House Cleaning

Residential cleaning is one of the most reliable local businesses: customers book weekly, biweekly, or monthly and stay for years. You supply your own products and set your own rates, typically $30-50 an hour or $120-250 per home. Deep cleans and move-out jobs pay more. It suits organized, thorough people who want recurring income without a license or degree.

Income assumptions: Assumes $130 average per home, 2-4 homes a day part-time, and $35-50 effective hourly once efficient. Higher figures assume a full recurring schedule or a second cleaner.

Estimated earnings based on available market information. Actual earnings vary by location, experience, demand, expenses, and time invested. Earnings are not guaranteed.

$80–$400 to get started. Time to first dollar is typically 3-14 days.

• Vacuum
• Microfiber cloths and mop
• Cleaning products caddy
• Vehicle
• Smartphone for booking

Age: 18+

Geography: Available everywhere; higher rates in affluent suburbs

1. 1Choose one or two neighborhoods and decide your service radius.
2. 2Buy a vacuum, microfiber cloths, mop, and a basic product caddy.
3. 3Set flat prices by home size with add-ons for ovens, fridges, and windows.
4. 4Get liability insurance and register your business name.
5. 5Post on Nextdoor and local groups and list on Thumbtack.
6. 6Offer the first clean at a small discount for a review and recurring booking.
7. 7Move every happy client onto a biweekly recurring schedule with a card on file.

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• Nextdoor and neighborhood Facebook groups
• Thumbtack and local service listings
• Referrals from current clients
• Realtors needing move-out cleans
• Airbnb hosts needing turnovers
• Door hangers in target streets

Quote flat rates by home size, around $120-180 for a standard three-bedroom and $250-400 for deep or move-out cleans, which works out to $35-50 an hour as you get faster. Add-ons for ovens, fridges, windows, and baseboards. Raise prices for new clients before raising them for loyal ones.

Your first clients come from people who already know you, so tell neighbors and post in local groups with before-and-after photos. Do a walkthrough, write down the scope, and overdeliver on the first clean. Ask for a recurring slot at the end of that visit.

• Charging hourly instead of flat rates per home
• Accepting clients far apart
• No written scope of work
• Underpricing deep cleans and move-outs
• Risk: Damaging surfaces or valuables
• Risk: Injury from repetitive work
• Risk: Working without liability insurance

Fill your week with biweekly recurring clients in a tight radius, then raise rates and drop the worst clients. Add Airbnb turnovers and move-out cleans for higher tickets, then hire a cleaner and pay 50-60% of the job while you manage bookings and quality.

Scalability 75/100 · Passive potential 5/100 · Recurring potential 90/100

Helpful: IRS Small Business and Self-Employed Tax Center · SBA business licensing guide

Run as a sole proprietor or LLC with separate business banking. Deduct supplies, equipment, mileage between homes, insurance, and marketing. Set aside 25-30% of profit for quarterly estimates. If you hire helpers, understand the difference between contractors and employees in your state.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Consult a professional for your situation.

Last researched: 2026-09-01 · Data quality: sample

Stored research / estimates — live data sources are not connected yet.