Janitorial Wages in Portland, OR

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

The Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area recorded a median hourly wage of $18.01 and a mean of $19.47 for Janitors and Cleaners (SOC 37-2011) in the May 2023 BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, with approximately 12,650 workers in the occupation per BLS OEWS May 2023 data for MSA 38900. By May 2024, the building and grounds cleaning and maintenance group averaged $21.45/hr—more than $2/hr above the national group average of $19.01/hr—per the BLS Portland OEWS news release. Portland is one of the highest-wage janitorial markets in the country outside California and the Northeast, driven by Oregon's tiered minimum wage structure (Portland metro floor now $16.30/hr), SEIU Local 49's active master janitorial agreement, an OR-OSHA plan-state with meaningful enforcement capacity, and a dual-state MSA that requires compliance with both Oregon and Washington workers' compensation systems. The tech and semiconductor campus cleaning segment (Nike, Intel's Washington County campus) further elevates average wages through specialized cleanroom requirements.

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

Percentile	Hourly Wage (Est.)	Annual Equivalent
10th (entry-level)	$16.30	$33,900
25th	$17.20	$35,780
50th (Median)	$18.91	$39,330
Mean	$20.45	$42,540
75th	$23.50	$48,880
90th	$28.10	$58,450

Source: BLS OEWS May 2023 (MSA 38900) with estimated +5% adjustment to May 2024. May 2023 median $18.01, mean $19.47, employment 12,650. Building and grounds cleaning group mean $21.45 (May 2024). Note: 10th percentile estimated at Portland metro minimum wage ($16.30/hr July 2025). Annual equivalents assume 2,080 hours/year.

Oregon's Tiered Minimum Wage: Portland Metro Floor

Oregon's minimum wage structure has three geographic tiers that apply based on work location. Effective July 1, 2025, the Portland metro rate is $16.30/hr (within the urban growth boundary, covering Multnomah County and parts of Washington and Clackamas counties). The standard statewide rate is $15.05/hr; the non-urban rate is $14.05/hr. Per the Oregon BOLI minimum wage schedule, these rates increase each July 1 based on the Consumer Price Index. Effective July 1, 2026, the Portland metro rate rises to $16.80/hr. For a Portland BSC, the practical implication is that the minimum hourly wage for any worker performing cleaning in the urban growth boundary area is $16.30/hr—meaning that the BLS 10th percentile estimate is effectively pegged at or just above the legal minimum. There is essentially no market-wage room below the Portland metro minimum for urban commercial cleaning work; all bidding is above this floor. BSCs operating in suburban Washington County (Beaverton, Hillsboro) that extends both inside and outside the urban growth boundary must carefully track which county addresses fall within the boundary to apply the correct rate tier.

SEIU Local 49 and the Portland Master Janitorial Agreement

SEIU Local 49, the Service Employees International Union's Portland-based affiliate, represents approximately 1,800–2,000 janitors across the Portland commercial office market under its Master Janitorial Agreement. According to the SEIU Local 49 2024 Annual Report, unionized workers have seen their hourly pay double over recent contract cycles—reaching $18.89/hr for the Gladys Garcia account referenced in the annual report, with 10 paid days off annually and an affordable union healthcare plan newly established. The most recent reported 2021 contract extension brought wages up to $18/hr in year three (from a 2018 baseline), with additional COVID-related improvements. For BSCs holding downtown Portland office tower accounts, union recognition is essentially standard—SEIU Local 49's master agreement covers the majority of Class A commercial buildings in the Portland CBD and Lloyd District. Non-union commercial accounts in suburban Washington County and Clark County (WA) operate on market rates of $16.30–$19/hr. Union dues (approximately 1.5–2.0% of wages) are an employee-borne cost; however, the associated health benefits and pension contributions from employers add approximately $4–$7/hr to loaded labor costs for union accounts beyond the base wage.

OR-OSHA Plan State and Worker Safety Requirements

Oregon operates a state-approved occupational safety and health program through OR-OSHA (Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division), administered by the Department of Consumer and Business Services. As an approved plan state, OR-OSHA has authority to adopt standards that are at least as protective as federal OSHA and may be more stringent. For janitorial contractors, OR-OSHA enforces hazard communication (GHS/SDS compliance for cleaning chemicals), ergonomics standards (Oregon's general industry ergonomics rule is more comprehensive than federal OSHA guidelines), and personal protective equipment requirements. OR-OSHA conducts both programmed inspections (targeting high-hazard NAICS codes including building services) and complaint-driven inspections. Penalties for serious violations can reach $14,502 per instance; willful violations reach $144,985. BSCs new to Oregon should complete OR-OSHA's free consultation program before beginning operations—the program provides a pre-inspection review without enforcement consequences, identifying citation-level hazards before a formal inspection triggers penalties.

