Janitorial Wages in Chicago, IL

Updated Jun 3, 2026 Reviewed by Opora Editorial Team Editorial standards →

The Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL-IN-WI MSA is the third-largest janitorial labor market in the United States. With approximately 73,000 janitors employed across the tri-state footprint and a building and grounds cleaning group mean of $20.30/hr in May 2024 per the BLS Chicago news release, this is the dominant Midwest market where union wage premiums are large, measurable, and directly affect every bid. SEIU Local 1's April 2024 BOMA commercial contract sets downtown Loop cleaners at $21.15/hr rising to $23.15/hr by April 2027—described by Local 1 as the best contracts in the union's history. Understanding the tri-state wage structure, the Illinois Employee Classification Act, and the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance is prerequisite to pricing any Chicago-area account correctly.

BLS OEWS May 2024 Wage Distribution

Percentile	Hourly	Annual	Benchmark
10th	$14.75	$30,680	Suburban non-union; Lake County IL, DuPage, or Indiana MSA counties ($7.25 IN minimum)
25th	$16.81	$34,970	Experienced suburban; above IL $14.00/hr minimum (2024), below BOMA contract rate
50th (Median)	$17.99	$37,420	Cook County suburban non-union commercial accounts
75th	$21.28	$44,250	BOMA union cleaner, downtown Loop towers; suburban Local 1 contractor CBA
90th	$23.73	$49,350	Senior union cleaners; O'Hare concourse crews; stadium and convention accounts

Source: O*NET Local Wages IL 2024, SOC 37-2011. BLS OEWS May 2023 Chicago MSA: ~72,950 janitors, mean $18.43/hr. IL minimum wage: $14.00/hr (2024), $15.00/hr January 2025. Annual at 2,080 hours.

SEIU Local 1: BOMA 2024–2027 Contract

SEIU Local 1 reached two landmark Chicago contracts in April 2024 covering 8,000 members. The BOMA agreement (3,000 downtown Loop janitors) provides 15% total over three years. The wage schedule from the 2024 BOMA/Local 1 Agreement PDF: $21.15/hr April 8, 2024 → $22.40/hr April 7, 2025 → $23.15/hr April 6, 2026. New hires progress on a two-year ladder: $2.50 below scale in year one, $1.50 below in year two, full scale thereafter. Per the SEIU Local 1 announcement, the Suburban Contractors Agreement (5,000 members) provides 19% total increases. The BOMA/Local 1 CBA expressly supersedes the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance for covered employees.

Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance

For non-union BSCs with 100+ total employees globally and 50+ covered Chicago employees, the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance imposes direct labor cost consequences. Employers must provide 10-day advance notice of work schedules; changes after the deadline trigger: 50% pay for lost/canceled hours, one hour of predictability pay for same-time/date changes that don't reduce hours. The City enforces with fines of $300–$500 per covered employee per day. BSCs managing variable commercial accounts must build predictability pay reserves into G&A budgets. Negotiating BOMA/Local 1 CBA coverage provides an explicit contractual exemption—a material operational advantage when managing multi-account scheduling.

Three-State Wage Arbitrage

The MSA spans three jurisdictions with dramatically different labor costs. Illinois (Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Will counties): state minimum $14.00/hr (2024) → $15.00/hr (Jan 2025); union concentration downtown and at the Rosemont/O'Hare corridor. Indiana (Lake, Porter, Jasper counties): state minimum $7.25/hr; Hammond and Merrillville non-union rates run $11–$14/hr—a material undercut of Cook County. Wisconsin (Kenosha County): $7.25/hr floor, but Kenosha proximity pushes effective wages to $13–$15/hr. Indiana-side accounts carry lower labor cost; the tradeoff is managing separate WC policies, SUI registrations, and E-Verify requirements across all three states.

Illinois Employee Classification Act

Illinois's Employee Classification Act (820 ILCS 185) defines "maintenance" broadly enough to capture janitorial subcontracting. A BSC using exclusive 1099 subcontractors with no independent customer base fails the Act. First-violation penalties: up to $1,500; repeat within five years: up to $2,500; willful violations are Class C misdemeanor (Class 4 felony on recurrence), plus debarment from Illinois state contracts. Illinois DOL automatically refers confirmed misclassification to IDES, IDOR, and IWCC—a multi-agency cascade that multiplies total liability. BSCs using subcontracting in construction-adjacent maintenance work should obtain Illinois employment counsel review before structuring crew arrangements.

O'Hare, McCormick Place, and Specialty Venue Cleaning

O'Hare International Airport: Chicago Department of Aviation cleaning contracts are subject to the Chicago Living Wage Ordinance; airside janitorial crews earn $20–$25/hr with 24/7 scheduling and TSA compliance requirements. McCormick Place (largest convention center in the US at 2.6M sq ft): cleaning runs under coordinated SEIU/Teamsters joint agreements; event-based staffing surges to 400+ cleaners during major trade shows. Wrigley Field / Guaranteed Rate Field: event cleaning at $18–$22/hr with overtime premium during playoffs. These accounts require separate bid structures—event billing, guaranteed minimums, and dedicated event-day insurance riders.

Dominant Operators and Market Structure

The Loop is dominated by national BSCs: ABM Industries (Loop towers and O'Hare), Aramark (healthcare and university accounts), and Allied Universal (security-cleaning integration). Regional operators include Pritchard Industries (Class A commercial) and a cluster of Hispanic-owned BSCs in Little Village. High union concentration compresses margins on downtown Loop work to industry-low levels; differentiation is operational reliability and SEIU relationship management, not price. Loaded labor on a Loop union account: BOMA rate $21.15–$23.15/hr plus SEIU fringe ~$6.50–$8.50/hr plus FICA plus IL WC (NCCI Class 9014 ~$2.80/$100) plus IL SUI: all-in $34–$42/hr. Suburban non-union loads to $22–$28/hr. Loop bill rates: $42–$58/hr; suburban non-union: $28–$38/hr.

Primary sources

https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/37-2011.00?st=IL

https://www.bls.gov/regions/midwest/news-release/occupationalemploymentandwages_chicago.htm

https://www.seiu1.org/blog/2024/4/6/seiu-local-1-chicagoland-commercial-janitors-ratify-new-contracts-covering-8000-members-best-contracts-in-union-history

https://porcupine-pomegranate-hgb3.squarespace.com/s/ENG-BOMA-Agreement.pdf

https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2639907

Disclaimer — Bidding & pricing content

Benchmark figures, labor rates, and wage percentiles on this page reflect Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data for the May 2024 OEWS survey period. BLS data, vintage May 2024 OEWS; not a guarantee of local market wages. They are reference benchmarks, not quotes, not market guarantees, and not professional bid recommendations.

Actual costs in your market depend on local labor conditions, your hiring practices, account-specific scope, and competitive conditions that this content cannot anticipate. No recommendation is made regarding what to pay employees. Wage decisions are the employer's responsibility and should be informed by current market conditions, applicable law, and qualified business counsel.

Before using any figure for a binding business decision, verify current wage data at the BLS OEWS metro page and current state minimum wage at DOL's state minimum wage page. Have a qualified business advisor review any bid structure above your organization's risk threshold.

Questions? Contact us.

Data vintage: BLS OEWS May 2024 OEWS. Page last reviewed: June 2, 2026. Primary source: BLS OEWS Metropolitan Area Data. Spot an error? Contact us.

Janitorial Wages in Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI — BLS OEWS May 2024 OEWS

Janitorial wages — Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI metropolitan area