Housekeeper salary

The median pay for a housekeeper nationally is $16.60 an hour — about $34,520 a year full time. That figure comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for U.S. (2025). Half of the roles pay more than this and half pay less, so treat it as the middle of the market rather than a target.

Most housekeepers nationally earn between $12.31 an hour and $23.38 an hour — that is the 10th to the 90th percentile. The spread usually reflects experience, shift, certifications and employer size more than anything else.

Pay at the bottom of the range — roughly what someone starting out can expect — is around $12.31 an hour. A quarter of housekeepers earn below $15.00 an hour, so the first year or two typically sits in that band. This is a role employers routinely fill with people who have no prior experience.

The top 10% of housekeepers nationally earn about $23.38 an hour or more, roughly 1.4× the median. Getting there usually means experience plus something specific — certifications, supervisory duties, specialised skills or premium shifts.

Housekeepers clean and prepare guest rooms in hotels, or homes and facilities for private and commercial clients. Hiring is steady and needs no prior experience. Day to day, that means clean and reset guest rooms to standard, change linen and restock supplies, report maintenance issues and lost property and manage a room quota per shift.

The usual route is: (1) apply directly — no experience needed, (2) learn the room standard and hit quota, (3) move to floor supervisor or inspector, (4) progress into executive housekeeping. Employers typically look for no formal education required, repeated bending, lifting and pushing carts and weekend and holiday availability.

Usually not. Most employers hire housekeepers without a specific licence, and train on the job.

There are currently 1 open housekeepers listed on LocalWork. Tied to hotel occupancy and tourism, so demand is strongest in travel destinations and seasonal in many markets.

Sometimes, but unlike serving it is not built into the pay model — the advertised hourly rate is what you should plan around. Many properties also work on a rooms-per-shift quota, so ask how many rooms are expected and what happens if you run over.