Commercial Cleaning & FM recruiters serving Richmond.
About 9,270 janitors and cleaners work in the Richmond metro, at a $34,200 median. BLS counts 395 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 Richmond.
BLS counts about 9,990 people working in the occupations behind these roles across the Richmond metro, the largest group being janitors and cleaners (about 9,270). Relative to the size of the local economy, janitors and cleaners are about as concentrated here as nationally (location quotient 0.99). Local headcount and pay for each role are below; role descriptions are on the Commercial Cleaning & FM hub.
Cleaning Team Member / Janitor
Richmond: 9,270 employed · $34,200 median, 83rd-highest of 112 metros
Cleaning Team Lead / Supervisor
Richmond: 720 employed · $46,540 median, 79th-highest of 111 metros
Site Manager / Account Manager
Richmond: 570 employed · $115,530 median, 42nd-highest of 110 metros
Regional Operations Manager
Richmond: 15,770 employed · $108,670 median, 38th-highest of 112 metros
Facilities Manager
Richmond: 440 employed · $110,780 median, 32nd-highest of 112 metros
Facilities Coordinator
Richmond: 4,940 employed · $47,840 median, 41st-highest of 111 metros
Building Engineer
Richmond: 4,460 employed · $76,630 median, 71st-highest of 112 metros
Healthcare Cleaning Specialist
Data Center / Cleanroom Cleaner
VP of Operations
Richmond: 820 employed · $326,160 median, 8th-highest of 98 metros
What Commercial Cleaning & FM roles earn in Richmond.
Janitors and cleaners in Richmond earn a median $34,200, 7% under the $36,840 national figure, and 83rd of 112 metros. Pay runs $28,660 at the tenth percentile to $45,850 at the ninetieth. The best-paid role below is first-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers, at $46,540 against $49,100 nationally.
| Role | Richmond median | Typical range | National median | vs. national | Employed locally |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning Team Member / Janitor · Healthcare Cleaning Specialist · Data Center / Cleanroom CleanerJanitors and Cleaners (37-2011) | $34,200 | $28,660–$45,850 | $36,840 | −7% | 9,270 |
| Cleaning Team Lead / SupervisorFirst-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers (37-1011) | $46,540 | $35,280–$75,550 | $49,100 | −5% | 720 |
| Site Manager / Account ManagerAdministrative Services Managers (11-3012) | $115,530 | $73,900–$180,100 | $114,130 | +1% | 570 |
| Regional Operations ManagerGeneral and Operations Managers (11-1021) | $108,670 | $57,070–$229,230 | $105,770 | +3% | 15,770 |
| Facilities ManagerFacilities Managers (11-3013) | $110,780 | $74,320–$168,940 | $106,660 | +4% | 440 |
| Facilities CoordinatorSecretaries and Administrative Assistants (43-6014) | $47,840 | $34,230–$63,120 | $47,540 | +1% | 4,940 |
| Building EngineerFirst-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers (47-1011) | $76,630 | $53,000–$108,220 | $79,920 | −4% | 4,460 |
| VP of OperationsChief Executives (11-1011) | $326,160 | $130,130–$558,600 | $213,990 | +52% | 820 |
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Richmond 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 Richmond's commercial cleaning & FM market has changed since 2018.
Richmond lost janitorial and commercial cleaning companies between 2018 and 2023, from 464 business locations to 395 (down 15%), behind the 14% growth nationally. Headcount at those firms went down 14%, to about 5,392 people. Average annual pay there went from $19,694 to $27,921 (+42%), 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 | 464 | 395 | −15% |
| Janitorial and commercial cleaning companies: employment | 6,249 | 5,392 | −14% |
| Janitorial and commercial cleaning companies: average annual pay | $19,694 | $27,921 | +42% |
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
Richmond sits at about the national rate for commercial cleaning — neither unusually deep nor unusually thin.
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 Richmond's commercial cleaning market compares
Among the 100 metros we cover with published BLS figures, Richmond ranks 44th for headcount, 74th for median pay and 35th for concentration for janitors and building cleaners.
| Metro | Employed | Median pay | Concentration | Commercial employers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia Beach | 11,840 | $33,580 | 1.09 | 474 |
| Richmond | 9,270 | $34,200 | 0.99 | 395 |
BLS OEWS occupation figures and QCEW business-location counts; a dash means not published.
What this means for hiring:For commercial cleaning employers in Richmond, the pool is about the national norm for its size and local employers are adding people, so expect competing offers on experienced candidates and keep the process short.
