospitality, and food service compete for the same labor pool, annual turnover toward the high end is common. Replacing one full-time janitor costs 3–5 weeks of lost productivity plus onboarding and training, roughly $1,500–$3,500 per separation event.
The Texas Non-Subscriber Option Is a Bet with a Long Tail
The premium savings for a 20-person Austin operation choosing non-subscriber status might reach $18,000–$30,000 annually. The exposure is a single slip-and-fall with an injured worker and a plaintiffs’ attorney who demonstrates the employer lacked adequate safety protocols. Texas courts have found non-subscriber employers liable for verdicts exceeding $1 million in janitorial cases. Entering Austin commercial space as a non-subscriber without a written safety program and legal counsel on retainer is a calculated bet most regional BSCs cannot afford to lose.
Primary Sources
- BLS OEWS Metropolitan Area Estimates (May 2024)
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS)
- Texas Workforce Commission, Minimum Wage Law
- Texas Department of Insurance, Workers’ Compensation
- SAM.gov, SCA Wage Determinations
- US DOL, Service Contract Act
- BEA Regional Price Parities by Metro
See the bid template guide for the Austin-Round Rock MSA for scope-of-work frequencies and pricing benchmarks. Model your loaded labor with the bid stress test. Check account-level margin with the account profitability auditor. For healthcare facility cleaning in the Austin metro, see the healthcare cleaning hub.
By the Opora Editorial Team · Last updated: 2026