Commercial Cleaning & FM recruiters serving Madison.
Madison has 17% more janitors and cleaners per job than the country as a whole, about 6,780 in the metro. BLS counts 185 business locations of janitorial and commercial cleaning companies across the metro. Below: local pay for every role we staff and the nearby markets competing for the same people.
Positions we recruit for in Madison.
BLS counts about 7,190 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Madison metro, the largest group being janitors and cleaners (about 6,780). Relative to the size of the local economy, janitors and cleaners are more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.17). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Cleaning & FM hub.
Cleaning Team Member / Janitor
Madison: 6,780 employed · $39,680 median, 16th-highest of 112 metros
Cleaning Team Lead / Supervisor
Madison: 410 employed · $53,830 median, 31st-highest of 111 metros
Site Manager / Account Manager
Madison: 1,240 employed · $112,280 median, 46th-highest of 110 metros
Regional Operations Manager
Madison: 5,130 employed · $126,620 median, 12th-highest of 112 metros
Facilities Manager
Madison: 250 employed · $118,990 median, 15th-highest of 112 metros
Facilities Coordinator
Madison: 4,630 employed · $51,410 median, 20th-highest of 111 metros
Building Engineer
Madison: 2,320 employed · $93,290 median, 18th-highest of 112 metros
Healthcare Cleaning Specialist
Data Center / Cleanroom Cleaner
VP of Operations
Madison: 900 employed · $217,010 median, 45th-highest of 98 metros
What Commercial Cleaning & FM roles earn in Madison.
Janitors and cleaners in Madison earn a median $39,680, 8% over the $36,840 national figure, and 16th of 112 metros. Pay runs $31,200 at the tenth percentile to $48,120 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is first-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers, at $53,830 against $49,100 nationally.
| Role | Madison median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning Team Member / Janitor · Healthcare Cleaning Specialist · Data Center / Cleanroom CleanerJanitors and Cleaners (37-2011) | $39,680 | $31,200–$48,120 | $36,840 | +8% | 6,780 |
| Cleaning Team Lead / SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers (37-1011) | $53,830 | $42,620–$82,770 | $49,100 | +10% | 410 |
| Site Manager / Account ManagerAdministrative Services Managers (11-3012) | $112,280 | $81,780–$165,840 | $114,130 | −2% | 1,240 |
| Regional Operations ManagerGeneral and Operations Managers (11-1021) | $126,620 | $63,380–$257,480 | $105,770 | +20% | 5,130 |
| Facilities ManagerFacilities Managers (11-3013) | $118,990 | $74,030–$171,070 | $106,660 | +12% | 250 |
| Facilities CoordinatorSecretaries and Administrative Assistants (43-6014) | $51,410 | $39,140–$65,370 | $47,540 | +8% | 4,630 |
| Building EngineerFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $93,290 | $53,750–$128,400 | $79,920 | +17% | 2,320 |
| VP of OperationsChief Executives (11-1011) | $217,010 | $122,970–$402,710 | $213,990 | +1% | 900 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Madison metro. Range is 10th to 90th percentile; management and office roles are metro-wide. A metro ranking counts only the metros where BLS publishes that occupation.
How Madison's commercial cleaning & FM market has changed since 2018.
The number of janitorial and commercial cleaning companies in Madison rose from 184 in 2018 to 185 in 2023, up 1%, behind the 14% growth nationally. Headcount and pay for those firms are withheld in Madison, so the occupation figures above are the better guide to what hiring costs.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janitorial and commercial cleaning companies: business locations | 184 | 185 | +1% |
| Janitorial and commercial cleaning companies: employment | 3,281 | – | – |
| Janitorial and commercial cleaning companies: average annual pay | $17,049 | – | – |
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private employers, annual averages. A dash means BLS did not publish the figure.
Free Commercial Cleaning & FM hiring resources.
Definitive Guide to Commercial Cleaning & FM · 2026 Commercial Cleaning & FM Salary Guide · 3-Step Interview Guide for Commercial Cleaning & FM
Madison runs 17% more commercial cleaning workers per job than the country as a whole — above the national concentration. More per job means more people to reach, and more employers reaching them.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 , Janitors and Building Cleaners. Metro-wide figures for the base occupation; the wage table above is role-specific and commercial.