Sources: BLS QCEW 2023 annual averages and BLS OEWS May 2025, Richmond metro. Employers are counted by business location.
Nearby markets competing for Richmond talent.
The closest metro we cover is Virginia Beach, about 95 miles away, with roughly 11,840 janitors and cleaners (1.3 times Richmond's 9,270). Washington, D.C. pays the most nearby, a $37,840 median, 11% above Richmond. That is the number any Richmond offer is competing with when experienced people weigh a move. Washington, D.C. has the deepest pool within reach, so a search for senior roles here usually extends there.
| Metro | Distance | Employed | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond | – | 9,270 | $34,200 |
| Virginia Beach | 95 mi | 11,840 | $33,580 |
| Washington, D.C. | 95 mi | 59,090 | $37,840 |
| Baltimore | 128 mi | 19,050 | $36,460 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill | 134 mi | 3,150 | $36,590 |
| Raleigh | 139 mi | 7,310 | $34,980 |
BLS OEWS, May 2025; straight-line miles.
What else is competing for Richmond crews.
Not commercial cleaning & FM work. These are the capital projects big enough to pull the same crews into Richmond in the months you are trying to fill a seat, each with the status its own market page reports.
- CleanArc Caroline County campus~$3B (900MW, three buildings, ~1.47M sq ft total -- not the $11B/3.9M figure sometimes cited)Multi-year, broke ground
One of the largest data-center campuses announced along the I-95 corridor stretching toward Richmond - a massive draw on the same regional mechanical and electrical labor pool Richmond-based contractors compete for.
- Vantage Data Centers VA4 campus (Stafford County)$2B, ~929,000 sq ftFirst building expected late 2027
Three two-story buildings on 82 acres, further up the I-95 corridor. Part of the broader stretch of hyperscale development pulling data-center talent toward Richmond from Fredericksburg and points north.
- Richmond-area data-center capacity surge100MW → 800MW+ in H1 2025Ongoing, fastest of any US city
A sevenfold increase in six months - Richmond added more data-center capacity in the first half of 2025 than any other US city, growing faster than Dallas and Chicago combined. This is the single defining trend shaping commercial trades demand in the metro.
Showing 3 of 4 projects tracked in this metro. The Richmond market page lists them all.
What credentials matter for commercial cleaning & FM, and what kills offers in Richmond.
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 Richmond.
What do janitors and cleaners earn in Richmond?
BLS puts the Richmond median for janitors and cleaners at $34,200 a year, 7% below the $36,840 national median. That ranks 83rd of 112 metros with published figures, in the middle of the pack. Pay is bunched together here, $28,660 to $45,850 across the 10th to 90th percentile and only a 1.6x gap, so small differences in an offer are noticed. No other Virginia metro we cover pays more for this work (Virginia Beach: $33,580).
Is it hard to hire janitors and cleaners in Richmond?
It is about average. Janitors and cleaners are as common in Richmond as they are nationally (location quotient 0.99), with about 9,270 in the metro. The 395 janitorial and commercial cleaning companies here average about 14 employees per location. There are 15% fewer of those firms than in 2018, so experienced people have fewer local employers to move between.
Which commercial cleaning & FM roles pay the most in Richmond?
Of the roles we recruit for, VP of Operations pays the most in Richmond, a $326,160 median (BLS measures that occupation across all industries in the metro). Among field roles the top earner is Cleaning Team Lead / Supervisor at $46,540, 86% below it. Cleaning Team Member / Janitor is the lowest-paid field role at $34,200. Relative to national pay, VP of Operations is the strongest-paying role here (52% above). Cleaning Team Member / Janitor trails national pay the most (7% below).
How many janitorial and commercial cleaning companies operate in Richmond?
BLS counted 395 janitorial and commercial cleaning companies in Richmond in 2023, employing about 5,392 people between them. Down from 464 in 2018, a 15% decline against 14% growth nationally. That averages 14 people per location. They pay an average of $27,921, 14% below the $32,388 national average for the same kind of employer.
Which nearby metros compete with Richmond for janitors and cleaners?
The closest metros we cover with published figures are Virginia Beach (95 miles, about 11,840, $33,580 median), Washington, D.C. (95 miles, about 59,090, $37,840 median) and Baltimore (128 miles, about 19,050, $36,460 median). Washington, D.C. has the larger pool, so it is the first place to look for senior people willing to move. Washington, D.C. pays 11% more, which is where Richmond employers tend to lose people.
The seat is open. The pipeline should not be.
395 janitorial and commercial cleaning companies in Richmond are drawing on the same 9,270 janitors and cleaners. Let's get your next hire lined up first.
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