Commercial Cleaning & FM recruiters serving Milwaukee.
Milwaukee has 23% more janitors and cleaners per job than the country as a whole, about 14,380 in the metro. BLS counts 431 business locations of janitorial and commercial cleaning companies across the metro. Below: local pay for every role we staff, the state licensing rules that apply and the nearby markets competing for the same people.
Positions we recruit for in Milwaukee.
BLS counts about 15,160 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Milwaukee metro, the largest group being janitors and cleaners (about 14,380). Relative to the size of the local economy, janitors and cleaners are more concentrated here than nationally (location quotient 1.23). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Cleaning & FM hub.
Cleaning Team Member / Janitor
Milwaukee: 14,380 employed · $36,620 median, 43rd-highest of 112 metros
Cleaning Team Lead / Supervisor
Milwaukee: 780 employed · $50,590 median, 41st-highest of 111 metros
Site Manager / Account Manager
Milwaukee: 1,650 employed · $116,990 median, 40th-highest of 110 metros
Regional Operations Manager
Milwaukee: 10,480 employed · $125,490 median, 14th-highest of 112 metros
Facilities Manager
Milwaukee: 680 employed · $103,620 median, 58th-highest of 112 metros
Facilities Coordinator
Milwaukee: 7,930 employed · $48,480 median, 35th-highest of 111 metros
Building Engineer
Milwaukee: 3,860 employed · $91,760 median, 22nd-highest of 112 metros
Healthcare Cleaning Specialist
Data Center / Cleanroom Cleaner
VP of Operations
Milwaukee: $216,240 median, 49th-highest of 98 metros
What Commercial Cleaning & FM roles earn in Milwaukee.
Janitors and cleaners in Milwaukee earn a median $36,620, level with the $36,840 national figure, and 43rd of 112 metros. Pay runs $29,600 at the tenth percentile to $47,740 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is first-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers, at $50,590 against $49,100 nationally.
| Role | Milwaukee median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning Team Member / Janitor · Healthcare Cleaning Specialist · Data Center / Cleanroom CleanerJanitors and Cleaners (37-2011) | $36,620 | $29,600–$47,740 | $36,840 | −1% | 14,380 |
| Cleaning Team Lead / SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers (37-1011) | $50,590 | $40,020–$78,360 | $49,100 | +3% | 780 |
| Site Manager / Account ManagerAdministrative Services Managers (11-3012) | $116,990 | $73,150–$191,460 | $114,130 | +3% | 1,650 |
| Regional Operations ManagerGeneral and Operations Managers (11-1021) | $125,490 | $61,420–$260,040 | $105,770 | +19% | 10,480 |
| Facilities ManagerFacilities Managers (11-3013) | $103,620 | $75,360–$157,400 | $106,660 | −3% | 680 |
| Facilities CoordinatorSecretaries and Administrative Assistants (43-6014) | $48,480 | $37,440–$62,730 | $47,540 | +2% | 7,930 |
| Building EngineerFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $91,760 | $50,040–$129,780 | $79,920 | +15% | 3,860 |
| VP of OperationsChief Executives (11-1011) | $216,240 | $115,030–$477,900 | $213,990 | +1% | – |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Milwaukee 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 Milwaukee's commercial cleaning & FM market has changed since 2018.
Milwaukee lost janitorial and commercial cleaning companies between 2018 and 2023, from 432 business locations to 431 (down 0%), behind the 14% growth nationally. Headcount at those firms went down 4%, to about 7,701 people. Average annual pay there went from $18,584 to $26,505 (+43%), faster than the 36% national increase, a sign employers here have had to bid up.
| Measure | 2018 | 2023 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janitorial and commercial cleaning companies: business locations | 432 | 431 | −0% |
| Janitorial and commercial cleaning companies: employment | 8,037 | 7,701 | −4% |
| Janitorial and commercial cleaning companies: average annual pay | $18,584 | $26,505 | +43% |
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
Milwaukee runs 23% 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 Milwaukee's commercial cleaning market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Milwaukee ranks 30th for headcount, 38th for median pay and 8th for concentration for janitors and building cleaners. That puts it among the deepest commercial cleaning labor markets in the country.
| 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 Milwaukee, the pool is deep and still growing, so the constraint is competition rather than supply. Move fast on good candidates, because another local firm is probably talking to them too.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Milwaukee metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Commercial Cleaning & FM licensing in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin does not credential cleaning, janitorial or building-service contractors. The Department's professions list covers business, health, trades, manufactured homes and combat sports, and the nearest entries are trade credentials - Dwelling Contractor, Electrical Contractor, HVAC Contractor, Automatic Fire Sprinkler Contractor, Elevator Contractor and Utility Contractor - none of which covers building cleaning. There is no janitorial or property-service registry. Pesticide applicator certification and commercial application business licensing sit with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection under ATCP 29 rather than with this department, and whether that reaches general-use disinfectants applied for hire was not settled from a primary source, so take the question there before you market it. The same state rules apply in Madison, so candidates licensed there can work in Milwaukee without re-qualifying.