How Madison's commercial cleaning market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Madison ranks 54th for headcount, 15th for median pay and 13th for concentration for janitors and building cleaners.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | 14,380 | $36,620 | 1.23 | 431 |
| Madison | 6,780 | $39,680 | 1.17 | 185 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial cleaning employers in Madison, the local pool is deeper than most, so a well-run search can usually fill field roles from inside the metro.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Madison metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Nearby markets competing for Madison talent.
The closest metro we cover is Milwaukee, about 75 miles away, with roughly 14,380 janitors and cleaners (2.1 times Madison's 6,780). Pay is close across the region: medians run from $35,000 in Des Moines to $40,800 in Minneapolis, against $39,680 here. Chicago has the deepest pool within reach, so a search for senior roles here usually extends there.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madison | – | 6,780 | $39,680 |
| Milwaukee | 76 mi | 14,380 | $36,620 |
| Chicago | 123 mi | 70,000 | $38,470 |
| Grand Rapids | 189 mi | 11,490 | $35,890 |
| Minneapolis | 233 mi | 26,790 | $40,800 |
| Des Moines | 238 mi | 5,720 | $35,000 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Madison crews.
Not commercial cleaning & FM work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Madison in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- UW Health University Hospital addition$177MConcluding late 2026
A six-story addition with 22 emergency department rooms, 22 flexible care beds, 48 inpatient rooms, and a dedicated trauma/life support center.
- UW Health East Madison Hospital addition$133MFinishing end of 2026
A one-story addition adding 6 operating rooms, 14 inpatient beds, and 60 post-surgery care spaces.
- Epic Systems sixth campus ("Other Worlds")$13.2M water/sewer + $20M road work reimbursements (public infrastructure support)First buildings occupied early 2026
A "Black Hole" parking structure with 2,000+ stalls, three new office buildings, a food services building, and a 5.5-acre underground parking ramp on part of Epic's ~1,700-acre Verona campus.
These are the 3 projects we track in Madison. The Madison market page covers hiring conditions across every trade here.
What credentials matter for commercial cleaning & FM, and what kills offers in Madison.
The 4 credentials that gate the work and the 5 things that most often end a commercial cleaning & FM offer are the same in every market, kept in one place: Commercial Cleaning & FM credentials and offer risks, each linked to the body that issues it. What is local is the licensing rule above and the pay further up this page.
Frequently asked - Commercial Cleaning & FM hiring in Madison.
What do janitors and cleaners earn in Madison?
BLS puts the Madison median for janitors and cleaners at $39,680 a year, 8% above the $36,840 national median. That ranks 16th of 112 metros with published figures, in the top quarter. Pay is bunched together here, $31,200 to $48,120 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.5x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. No other Wisconsin metro we cover pays more for this work (Milwaukee: $36,620).
Is it hard to hire janitors and cleaners in Madison?
Not by national standards. Janitors and cleaners make up 17% more of the Madison workforce than they do nationally, about 6,780 people.
Which commercial cleaning & FM roles pay the most in Madison?
Of the roles we recruit for, VP of Operations pays the most in Madison, a $217,010 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Cleaning Team Lead / Supervisor at $53,830, 75% below it. Cleaning Team Member / Janitor is the lowest-paid field role at $39,680. Relative to national pay, Regional Operations Manager is the strongest-paying role here (20% above).
How many janitorial and commercial cleaning companies operate in Madison?
BLS counted 185 janitorial and commercial cleaning companies in Madison in 2023. That is roughly where the count stood in 2018 (184). BLS withholds their combined headcount and pay here, which it does when a category is small enough that the figures could identify individual employers.
Which nearby metros compete with Madison for janitors and cleaners?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Milwaukee (76 miles, about 14,380, $36,620 median), Chicago (123 miles, about 70,000, $38,470 median) and Grand Rapids (189 miles, about 11,490, $35,890 median). Milwaukee has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Madison out-pays Milwaukee and Grand Rapids, an advantage when recruiting from there.
Plenty of people. Few of them looking.
Madison has one of the deeper pools of janitors and cleaners we cover, but the best of them are already working. Let's find the ones ready to move.
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