Janitorial Wages in Los Angeles, CA

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

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim is the second-largest U.S. metropolitan economy and home to the nation's largest concentration of janitorial workers outside New York City. BLS OEWS May 2023 data records the median hourly wage for SOC 37-2011 at $17.58, mean $19.62, annual mean $40,820. The positive mean-to-median skew reflects a bimodal structure: a large tier of entry-level cleaners near minimum wage, and a significant tier of SEIU-represented workers earning $22–$28/hr. The national May 2024 median is $17.27/hr per the BLS OOH; LA's 2024 figure — adjusted for California's $16.00/hr statewide minimum and the City of LA's $17.28/hr local minimum (July 2023) — likely trends toward $18.50–$20/hr. Hispanic and Latino workers represent approximately 60–70 percent of LA's commercial janitorial workforce.

California's AB 5 ABC Test: Full Employee Status Required

California's Assembly Bill 5 codified the "ABC test" for worker classification statewide. A worker is presumed an employee unless the hiring entity proves all three conditions: (A) worker is free from control, (B) work is outside the hirer's usual business, and (C) worker is engaged in an independent trade. For janitorial services, Prong B is nearly impossible to satisfy — cleaning is a core ancillary function of every business. AB 2257 explicitly excluded janitorial services from the business-to-business exemption. The practical result: all workers performing commercial cleaning for LA clients must be classified as employees, not independent contractors. Payroll taxes, workers' compensation, and mandatory benefits must be built into every bid.

SEIU United Service Workers West: The LA Union Premium

SEIU United Service Workers West (USWW) represents approximately 18,000 commercial janitors in Los Angeles County. The union's LA Master CBA sets 2024 wage scales from $18.50/hr for entry-level commercial janitors to $22–$26/hr for lead cleaners and day porters. The union ratified its most recent LA contract in 2024 following organizing pressure including work stoppages outside entertainment studio lots. SEIU USWW density in downtown LA Class-A towers, Century City, Westwood, and the Burbank entertainment corridor creates upward wage pressure on non-union competitors who must pay near-SEIU rates to avoid organizing activity.

Los Angeles Minimum Wage Landscape

The LA minimum wage structure is among the country's most complex. California statewide: $16.00/hr (January 1, 2024). City of Los Angeles: $17.28/hr (July 1, 2023, CPI-indexed). Unincorporated LA County has a separate schedule. California SB 525 set a $25/hr minimum for healthcare workers at large facilities (effective June 2024) — pressuring BSC operators serving hospital campuses to explain wage differentials between in-house EVS staff at $25/hr and contracted cleaners earning $18–$21/hr. Entry-level janitorial wages in the City of LA begin at $17.28–$18.00/hr even for the simplest overnight accounts.

Entertainment Industry: Studios and Production

LA's entertainment industry — Warner Bros., NBCUniversal, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Disney, plus streaming platforms Netflix and Amazon Studios — creates a distinct commercial cleaning segment. Major studio lots require 24/7 cleaning across stages, production offices, commissaries, and technical spaces. Entertainment cleaning involves protecting costumes and props, managing set materials (paints, adhesives), maintaining dust-free green-screen stages, and navigating continuous production schedules. Studio lot cleaning operates at $18–$25/hr depending on the account's union status.

California Workers' Compensation Costs

California's competitive WC market (private carriers plus SCIF as insurer of last resort) carries class code 9014 janitorial rates that typically run $8–$14 per $100 of payroll for small-to-medium BSCs without favorable experience modifications. Combined with California's mandatory paid sick leave (5 days minimum under SB 616 as of 2024), Paid Family Leave contributions, and State Disability Insurance premiums, the fully-loaded cost of an LA commercial janitor at $18.50/hr base may reach $24–$27/hr total — a number that must be modeled accurately in BSC bids.

Cost of Living: The Affordability Crisis

Los Angeles has one of the most acute wage-to-housing-cost mismatches in the country. The MIT Living Wage Calculator places the required wage for a single LA adult at $30.79/hr — a $13.21/hr gap above the median janitorial wage. HUD Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom in the LA metro area is approximately $2,350–$2,700/month (FY 2024), consuming 75–90 percent of a full-time janitorial worker's gross monthly income at median wages. Many LA cleaning workers live in overcrowded shared housing or commute 60–90 minutes from the San Gabriel Valley, South Bay, or Antelope Valley. SEIU USWW organizing consistently uses housing data as the primary argument for wage demands exceeding national averages.

Submarket Variation

Wage geography within the LA MSA is substantial. Beverly Hills and West Hollywood Class-A offices command $22–$28/hr for day porters under SEIU USWW coverage. Downtown LA (Wilshire Grand, Bunker Hill) runs $19–$24/hr. The Hollywood and Burbank entertainment cluster operates at $18–$22/hr. Long Beach port-adjacent industrial and commercial runs $17–$21/hr. Orange County (Anaheim, Irvine) has lower union density and median wages closer to $16.50–$19/hr. The Anaheim resort district (Disneyland, Anaheim Convention Center) adds hospitality-cleaning demand influenced by UNITE HERE Local 11 activity in the adjacent hotel sector.

Top Employers and Market Structure

Los Angeles is the most competitive BSC market in the country by operator count. SEIU USWW signatory contractors — ABM Industries, One Source (Pacific Building Services), Able Services, and Clean Earth Capital — dominate the downtown and entertainment corridor. Non-union regional operators compete in suburban and industrial segments. The LA market's 50,000+ janitorial workforce means supply chain efficiency, product selection, and labor-hour optimization are critical competitive levers. The combination of AB 5 compliance, SEIU wage scales, and mandatory benefit overhead means BSC clients are acutely focused on cost-per-clean and square-foot cleaning efficiency.

Primary sources

https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes_31080.htm

https://www.labor.ca.gov/employmentstatus/abctest/

https://www.seiu-usww.org

https://livingwage.mit.edu/metros/31080

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/building-and-grounds-cleaning/janitors-and-building-cleaners.htm

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 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA — BLS OEWS May 2024 OEWS

Janitorial wages — Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA metropolitan area