Janitorial Wages — Philadelphia

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

The Philadelphia–Camden–Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD MSA is one of only four four-state MSAs in the United States, and that geographic complexity shapes every dimension of janitorial labor management. With approximately 41,240 janitors employed and a mean hourly wage of $18.23 as of BLS OEWS May 2023, Philadelphia sits in the upper tier of mid-Atlantic commercial cleaning markets. The O*NET 2024 median is $17.52/hr, but the distribution spans from $13.60 (P10) to $23.82 (P90)—driven by SEIU 32BJ District 1201's strong Center City coverage at the top end and Pennsylvania's federal-floor minimum wage at the bottom. New Jersey's strict ABC test, Pennsylvania's misclassification exposure, and four different state minimum wages mean a Philadelphia BSC must maintain four simultaneous compliance frameworks.

BLS OEWS May 2024 Wage Distribution

Percentile	Hourly	Annual	Benchmark
10th	$13.60	$28,280	Delaware minimum ($13.25 in 2024); outer-ring NJ/DE non-union accounts
25th	$15.13	$31,470	South Jersey suburban (Cherry Hill, Voorhees, Burlington County)
50th (Median)	$17.52	$36,450	Mid-market; approaching NJ minimum ($15.13/hr 2024, $15.49/hr 2025)
75th	$21.03	$43,730	32BJ-covered Center City commercial; hospital EVS (Penn Medicine, CHOP)
90th	$23.82	$49,540	Senior union cleaners; Comcast Technology Center; university custodians

Source: O*NET Local Wages PA 2024, SOC 37-2011. BLS OEWS May 2023: 41,240 janitors (MSA 37980), mean $18.23/hr. Annual equivalents at 2,080 hours.

Four-State Minimum Wage Matrix

No other four-state MSA presents this minimum wage complexity. Pennsylvania: $7.25/hr (federal floor; unchanged since 2009). New Jersey: $15.13/hr for businesses with 6+ employees (Jan 2024), rising to $15.49/hr (Jan 2025). Delaware: $13.25/hr in 2024, rising to $15.00/hr by 2025 per phased schedule. Maryland (Cecil County component): $15.00/hr all employer sizes from January 2024. The NJ floor is the binding constraint for Camden and Burlington County accounts; Maryland's floor exceeds Delaware's through 2025. BSCs invoicing clients across all four states must apply four distinct minimum wage levels based on where work is performed—not where the company is registered.

SEIU 32BJ District 1201

SEIU 32BJ District 1201 covers the Philadelphia and Delaware Valley region. The Tri-State Master Contract (NJ commercial) runs January 2024–December 2027. In Center City Philadelphia, 32BJ covers commercial office properties along the 1818 Market Street corridor, One Liberty Place, Two Liberty Place, and University City campus buildings. Union commercial cleaners under 32BJ Philadelphia-area agreements earn $19–$23/hr with fully employer-paid health insurance and pension contributions—loaded labor cost of $28–$36/hr. Non-union operators attempting to win Class A Center City accounts find that building managers conditioned by 32BJ's long presence routinely require union wage standards informally.

New Jersey's ABC Test: Strictest in the MSA

New Jersey's independent contractor standard under the NJ Unemployment Compensation law places the burden entirely on the employer to satisfy all three ABC prongs—and Prong B is construed so broadly that it is virtually never satisfied for a cleaning company's cleaning workers. The NJDOL's 2025 proposed regulations further clarify that even retaining the right to control—not just exercising it—can defeat Prong A. A BSC in Camden or Burlington County NJ using 1099 subcontractors faces near-automatic misclassification findings in NJ DOL audits, with exposure to back SUI contributions, back wages, and civil penalties—materially more restrictive than Pennsylvania's common-law control test.

Healthcare and University: The Institutional Core

Philadelphia's institutional cleaning sector is unusually large relative to the metro economy. Penn Medicine (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital, Presbyterian): large in-house and contracted EVS at $18–$24/hr. Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP): high-acuity environment with strict infection control; specialty cleaning $20–$26/hr. Jefferson Health (14 hospital campus locations): 24/7 EVS requirements across the metro. University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University in University City: campus cleaning blending SEIU in-house custodians with contracted services for peripheral buildings. Hospital cleaning commands 35–50% above Class A office cleaning per hour.

Comcast and the Premium Commercial Tier

Comcast's two-tower Center City complex—Comcast Center (58 floors) and the LEED Platinum Comcast Technology Center (60 floors at 1800 Arch St)—represents one of the most demanding commercial cleaning accounts in the Northeast. The Technology Center requires ISSA CIMS Green Building protocol, green cleaning chemical certification, and LEED O+M recertification documentation. Bill rates for Comcast-tier accounts run $42–$55/hr; labor is typically 32BJ-adjacent. Other premium Center City accounts include major law firms (Troutman Pepper), Vanguard (Malvern campus, serviced from Philly crews), and the Pennsylvania Convention Center under separate union labor terms.

Cross-Border Compliance and Loaded Labor

Workers routinely cross state lines in a single shift—particularly Camden waterfront and Wilmington financial district routes. A PA-registered BSC with employees performing work in NJ, DE, or MD must carry WC policies covering each state. NCCI Class 9014 advisory loss costs for all four states fall in the $2.00–$3.00/$100 range; multi-state endorsements require careful payroll allocation by state of injury. Pennsylvania's Construction Workplace Misclassification Act (Act 72 of 2010) broadly defines "maintenance" to capture minor repair work done under cleaning contracts—a risk BSCs performing light carpentry or caulking as part of cleaning scopes should assess with Pennsylvania employment counsel. Loaded labor for a Philadelphia union commercial account: 32BJ wage $19–$23/hr plus fringe $5–$7/hr plus FICA plus PA WC plus SUI = $28–$36/hr all-in. Non-union PA accounts at $15–$17/hr load to $20–$25/hr.

Primary sources

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

https://www.seiu32bj.org/contract-page/

https://www.nj.gov/labor/ea/audit/independent-contractor-vs-employees/

https://www.saiber.com/insights/publications/2025-05-21-nj-dol-proposes-new-rules-clarifying-the-abc-test-for-independent-contractors

https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes372011.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 and PA Center for Workforce Information & Analysis data for the same period. BLS and PA CWIA data; 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.

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Data vintage: BLS OEWS May 2024; PA CWIA May 2024. Page last reviewed: June 3, 2026. Author: Opora Editorial Team. Primary source: BLS OEWS Metropolitan Area Data. Spot an error? Contact us.

Janitorial Wages — Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

Janitorial wages — Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metropolitan area