Nashville–Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN

Janitorial Wages in Nashville–Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN (2026)

Last updated Q2 2026 · Authored by the Opora Editorial Team · Source: BLS OEWS May 2024 + Tennessee Minimum Wage Act (TCA §50-2-101 et seq.); federal FLSA $7.25 floor governs

The Nashville–Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN Metropolitan Statistical Area recorded a median hourly wage of $16.07 and a mean of $16.60 for Janitors and Cleaners (SOC 37-2011) in the May 2023 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, with approximately 10,040 workers in the occupation per BLS OEWS May 2023 data for MSA 34980. By May 2024, the broader building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupational group averaged $18.17/hr per the BLS Nashville OEWS news release—2.4% of total Nashville MSA employment, below the national 2.9% share, reflecting Nashville's above-average concentration in healthcare and professional services rather than cleaning-intensive manufacturing. Nashville's BSC market has undergone rapid growth driven by the metro's exceptional population and corporate in-migration, but pricing remains below national averages due to Tennessee's right-to-work environment, no state income tax on wages (Tennessee eliminated its Hall income tax on investment income in 2021; wages were never taxed), and an active janitorial sales tax obligation that catches new entrants off guard.

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

Percentile	Hourly Wage (Est.)	Annual Equivalent
10th (entry-level)	$12.00	$24,960
25th	$14.25	$29,640
50th (Median)	$16.87	$35,090
Mean	$17.43	$36,250
75th	$20.25	$42,120
90th	$24.40	$50,750

Source: BLS OEWS May 2023 (MSA 34980) with estimated +5% adjustment to May 2024. May 2023 median $16.07, mean $16.60, employment 10,040. Building and grounds cleaning group mean $18.17 (May 2024). Annual equivalents assume 2,080 hours/year.

Tennessee Sales Tax on Janitorial Services: A Critical Compliance Cost

Tennessee imposes sales and use tax on janitorial services under TCA § 67-6-205, which specifically enumerates cleaning and janitorial services as taxable. The state rate is 7%, with Davidson County (Nashville) authorized to levy a local option tax bringing the total effective rate to 9.25% (as of mid-2025; Davidson County approved an additional 0.5% local transit-related increase effective February 1, 2025, raising its combined rate to 9.75%). This is one of the highest effective sales tax rates on janitorial services in any major U.S. metro. For a Nashville-based BSC billing $20,000/month in commercial janitorial contracts within Davidson County, the sales tax obligation is approximately $1,950/month ($23,400/year)—a material passthrough cost that must be explicitly shown on invoices and remitted to the Tennessee Department of Revenue. Exemptions apply for services rendered to qualified exempt organizations and certain government entities. BSCs new to the Tennessee market should review the TN DOR SUT-115 guidance on services subject to sales and use tax before their first invoice cycle.

Right-to-Work and No-State-Income-Tax Dynamics

Tennessee is a right-to-work state under TCA § 50-1-201. Combined with the absence of a state income tax on wages, this creates a uniquely employer-favorable labor cost environment. For individual workers, the effective take-home pay on a $17/hr Nashville wage is significantly higher than the same gross wage in Connecticut or California—meaning Nashville BSCs can attract workers at somewhat lower gross wages than Northern metros while delivering equivalent or better net compensation. The market minimum in practice is the federal minimum wage ($7.25/hr), but Nashville's tight labor market has rendered this largely academic—general cleaners in the Nashville commercial market earn $13–$18/hr depending on account type, with healthcare EVS and laboratory cleaning commanding $17–$22/hr. Union density in Nashville commercial janitorial is minimal; no SEIU local has established a master building services agreement in the market. Organizing activity is present at select healthcare campuses (HCA facilities), but coverage remains well below 5% of the local janitorial workforce.

