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Boston Career Explorer

Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance

Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

Keep buildings in clean and orderly condition. Perform heavy cleaning duties, such as cleaning floors, shampooing rugs, washing walls and glass, and removing rubbish. Duties may include tending furnace and boiler, performing routine maintenance activities, notifying management of need for repairs, and cleaning snow or debris from sidewalk.

Also called: Building Custodian, Building Services Technician (Building Services Tech), Building Services Worker, Cleaner, Custodial Worker, Custodian

Compare with my current job (Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other)
Median pay in Greater Boston
$46,550
$22.38/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
43,160
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+2.8%
8,490 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
No formal educational credential
plus Short-term on-the-job training

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$35,680$38,150$46,550$49,770$60,570

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Service, clean, or supply restrooms.
  • Gather and empty trash.
  • Clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming.
  • Monitor building security and safety by performing tasks such as locking doors after operating hours or checking electrical appliance use to ensure that hazards are not created.
  • Notify managers concerning the need for major repairs or additions to building operating systems.
  • Follow procedures for the use of chemical cleaners and power equipment to prevent damage to floors and fixtures.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Lower exposure9 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 5
  • Language-model AIOE 14
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 8

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

Janitor work is mostly hands-on, so AI exposure is lower and observed AI use is little or none. Cleaning restrooms, emptying trash, and mopping or vacuuming floors are physical jobs that AI tools do not do. AI tools may help a little with reporting building problems to managers and with keeping track of safety checks.

Likely to change

  • Writing up repair requests for managers
  • Tracking safety and security checks

Still relies on people

  • Cleaning restrooms, floors, and trash areas
  • Spotting hazards while walking the building

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers

    Clearing debris, snow, and sidewalks and using powered equipment carry over to grounds work, with slightly higher pay and no formal credential needed.

    Pay difference
    +$2,480 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +3.8%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

  • Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles

    Your floor care experience carries over to installing floor coverings, a field with 11.3% projected growth in Massachusetts and a much higher Boston median pay.

    Pay difference
    +$51,740 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +11.3%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

  • Painters, Construction and Maintenance

    Washing walls and preparing surfaces carry over to painting, which pays more and is taught through moderate on-the-job training.

    Pay difference
    +$11,270 median
    AI exposure
    Lower
    MA growth
    +5.5%
    To get started
    No formal educational credential

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.

Talk to a career coach at the Office of Workforce Development about apprenticeships and City partner programs.

Related occupations

Talk to a career coach

A coach at the Office of Workforce Development can help you plan your next step, and connect you with training, apprenticeships and City partner programs that are not listed here.

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