Jacksonville, FL

Janitorial Wages in Jacksonville, FL (2026)

Last updated Q2 2026 · Authored by the Opora Editorial Team · Source: BLS OEWS May 2024 + Florida Minimum Wage (Art. X, § 24, FL Constitution; Amendment 2 schedule)

The Jacksonville, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area recorded a median hourly wage of $14.54 and a mean of $15.77 for Janitors and Cleaners (SOC 37-2011) in the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey of May 2023, with approximately 8,270 workers in the occupation per BLS OEWS May 2023 data for MSA 27260. By May 2024, the building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupational group averaged $17.66/hr in the Jacksonville metro per the BLS Jacksonville OEWS news release—below the national average of $19.01/hr, consistent with Florida's right-to-work, no-state-income-tax environment. Jacksonville is one of the few large US metros whose janitorial market is simultaneously shaped by federal military procurement (NAS Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport), commercial port logistics (JAXPORT), and the pronounced seasonal demand cycles of Florida's hurricane season. These three factors create a distinctive risk and compliance profile that differs materially from other Florida metros like Miami or Orlando.

BLS Wage Distribution, SOC 37-2011 — Jacksonville MSA, May 2024 Estimates

Percentile	Hourly Wage (Est.)	Annual Equivalent
10th (entry-level)	$11.25	$23,400
25th	$13.00	$27,040
50th (Median)	$15.27	$31,760
Mean	$16.56	$34,440
75th	$18.90	$39,310
90th	$23.00	$47,840

Source: BLS OEWS May 2023 (MSA 27260) with estimated +5% adjustment to May 2024. May 2023 median $14.54, mean $15.77, employment 8,270. Building and grounds cleaning group mean $17.66 (May 2024). Annual equivalents assume 2,080 hours/year.

Florida's No-State-Income-Tax Environment and BSC Cost Structure

Florida imposes no state personal income tax and no state corporate income tax on C-corps (there is a 5.5% Florida corporate income tax on C-corporations, but partnerships and S-corps pay at the individual level with no state hit). For building service contractors structured as pass-through entities, this represents a meaningful labor cost competitiveness advantage compared to states like California (13.3% top marginal individual rate) or New York. Workers in the Jacksonville market take home more after-tax pay at equivalent gross wages than workers in most Northern states, which partially explains why Jacksonville janitorial wages are structurally below national medians—the take-home pay equivalency threshold is lower. Florida's minimum wage schedule is on a statutory ramp: $13.00/hr effective September 30, 2024, rising to $14.00/hr on September 30, 2025, and $15.00/hr on September 30, 2026, reaching $15/hr as established by Amendment 2 (2020). Jacksonville's Duval County has no higher local minimum supplement.

Florida Sales Tax on Nonresidential Cleaning Services

Florida imposes a 6% state sales tax on nonresidential cleaning services under Fla. Stat. § 212.05(1)(i), covering services classified under NAICS 561720. Additionally, Duval County levies a 1% discretionary sales surtax, bringing the total rate for Jacksonville commercial janitorial invoices to 7%. The Florida Department of Revenue has published a GT-800015 guidance brochure specifically addressing cleaning services. Key exemptions: residential cleaning is not taxable; cleaning of transient rental accommodations (hotels) may have a mixed treatment depending on whether the charge is bundled with the accommodation rental; cleaning services sold to a qualifying government entity or nonprofit with a valid Consumer's Certificate of Exemption (Form DR-14) are exempt. BSCs must also pay Florida sales tax on cleaning supplies purchased for use in providing taxable services—supplies are consumed in the service and not resold to the customer, so the resale exemption does not apply. New-to-Florida BSCs frequently miss this supply-purchase tax liability, resulting in use tax assessments on audit.

Naval Bases and Military Contractor Cleaning

Jacksonville is home to two major active-duty Navy installations that together constitute a significant and specialized janitorial market: Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jax), the largest naval air station in the Southeast with approximately 25,000 military and civilian personnel, and Naval Station Mayport, a deep-water naval station supporting the Atlantic Fleet surface warfare community with approximately 18,000 personnel. Federal facility janitorial contracts at both installations are governed by the Service Contract Act (SCA), with wage determinations issued by the DOL Wage and Hour Division. The applicable SCA wage determination for Duval County, Florida, establishes the janitor classification at rates that must equal or exceed the SCA floor—typically $15–$18/hr depending on the applicable wage determination revision. In addition, contractors bidding federal facilities at NAS Jacksonville and Mayport must comply with DoD security clearance requirements: a Facility Clearance (FCL) is required for contractors performing work in areas designated as requiring access to classified information or controlled unclassified information (CUI). This clearance requirement effectively limits competition to BSCs with existing FCL status, reducing the competitive pool and supporting higher contract pricing. Workers with unescorted access to specific controlled areas must also hold individual security clearances at the minimum of Secret level.