Oregon Family Leave Act and Paid Leave Oregon

Oregon's Paid Leave Oregon program (effective September 3, 2023) requires employees to contribute up to 60% of the total insurance contribution rate (currently 1% of wages) to the Paid Leave Oregon fund, with employers contributing 40% for businesses with 25+ employees. Full-time janitors become eligible after earning $1,000 in the prior year, and can take up to 12 weeks of paid family, medical, or safe leave per year. This is one of the most generous paid leave mandates in the country and represents a real cost for Portland BSC labor models—approximately 0.4% of employer payroll per year for the employer contribution. Oregon's Paid Family and Medical Leave is separate from OFLA (Oregon Family Leave Act), which has been updated to work in parallel. The cumulative effect of Oregon's Paid Leave Oregon, tiered minimum wage, OR-OSHA ergonomics, and SEIU master agreements makes Portland's janitorial regulatory environment second in complexity only to California among West Coast markets.

Nike and Intel Campus Cleaning: Tech Sector Premium Accounts

Nike's World Headquarters in Beaverton occupies a 286-acre campus with over 75 buildings totaling approximately 7 million square feet—one of the largest corporate campuses in the Pacific Northwest. Nike's campus cleaning requirements include standard commercial office cleaning plus specialized athletic facility cleaning (training rooms, weight rooms, running tracks), retail space (Nike Employee Store), and food service facility cleaning for campus dining operations. Nike campus cleaning is managed through a combination of in-house facilities staff and contracted janitorial services, with the contracted component typically awarded through competitive RFP. Intel's Washington County campus (Hillsboro, OR) encompasses multiple fabrication facilities including the Jones Farm and Ronler Acres sites, employing approximately 20,000 workers. Intel's fabs require ISO-class cleanroom janitorial service—cleanroom cleaning is a highly specialized discipline requiring gowning room protocols, particle count monitoring, and chemical safety training for cleaning products approved for cleanroom use. Cleanroom janitorial technicians earn $22–$30/hr; these roles represent the premium end of the Portland janitorial market and require significant employer investment in training and certification.

Two-State MSA: OR vs. WA Side Compliance Differences

The Portland MSA extends across the Columbia River into Clark County, Washington (Vancouver, Camas, Washougal, Ridgefield, Battle Ground). The Washington side presents materially different compliance requirements. Workers' compensation: Washington state uses the L&I (Department of Labor and Industries) state fund—a monopolistic fund like Ohio's BWC—rather than NCCI private insurance. Washington employers must purchase WC exclusively through L&I unless they qualify for self-insurance. For BSC class 9014 (janitorial, no window cleaning above ground), Washington L&I publishes its own risk class rates, currently approximately $1.20–$1.80/$100 of payroll for low-risk janitorial—somewhat lower than Oregon's SAIF rates for comparable work. Minimum wage: Washington's statewide minimum wage is $16.66/hr (2025), slightly above Oregon's Portland metro rate of $16.30/hr. Clark County has no local supplement above the state rate. Sales tax: Washington imposes its Business and Occupation (B&O) tax on service businesses including janitorial—the B&O rate for services is 1.5% of gross receipts in lieu of a corporate income tax. Washington does not impose a sales tax on services. BSCs with employees in both Oregon and Washington must maintain separate WC accounts with Oregon SAIF (or private insurers for employers with large payrolls who qualify for private coverage) and Washington L&I, plus track payroll by state for B&O and Oregon income tax reporting.

Oregon Statewide Transit Tax and Other Payroll Obligations

Oregon imposes a statewide transit tax of 0.1% of wages on employers with payroll in Oregon, used to fund TriMet and Lane Transit District operations. For BSCs with 50 full-time-equivalent workers at $18/hr average, this amounts to approximately $7,500/year—modest but an additional administrative compliance item. Oregon also requires employers to participate in the Oregon Retirement Savings Plan (OregonSaves) if they do not offer a qualifying retirement plan—a consideration for smaller BSCs without 401(k) programs. Portland's overall payroll compliance burden is among the most complex in any U.S. metro outside California, with state income tax withholding, metro business income tax (Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas counties have a Metro Supportive Housing Services business income tax), and Arts Tax collection obligations in Portland city limits adding to the administrative workload.

Primary Sources

Primary sources

https://www.bls.gov/oes/2023/may/oes_38900.htm

https://www.bls.gov/regions/west/news-release/occupationalemploymentandwages_portlandor.htm

https://www.oregon.gov/boli/workers/pages/minimum-wage.aspx

https://www.seiu49.org/annualreport2024

https://www.seiu49.org/news/despite-covid-janitors-win-major-improvements-in-contract-extension

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.

Janitorial Wages in Portland–Vancouver–Hillsboro, OR-WA (2026)