HCA Healthcare: Nashville's Largest Single Employer and Cleaning Demand Anchor

HCA Healthcare (Hospital Corporation of America) is headquartered in Nashville and operates 182 hospitals and 2,200+ sites of care across the United States. The Nashville metro alone has HCA's corporate campus plus several flagship hospital accounts—TriStar Health (HCA's Tennessee network) includes Centennial Medical Center, Summit Medical Center, and StoneCrest Medical Center. The total footprint of HCA-operated or HCA-affiliated facilities within the Nashville MSA represents hundreds of thousands of square feet of healthcare space requiring specialized EVS (Environmental Services) cleaning under Joint Commission and CMS Conditions of Participation standards. HCA has historically managed EVS at its hospitals through a combination of in-house employees (covered by a company-wide HR structure, not union CBAs in Tennessee) and contracted services. Janitors and EVS technicians at HCA Nashville facilities earn $15–$21/hr depending on role; OR-turnover and ICU-designated cleaning technicians earn a $1.50–$3.00/hr premium over standard rates.

Tourism, Hospitality, and "Music City" Premium

Nashville's tourism economy—built around country music, the Grand Ole Opry, Broadway honky-tonks, and a rapidly growing convention and event industry—creates a hospitality-adjacent cleaning market that operates on different economics than standard commercial office cleaning. The Music City Center (1.2 million square feet of convention space) and Bridgestone Arena require continuous event-turnaround cleaning with extreme time pressure between events. Convention venue cleaning commands a premium of 20–35% over comparable office cleaning rates, owing to irregular event scheduling, physical intensity of post-event cleanup (confetti, food waste, signage debris), and the need for rapid turnaround crews deployable on short notice. Additionally, Nashville's explosive hotel development—over 15,000 new hotel rooms added in Davidson County between 2015 and 2024—generates ongoing hotel housekeeping and public-space cleaning demand. Hotel EVS and housekeeping wages in Nashville run $14–$18/hr, below commercial janitorial rates in most account segments. The downtown Lower Broadway entertainment corridor creates a high-density daily cleaning requirement for bar, restaurant, and retail facades with limited public transit access for cleaning crews—parking and scheduling logistics are a material operational consideration for BSCs serving this district.

Submarket Variation: Downtown vs. Cool Springs vs. Murfreesboro

Downtown Nashville / Midtown (SoBro, Music Row, Vanderbilt): The highest-wage segment of the market. Class A office towers (Fifth Third Center, SunTrust Plaza, 222 Commerce), Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and dense hospitality space. General cleaners earn $15–$20/hr; specialist roles at VUMC run $18–$24/hr. Transit access has improved with the WeGo bus rapid transit, easing recruitment for evening-shift crews.

Brentwood / Franklin / Cool Springs (Williamson County): Tennessee's wealthiest county is home to dozens of corporate headquarters including Delek Group, Tractor Supply Co., and the Tennessee Farm Bureau. This suburban campus corridor commands commercial cleaning rates of $15–$19/hr; accounts here are primarily low-rise campus buildings with flexible scheduling and relatively lower turnover than downtown accounts.

Murfreesboro / Smyrna / La Vergne (Rutherford County): The Nissan North America manufacturing campus in Smyrna (approximately 7,500 employees) and massive Amazon fulfillment center footprint in Murfreesboro drive industrial cleaning demand at $14–$17/hr. Rutherford County's population has grown faster than any other Tennessee county for the past decade, driving new commercial construction and cleaning demand in this southern submarket.

BSC Competitive Landscape and Workforce Trends

Nashville's rapid growth has attracted most major national BSCs: ABM Industries, Aramark Facility Services, and Allied Universal all hold significant commercial accounts in the metro. Regional firm ServiceMaster Clean of Nashville is a major mid-market player. Coverall and Jan-Pro franchise networks compete in the small commercial segment. The Nashville BSC market is notable for high competition at the mid-market level ($5,000–$25,000/month accounts) where a dozen or more local BSCs regularly respond to each RFP. BSC turnover is also high—several Nashville-founded cleaning companies have grown to regional scale and then sold to national acquirers over the past decade, disrupting incumbent account relationships and creating opportunities for nimble local operators. Recruiting remains a challenge: Nashville's low unemployment rate (consistently below 4% since 2021) and high job mobility among the growing young professional population increases cleaner turnover, particularly for entry-level night-shift roles at $13–$15/hr.

Primary Sources

• BLS OEWS May 2023 — Nashville–Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin MSA (area 34980)
• BLS May 2024 Nashville Occupational Employment and Wages News Release
• Tennessee DOR — SUT-115 Services Subject to Sales and Use Tax
• TCA § 67-6-205 — Tennessee Sales Tax on Services

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.