Licensing authority: Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services. Confirm current rules with the agency.
Nearby markets competing for Milwaukee talent.
The closest metro we cover is Madison, about 75 miles away, with roughly 6,780 janitors and cleaners (0.5 times Milwaukee's 14,380). Madison pays the most nearby, a $39,680 median, 8% above Milwaukee. That is the number any Milwaukee offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move. Chicago has the deepest pool within reach, so a search for senior roles here usually extends there.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | – | 14,380 | $36,620 |
| Madison | 76 mi | 6,780 | $39,680 |
| Chicago | 83 mi | 70,000 | $38,470 |
| Grand Rapids | 113 mi | 11,490 | $35,890 |
| Indianapolis | 243 mi | 17,240 | $36,850 |
| Detroit | 252 mi | 26,810 | $36,680 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Milwaukee crews.
Not commercial cleaning & FM work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Milwaukee in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- Microsoft Racine County data center$3.3B Phase 1 (operational since April 2026); a $4B second phase and a proposed $13.3B expansion would bring total commitment toward $20B+Phase 1 complete; later phases proposed/announced, not yet built
One of the largest data-center investments in the Midwest, just south of Milwaukee. Massive mechanical and electrical scope for a facility of this scale.
- Vantage Data Centers 'Lighthouse' campus (Port Washington, WI - ~30 min north of Milwaukee, not the Racine corridor; Meta's only WI data center is in Beaver Dam, ~60 mi away, also not the Racine corridor)$15BThrough 2028
A hyperscale campus in the broader Milwaukee metro (geographically north, not part of the Racine corridor with Foxconn and Microsoft) compounding regional demand for mission-critical mechanical and electrical talent.
- Foxconn Mount Pleasant expansion$569M (part of $1.2B total committed through 2029)Through 2029
Adds to Foxconn's Wisconn Valley Science and Technology Park, creating 1,374 jobs over four years. Includes a Smart Manufacturing Center and a High-Performance Computing Data Center, with Mortenson selected as construction manager.
Showing 3 of 4 projects tracked in this metro. The Milwaukee market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial cleaning & FM, and what kills offers in Milwaukee.
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 Milwaukee.
What do janitors and cleaners earn in Milwaukee?
BLS puts the Milwaukee median for janitors and cleaners at $36,620 a year, about the same as the $36,840 national median. That ranks 43rd of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $29,600 to $47,740 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. Within Wisconsin, Madison pays more, at $39,680.
Is it hard to hire janitors and cleaners in Milwaukee?
Not by national standards. Janitors and cleaners make up 23% more of the Milwaukee workforce than they do nationally, about 14,380 people. The 431 janitorial and commercial cleaning companies here average about 18 employees per location.
Which commercial cleaning & FM roles pay the most in Milwaukee?
Of the roles we recruit for, VP of Operations pays the most in Milwaukee, a $216,240 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Cleaning Team Lead / Supervisor at $50,590, 77% below it. Cleaning Team Member / Janitor is the lowest-paid field role at $36,620. Relative to national pay, Regional Operations Manager is the strongest-paying role here (19% above).
How many janitorial and commercial cleaning companies operate in Milwaukee?
BLS counted 431 janitorial and commercial cleaning companies in Milwaukee in 2023, employing about 7,701 people between them. That is roughly where the count stood in 2018 (432). That averages 18 people per location. They pay an average of $26,505, 18% below the $32,388 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Milwaukee for janitors and cleaners?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Madison (76 miles, about 6,780, $39,680 median), Chicago (83 miles, about 70,000, $38,470 median) and Grand Rapids (113 miles, about 11,490, $35,890 median). Chicago has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Madison pays 8% more, which is where Milwaukee employers tend to lose people.
Plenty of people. Few of them looking.
Milwaukee 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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