Commercial cleaning cost per square foot is the monthly cost of cleaning a building divided by its cleanable area. Published rates for outsourced janitorial service mostly fall between about $0.05 and $0.29 per square foot, and the same formula lets an in-house crew benchmark its own cost against them.
The ranges below come from ISSA, Buildingstars and Ziva Cleaning. Treat them as guidelines: scope, frequency, soil and local labor decide the real number.
- ISSA lists general office cleaning at $0.09 to $0.17 per square foot, retail at $0.07 to $0.15, schools at $0.07 to $0.14, industrial at $0.08 to $0.20 and healthcare at $0.14 to $0.29.
- Floor work is priced on top of routine service: ISSA puts strip and refinish at $0.30 to $0.60 per square foot, scrub and recoat at $0.20 to $0.40 and carpet cleaning at $0.08 to $0.25.
- The formula is total monthly cost divided by total cleanable square footage, so a $12,000 monthly cost on 100,000 square feet equals $0.12 per square foot, per ISSA.
- ISSA notes that more frequent cleaning often lowers the per-square-foot rate, and that autoscrubbers and similar equipment can raise efficiency over time.
What Is the Average Commercial Cleaning Cost per Square Foot?
Most published guides land between roughly $0.05 and $0.29 per square foot, depending on who is quoting and where. Buildingstars cites $0.05 to $0.20 per square foot (or $25 to $50 per hour), and Ziva Cleaning gives $0.10 to $0.25 for a standard office.
| Source | Stated range per sq ft | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| ISSA | $0.09 to $0.17 | General office |
| Buildingstars | $0.05 to $0.20 (or $25 to $50 per hour) | Commercial cleaning, typical |
| Ziva Cleaning | $0.10 to $0.25 | Standard office |
The spread is wide because the number is an output, not a constant. ISSA lists building type, frequency, soil level, services included, labor costs and equipment as the drivers.
How Does the Rate Change by Facility Type?
Healthcare costs the most and schools the least in the ISSA ranges. Higher-touch and higher-complexity buildings need more detailed cleaning, which raises the rate.
| Facility type | ISSA range per sq ft |
|---|---|
| General office | $0.09 to $0.17 |
| Medical and healthcare | $0.14 to $0.29 |
| Industrial or manufacturing | $0.08 to $0.20 |
| Retail | $0.07 to $0.15 |
| Schools and educational | $0.07 to $0.14 |
What Do Floor Services Cost per Square Foot?
Floor restoration is quoted separately from daily janitorial service, and it is the largest per-square-foot line. ISSA gives these specialty ranges:
| Service | ISSA range per sq ft |
|---|---|
| Strip and refinish | $0.30 to $0.60 |
| Scrub and recoat | $0.20 to $0.40 |
| Carpet cleaning | $0.08 to $0.25 |
If you do this work in-house, these are the figures your labor, machine time and supplies compete against. For the method, see how to strip and wax a floor and carpet extractor vs carpet cleaner.
How Do You Calculate Your Own Cost per Square Foot?
Divide your total monthly cleaning cost by your cleanable square footage. ISSA gives the formula and an example: a $12,000 monthly contract on 100,000 cleanable square feet is $0.12 per square foot.
- Measure cleanable area. Count floor area that is actually cleaned, not gross building area.
- Add up the monthly cost. For an in-house crew, include wages and benefits, supplies, and machine costs; for a contract, use the invoice.
- Divide. Total monthly cost divided by cleanable square feet.
- Compare by scope. Match the result to the facility-type range above, and compare like tasks and frequencies only.
- Recheck on change. ISSA advises revisiting pricing when square footage, usage or standards change.
ISSA also cautions that square-foot pricing is least accurate when needs vary a lot between spaces; in that case it points to workloading, which prices by task and frequency.
How Do You Lower the In-House Rate?
Raise cleaning efficiency, since labor is the biggest input. ISSA lists labor as a pricing driver, says routine frequency tends to lower the rate, and says equipment such as autoscrubbers often increases efficiency over time.
Three practical levers follow from that: schedule routine floor work so soil never builds up, use a machine for large open floors instead of a mop, and give the crew a written checklist so no task is repeated or missed. See the commercial cleaning checklist for a frequency-sorted task list.
The routine damp-mop product for daily hard-floor care. It is pH-neutral, low-residue and low-foam at label dilution, needs no rinse under normal conditions, and is labeled for mop or cleaning-system use on concrete, stone, ceramic, wood, laminate, marble, granite and terracotta. Test a hidden spot first. On a scrubber, look for foam in the recovery tank on the first fill, because foam pulled into the vacuum motor damages it.
Which Equipment Affects the Rate?
Machines change how many labor hours a floor takes. The models below are in our catalog and show their size and capacity in the listing.
| Task | Example machine | What the listing states |
|---|---|---|
| Large open hard floors | Dapper Supply walk-behind floor scrubber | 20 in. brush, 31.5 in. squeegee |
| Small areas and tight spaces | Dapper Supply mini automatic floor scrubber | 15 in. brush, 17 in. squeegee |
| Carpet extraction | U.S. Products Pegasus Pro 500H | Dual-cord, heated, 12.5 gal, 50 to 500 PSI |
Browse floor scrubbers, carpet extractors and commercial vacuums. Whatever you run, keep walking surfaces clean and, to the extent feasible, dry per OSHA (29 CFR 1910.22(a)(2)), and schedule wet work after hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does commercial cleaning cost per square foot?
Published ranges run from about $0.05 to $0.29 per square foot. ISSA lists general office cleaning at $0.09 to $0.17, Buildingstars cites $0.05 to $0.20 and Ziva Cleaning gives $0.10 to $0.25 for a standard office.
How do you calculate cleaning cost per square foot?
Divide total monthly cost by total cleanable square footage. ISSA's example is $12,000 divided by 100,000 square feet, which equals $0.12 per square foot.
Which facilities cost the most to clean?
Medical and healthcare facilities, at $0.14 to $0.29 per square foot in the ISSA ranges, versus $0.07 to $0.14 for schools.
How much does it cost to strip and wax a floor?
ISSA lists strip and refinish at $0.30 to $0.60 per square foot and scrub and recoat at $0.20 to $0.40.
When is square-foot pricing not accurate?
When cleaning needs differ greatly between spaces. ISSA recommends workloading, which prices by task and frequency, for those facilities.
Related Guides
- Commercial Cleaning Checklist
- How to Strip and Wax a Floor
- How to Use a Floor Scrubber
- Best Commercial Floor Scrubber