JAXPORT and Maritime Logistics Cleaning

JAXPORT (Jacksonville Port Authority) operates three marine terminals—Blount Island, Dames Point, and Talleyrand—handling container cargo, vehicle imports, and breakbulk freight. The port is one of the busiest vehicle-import ports in the country (second nationally for automobile imports) and has been investing in infrastructure expansion. Post-unloading cleaning of vehicle holding areas, terminal restrooms, administrative buildings, and container inspection facilities generates steady demand for commercial janitorial services in a heavy-industrial context. JAXPORT accounts, like NAS Jax, may require TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential) for workers accessing marine operations areas—a TSA-administered background check and card that takes 4–6 weeks to obtain and costs approximately $125.75. BSCs bidding JAXPORT facility contracts should budget for TWIC enrollment as a hiring prerequisite and build a 6-week onboarding lead time into their staffing ramp plans.

Hurricane Season: Demand Surges and Contingency Planning

Jacksonville sits at the confluence of Northeast Florida's Atlantic coastline and the St. Johns River estuary, making it periodically subject to tropical system impacts—most recently the significant flooding from Hurricane Idalia (August 2023) and the outer bands of Hurricane Milton (October 2024). Hurricane and tropical storm events create two distinct demand effects for BSCs: (1) post-storm remediation cleaning — water extraction, mud/debris removal, sanitization of flood-affected commercial buildings — which commands premium rates of $35–$65/hr for crews and requires IICRC water damage restoration certification; and (2) demand interruption — accounts that close for days or weeks following a storm, resulting in BSC revenue gaps if contracts do not include business-interruption or force majeure provisions. BSCs without hurricane contingency protocols in their standard service agreements are exposed to significant revenue volatility during June–November. The standard practice among experienced Florida BSCs is to include a "Force Majeure/Natural Disaster" clause in all contracts specifying a 5-day suspension of service without penalty, with a mutual re-engagement timeline. Post-storm remediation, conversely, should be priced under a separate time-and-materials work order, not bundled into recurring janitorial pricing.

Right-to-Work and Non-Union Wage Structure

Florida is a right-to-work state under Art. I, § 6 of the Florida Constitution. The Jacksonville janitorial market has no significant union presence; SEIU's Florida organizing in the property services sector has been concentrated in Miami and Orlando, not Jacksonville. The absence of collective bargaining means wages are set entirely by market competition, with the Florida minimum wage schedule as the binding floor. This creates wide variance: at the low end, part-time and light-industrial cleaning in suburban Duval, Clay, and Nassau counties approaches minimum wage; at the high end, full-time day-porter and lead technician roles in downtown office towers and healthcare accounts run $17–$21/hr. The Jacksonville market is broadly employer-favorable—labor supply is relatively elastic given the region's population growth (Jacksonville is one of the fastest-growing large cities in the US), and BSCs report fewer recruitment challenges compared to Northern metros. However, Florida's growing minimum wage trajectory will compress the low end of this market by 2026–2027.

Industry Mix and Demand Drivers Beyond Military

Beyond military and port accounts, Jacksonville's commercial cleaning demand is anchored by: Banking and financial services — Bank of America, Fidelity National Financial, and Deutsche Bank have major Jacksonville operations; Healthcare — Baptist Health, UF Health Jacksonville, and Ascension St. Vincent's collectively represent the largest non-military cleaning demand segment with specialized EVS requirements; Logistics and distribution — Jacksonville's position as the largest city in the contiguous US by land area (874 square miles) supports a massive warehouse and distribution center footprint along I-10 and I-295 corridors, generating industrial janitorial demand. Mayo Clinic Jacksonville (distinct from the Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN campus) operates a hospital and specialty clinic in Jacksonville's Riverside neighborhood, with healthcare cleaning requirements consistent with Joint Commission standards.

Primary Sources

• BLS OEWS May 2023 — Jacksonville, FL MSA (area 27260)
• BLS May 2024 Jacksonville Occupational Employment and Wages News Release
• Florida DOR — GT-800015 Sales and Use Tax on Cleaning Services
• DOL WHD — Service Contract Act Wage Determinations

Primary sources

Review notice

This wage data is maintained by the Opora editorial team and last reviewed in Q2 2026. BLS OEWS data is released annually each spring; state and local minimum wages change at least yearly. Verify current rates with BLS, the relevant state labor department, and any applicable SCA wage determination before relying on a specific bid number. Opora does not provide legal or tax advice.