What Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners earn in Pierce County, WA
If you are weighing a move or a job offer, start with $46,490: the median annual pay for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Pierce County, WA. Spread over a standard 2,080-hour work year, that is $22.35 an hour. Because the wage survey covers the whole Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area, the number reflects employers across the region rather than a single town or a single company.
The mean wage is $49,380, which is 6.2% above the median, a sign that a group of high earners lifts the average. The survey counts about 26,820 people working in this occupation across the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Pierce County, WA has roughly 930,319 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $38,490 a year ($18.50 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $63,120 or more ($30.35 an hour). That is a gap of $24,630 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $41,450 at the 25th percentile and $57,050 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.6 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: $22.35 an hour or $46,490 a year at the median for Pierce County, WA. Before any deductions, that is $3,874 a month, $1,788 every two weeks and $894 each week. After taxes the same job pays $18.98 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Pierce County, WA compares
Compared with the Washington average
A worker in this occupation in Pierce County, WA earns $2,523 more than the Washington average of $43,967, a premium of 5.7%. Over a year that premium is worth $2,523 before tax and roughly $2,143 after tax. Within Washington, Pierce County, WA 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 $46,490, Pierce County, WA pays $9,407 more, which is 25.4% above 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 Pierce County, WA
Among the 612 occupations with published wages in Pierce County, WA, Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners ranks number 553 by median pay, ahead of about 10% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is Computer and Information Systems Managers at $214,680 a year, which is $168,190 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 Pierce County, WA median of $46,490, they add up to $7,007. The result is $39,483 of take-home pay a year ($3,290 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 $30,740. 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 $3,450, an effective 7.4% 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 $2,882 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $674. FICA totals $3,556, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Washington
Washington does not tax wage income, so the state income tax line for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Pierce County, WA is $0. That alone leaves more in the paycheck than the same salary would in a state with an income tax. For scale, a hypothetical flat 5% state tax on this salary would cost about $2,325 a year, so the absence of a state tax is worth roughly $194 a month.
A cross-check with IRS data for Pierce County, WA
IRS Statistics of Income data for Pierce County, WA show an average adjusted gross income of $94,511 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 12.9% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.2%, compared with the 7.4% 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 Pierce County, WA
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Pierce County, WA: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $39,483 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Pierce County, WA, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,682 a month ($20,184 a year), and at $2,064 for two bedrooms. For Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners, a one-bedroom absorbs 51.1% of take-home pay and 43.4% 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 7.4% of gross pay for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Pierce County, WA. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Washington residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $1,257 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $475, for $1,732 in total. Gasoline in Washington averages $4.07 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,883.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $27,234 a year in Pierce County, WA. Subtract that from $39,483 of take-home pay and $12,249 remains, which is $1,021 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 26.3% of gross pay, a comfortable cushion by common budgeting rules.
Can Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners afford to live in Pierce County, WA?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $46,490 that ceiling is $1,162 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,682 is $520 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $32.35 an hour; the median for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners is $22.35, which is 31% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $18.98 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 20.4 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $2,064 a month means $1,032 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $7,800 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $20,049.
How fast you can save
At $1,021 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 10 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 20 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 Pierce County, WA
How much do Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners make per hour in Pierce County, WA?
The median is $22.35 per hour, based on $46,490 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $18.50 at the 10th percentile to $30.35 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners take home after taxes in Pierce County, WA?
After federal income tax, FICA, the median salary of $46,490 becomes $39,483 a year. That is $3,290 a month, $1,519 every two weeks or $759 a week.
How much tax do Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners pay in Pierce County, WA?
Total taxes are $7,007 a year, an effective rate of 15.1%: $3,450 federal income tax, $3,556 FICA and no Washington income tax.
Do Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners earn more in Pierce County, WA than elsewhere in Washington?
Yes. The local median of $46,490 is +5.7% versus the Washington average of $43,967, a difference of $2,523 a year.
Can Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners afford a one-bedroom apartment in Pierce County, WA?
A one-bedroom costs $1,682 a month against take-home pay of $3,290, which is 51.1% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,162 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners in Pierce County, WA?
About $1,021 a month ($12,249 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $27,234 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Pierce County, WA at the 30% guideline?
$32.35 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $20,184 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners is $22.35.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 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 Washington 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.