Start from the wage, not from a rate
Cleaning is roughly two thirds labour. The median janitorial wage in the United States is $17.71 an hour (BLS, May 2025), but it runs from about $13.64 to $21.91 depending on the state — a spread of more than 60% on the largest line in the contract. Any quote built from a national per-square-foot figure has skipped the only number that matters.
The build-up
Cleanable square feet by space type, divided by the production rate for that space at the chosen APPA level, gives productive hours per night. Multiply by service nights, add a relief factor for unfilled shifts and training overlap, multiply by the loaded wage — base pay plus payroll taxes, workers compensation, paid leave, uniforms and training, typically 1.20 to 1.28 for a new employer. Then add site supervision, consumables, equipment amortisation, quality control and vehicle, and finally overhead and margin.
Where that lands
| 60,000 sq ft elementary, 5 nights, summer included | Per year | $/sq ft/mo |
|---|---|---|
| APPA Level 2 — ordinary tidiness | ~$180,000 | 0.250 |
| APPA Level 3 — casual inattention | ~$147,000 | 0.204 |
| APPA Level 4 — what most districts buy | ~$131,000 | 0.182 |
| Level 4, nightly only, no summer block | ~$115,000 | 0.159 |
| add full-time day porter | +$30,000–55,000 | — |
Indicative, for budgeting. Contractor-supplied consumables unless stated. Real numbers come from a timed walk-through of your building.
The three variables that move the price most
Service level moves it about 22% between Level 2 and Level 3. Day porter in or out moves it up to 35%. Consumables — paper, soap, liners — in or out is about 7%. Wage assumptions and burden move it perhaps 5%. Argue about the first three; the last one is noise.
What the market actually pays
Across verified district awards, the median runs near $0.14 per square foot per month — but those are portfolios of 40 to 90 buildings sharing one management structure. A single building carries its own supervision and equipment, so it sits higher. That is overhead, not inefficiency, and any contractor who quotes you a large-portfolio rate for one school will make it back by under-staffing.
Cost per student, if that is how your board thinks
At around 120–150 square feet per student, a Level 4 contract works out near $250–350 per student per year. Useful for a board presentation; useless for a bid. Price the building, not the roll.