Janitorial Wages Fresno CA 2024 BLS OEWS

California’s $16.50/hr statewide minimum sets the floor in Fresno, but that floor sits lower relative to local living costs than in the Bay Area or Los Angeles. The San Joaquin Valley’s agricultural labor market competes directly with commercial cleaning for entry-level workers, creating predictable staffing gaps from June through October. BSCs building a stable Fresno service base must price turnover as a fixed cost.

BLS Wage Data: What Janitors Earn in Fresno

Per BLS OEWS Metropolitan Area tables (May 2024), the Fresno MSA places janitorial mean hourly wages (SOC 37-2011) in the $16–$18/hr range, near or slightly below the national mean of $17.43/hr. The metro employs approximately 7,000–10,000 janitors across healthcare (Community Medical Centers, Valley Children’s Hospital), government, education, and retail.

Percentile	Est. Hourly Wage	Context
10th	$16.00–$16.50	State minimum floor; entry-level retail
25th	$16.50–$17.25	Light commercial and food processing facility
50th (median)	$17.00–$18.50	Full-time commercial office and school districts
75th	$19.50–$21.50	Hospital EVS, government campus, full-benefits positions
90th	$23.00–$26.00	Senior hospital housekeeping, federal SCA contracts

Wage Drivers: What Shapes Fresno Labor Costs

BEA Regional Price Parities place Fresno near 96–100 nationally, per BEA Regional Price Parities. Agriculture and food processing drive industrial facility cleaning demand at wage scales above standard office work. Healthcare (Community Regional, Saint Agnes) is the largest above-median employer. Fresno’s unemployment historically tracks 6–9% per BLS LAUS; harvest cycles disrupt staffing from June–October.

Loaded Labor Cost: What Employers Actually Pay

Take Fresno’s estimated median of $17.50/hr and apply California’s 28–34% burden:

Burden breakdown at $17.50/hr: FICA 7.65% ($1.34) + CA SUI/SDI ~3.4% ($0.60) + workers’ comp ~$3.20/$100 per California DWC + GL ($0.40/hr) + health ($2.50–$4.00/hr) + CA-mandated sick leave ($0.50/hr). $17.50 × 1.32 = $23.10 loaded cost; supervision adds $0.40–$0.60 = $23.50–$23.70 all-in. California’s workers’ comp rate is among the highest nationally and is not negotiable. Use the per-clean vs. hourly pricing tool to model your Fresno account structure.

State Minimum Wage and Local Premiums

California’s minimum wage reached $16.50/hr as of January 1, 2025, per California DIR, Minimum Wage Schedule. Fresno has no city-level minimum above the state floor. Tipped exemptions do not apply; all employees earn the full minimum. AB 1228 pushed the fast-food sector to $20/hr in 2024, intensifying competition for entry-level workers.

Union Landscape and Collective Bargaining

SEIU-USWW has organizing presence in California, concentrated in Bay Area, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. Union density in Fresno commercial BSC work is low. Hospital EVS workers at Community Medical and Saint Agnes may be covered by SEIU Healthcare California or AFSCME. See SEIU United Service Workers West for statewide CBA information.

Workers’ Compensation Rates for NAICS 561720

California’s workers’ comp rates for janitorial work run approximately $3.00–$3.40 per $100 payroll for NAICS 561720. The SCIF serves as insurer of last resort; all California employers must carry coverage. Food processing facility cleaning carries higher rate codes; confirm classifications for mixed-scope accounts with California Division of Workers’ Compensation.

Prevailing Wage and Service Contract Act Implications

Federal facilities in Fresno (federal courthouse, USDA, VA clinics) require Service Contract Act compliance; wage determinations are at SAM.gov. California’s state prevailing wage law (Labor Code §1720) applies to public agency cleaning contracts above applicable thresholds; contracts with Fresno City or County require certified payroll submission. See California DIR, Prevailing Wage.

Total Compensation: Benefits, Turnover, and Hiring Cost

Per BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, benefits represent 28–33% of total compensation for California service workers, elevated by mandatory paid sick leave (SB 616), paid family leave, and SDI contributions. Per ISSA benchmarks, janitorial turnover runs 75–200% annually. Agricultural harvest competition from August through October pulls workers from commercial cleaning. Replacing one worker costs approximately $2,500–$4,500 per event.

The Agricultural Season Is a Staffing Calendar Problem

Fresno BSCs who have not built their staffing models around the San Joaquin Valley harvest cycle will face crew shortages during peak harvest precisely when building occupancy is highest before the school year. Workers in the $16–$17/hr band who can earn $18–$22/hr picking or processing fruit for three months will do so, even at the cost of their commercial cleaning job. A BSC who treats turnover as an exception rather than a scheduled expense will misprice labor cost in every bid submitted from April through October.

Primary Sources

See the bid template guide for the Fresno MSA for pricing benchmarks and scope-of-work tables. Build your cost model with the Opora bid generator. For food processing and grocery accounts, see the food and grocery cleaning hub. Model day-porter economics with the day-porter ROI calculator.

By the Opora Editorial Team · Last updated: 2026

Janitorial Wages in Fresno, CA — BLS OEWS May 2024

Janitorial wages — Fresno, CA metropolitan area