Maids and housekeeping cleaners: how women's and men's pay compare
Among full-time, year-round maids and housekeeping cleaners in the United States, women had a median of $30,634 in 2024 and men had $35,373. Women's median was 86.6% of men's (margin of error ±2.6%). The $4,739 difference is larger than its margin of error (±$1,035), so it is statistically distinguishable from zero at the 90% level the Census Bureau uses. That is a narrower ratio than the 83.1% for all full-time, year-round workers ($55,678 vs $66,965, Census table B20017).
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, tables B24122/B24123/B24125/B24126. Full-time, year-round civilian workers 16+, 2024 dollars. Retrieved 2026-10-09. ± values are 90% margins of error.
Where this occupation sits
About 557,329 women and 109,084 men worked full-time, year-round in this occupation, so women were 83.6% of the group (±1.3%). That makes it a majority-women occupation, ranked #5 of 40 in this set by women's share.
Among the 40 large occupations in this set, it ranks #18 for the smallest gap (women's median as a share of men's; #1 is closest to equal), #37 for women's median earnings, and #32 for the largest dollar difference.
Occupations with a similar share of women
| Occupation | Women | Men | Women/men | Women's share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | $51,315 | $58,179 | 88.2% | 84% |
| Registered nurses | $82,314 | $91,110 | 90.3% | 86% |
| Office clerks, general | $42,637 | $49,227 | 86.6% | 81% |
Occupations with a similar pay ratio
| Occupation | Women | Men | Women/men | Women's share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | $35,770 | $41,307 | 86.6% | 22% |
| Office clerks, general | $42,637 | $49,227 | 86.6% | 81% |
| Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing | $75,812 | $87,669 | 86.5% | 27% |
What this number does and doesn't tell you
- These are unadjusted medians for people who worked full-time, year-round. They do not control for hours beyond full-time, years of experience, seniority, employer, location, or the specific jobs inside the occupation group.
- A gap here is a description, not proof of discrimination, and the absence of a gap does not prove equal treatment. Estimates come from a sample survey, which is why every figure has a margin of error.
- The Census Bureau groups jobs into detailed occupations; "Maids and housekeeping cleaners" is the Bureau's category and may combine jobs you think of as different.
- For a specific state, see the state pay-gap pages. To compare any two jobs, use the pay-gap lookup tool. For how we work with data, see our methodology.