What Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners earn in DeSoto County, MS
The median pay for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in DeSoto County, MS is $32,580 per year, which works out to $15.66 per hour. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics wage survey for the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metropolitan area, the labor market that DeSoto County, MS belongs to. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than the median and half earn less, which makes it a sturdier yardstick than an average that a few very high earners can pull upward.
The mean wage is $34,300, which is 5.3% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 8,070 people working in this occupation across the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. DeSoto County, MS has roughly 191,301 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $25,170 a year ($12.10 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $44,740 or more ($21.51 an hour). That is a gap of $19,570 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $29,260 at the 25th percentile and $36,940 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.8 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $15.66 an hour or $32,580 a year at the median for DeSoto County, MS. Before any deductions, that is $2,715 a month, $1,253 every two weeks and $627 each week. After taxes the same job pays $13.31 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
About this occupation: Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
The U.S. Department of Labor's O*NET database describes the work of Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners this way: "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."
Core tasks recorded by O*NET include: "Service, clean, or supply restrooms"; "Gather and empty trash"; "Clean building floors by sweeping, mopping, scrubbing, or vacuuming"; "Follow procedures for the use of chemical cleaners and power equipment to prevent damage to floors and fixtures".
Job outlook for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects national employment in this occupation to grow from 2,432,600 jobs in 2025 to 2,486,200 in 2035, a change of +2.2%, slower than the 3.5% projected for all occupations. The projection counts 321,800 openings a year on average, including positions created by growth and positions left by workers who retire or move to another occupation; that equals 13.2% of current employment each year.
Typical entry-level education: no formal educational credential. Typical on-the-job training to reach competency: short-term on-the-job training. BLS lists a national median annual wage of $36,840 for this occupation; the DeSoto County, MS median of $32,580 is 11.6% below it.
How pay in DeSoto County, MS compares
Compared with the Mississippi average
A worker in this occupation in DeSoto County, MS earns $2,649 more than the Mississippi average of $29,931, a premium of 8.8%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,649 before tax and roughly $2,251 after tax. Within Mississippi, DeSoto County, MS already has the highest median we track for this job.
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners is $37,083 across the contiguous United States. At $32,580, DeSoto County, MS pays $4,503 less, which is 12.1% below that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in DeSoto County, MS
Among the 502 occupations with published wages in DeSoto County, MS, Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners ranks number 466 by median pay, ahead of about 7% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is General and Operations Managers at $102,510 a year, which is $69,930 more than the median for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners earning the DeSoto County, MS median of $32,580, they add up to $4,902. The result is $27,678 of take-home pay a year ($2,307 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $15 goes to taxes and $85 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 15.1%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $16,830. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $1,781, an effective 5.5% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,020 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $472. FICA totals $2,492, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Mississippi
Mississippi income tax on this salary is $628 a year, or 1.9% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 35% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $52 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for DeSoto County, MS
IRS Statistics of Income data for DeSoto County, MS show an average adjusted gross income of $71,275 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 10.8% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 4.3%, compared with the 5.5% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in DeSoto County, MS
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in DeSoto County, MS: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $27,678 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For DeSoto County, MS, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,191 a month ($14,292 a year), and at $1,301 for two bedrooms. For Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners, a one-bedroom absorbs 51.6% of take-home pay and 43.9% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 10.5% of gross pay for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in DeSoto County, MS. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Mississippi residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,415 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $612, for $2,028 in total. Gasoline in Mississippi averages $2.90 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,342.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $21,098 a year in DeSoto County, MS. Subtract that from $27,678 of take-home pay and $6,580 remains, which is $548 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 20.2% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Local housing and commute data for DeSoto County, MS
The budget above covers rent, food, energy and gasoline. Three more local facts shape what a paycheck buys in DeSoto County, MS: property taxes, housing prices and the daily commute. The figures below are exact U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates for DeSoto County, MS, set beside the Mississippi and national medians.
Property taxes in DeSoto County, MS
Homeowners in DeSoto County, MS pay a median of $1,613 a year in real estate taxes, 33% above the Mississippi median of $1,215 and 48% below the U.S. median of $3,119. Against a median home value of $269,600, the median tax bill is 0.60% of that value (the ratio of the two county medians). For a worker paid the local Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners median of $32,580, a tax bill of that size would equal 5.0% of gross pay, which matters for anyone planning to buy rather than rent.
Rents, home prices and household income in DeSoto County, MS
Renters in DeSoto County, MS pay a median gross rent of $1,451 a month in the Census survey, 52% above the Mississippi median of $954. HUD's Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom apartment, which this site uses in the budget, is $1,191 a month; the two measures differ because the Census figure covers units of every size that renters already occupy, while the HUD figure is a one-bedroom benchmark. The median value of an owner-occupied home is $269,600, 59% above the Mississippi median of $169,800. Median household income is $85,297, 51% above the Mississippi median of $56,447, so a year of one-bedroom Fair Market Rent equals 16.8% of that income.
Commuting in DeSoto County, MS
Workers in DeSoto County, MS who travel to a workplace spend an average of 26.2 minutes each way, 2% above the Mississippi average of 25.6. For someone who commutes five days a week, that is 4.4 hours of round-trip travel every week, a cost the budget does not price. 8.2% of workers in DeSoto County, MS work from home, compared with 15.1% nationally, which removes the commute for them.
Can Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners afford to live in DeSoto County, MS?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $32,580 that ceiling is $815 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,191 is $377 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $22.90 an hour; the median for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners is $15.66, which is 32% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $13.31 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 20.7 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,301 a month means $651 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $6,486 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $13,066.
How fast you can save
At $548 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 19 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 38 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners pay in DeSoto County, MS
How much do Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners make per hour in DeSoto County, MS?
The median is $15.66 per hour, based on $32,580 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $12.10 at the 10th percentile to $21.51 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners take home after taxes in DeSoto County, MS?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $32,580 becomes $27,678 a year. That is $2,307 a month, $1,065 every two weeks or $532 a week.
How much tax do Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners pay in DeSoto County, MS?
Total taxes are $4,902 a year, an effective rate of 15.1%: $1,781 federal income tax, $2,492 FICA and $628 Mississippi income tax.
Do Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners earn more in DeSoto County, MS than elsewhere in Mississippi?
Yes. The local median of $32,580 is +8.8% versus the Mississippi average of $29,931, a difference of $2,649 a year.
Can Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners afford a one-bedroom apartment in DeSoto County, MS?
A one-bedroom costs $1,191 a month against take-home pay of $2,307, which is 51.6% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $815 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in DeSoto County, MS?
About $548 a month ($6,580 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $21,098 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in DeSoto County, MS at the 30% guideline?
$22.90 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $14,292 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners is $15.66.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Mississippi rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.