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Following
are some interesting facts and figures on the residential cleaning business.
This information has been gathered both from research and through our own
experience during our years in the residential cleaning business.
Number of American Households
Hiring Cleaning Help:
According to a report by American
Demographics, the number of households turning to outside help with
their house cleaning chores was predicted to increase from an estimated 10
million in the year 2000 to 10,740,000 by 2006.
Frequency of Cleaning Visits:
The key to building a viable residential
cleaning business is to develop a clientele who use the service on a
regular weekly, biweekly or monthly schedule. Our own experience
around the country over 15 years has revealed the following breakdown as
being typical:
|
Frequency of Cleaning Schedule |
Percentage of Clients |
|
Weekly |
12.07% |
|
Biweekly |
70.35% |
|
Monthly |
12.17% |
|
Other (one
time, periodically, etc.) |
5.41% |
Typical Demographic Profile of a Residential
Cleaning Customer:
We have found that typical clients are
dual-income households, professional single adults, high income single
parent families, and affluent empty nesters and retirees. They will
typically be between 35 and 64 years of age, with a household income over
$75,000 annually. However, virtually EVERY household earning over
$100,000 a year, regardless of other demographics, is a prime candidate for
a weekly, biweekly or monthly cleaning service. Even households with
high six- or seven-figure incomes who have part- or fulltime domestics often
hire outside professional cleaners to assist their live-in help.
Number of U.S. Households by state
with the following demographics:
Annual Income: $100,000 or more
Age: 35 - 64
Own their Home
|
STATE |
# HOUSEHOLDS * |
|
ALABAMA |
130,137
|
|
ALASKA |
46,794 |
|
ARIZONA |
225,705 |
|
ARKANSAS |
53,303
|
|
CALIFORNIA |
1,801,578 |
|
COLORADO |
281,462 |
|
CONNECTICUT |
284,250 |
|
DELAWARE |
53,525 |
|
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA |
30,288 |
|
FLORIDA |
871,215 |
|
GEORGIA |
364,398
|
|
HAWAII |
42,485
|
|
IDAHO |
43,036 |
|
ILLINOIS |
601,244
|
|
INDIANA |
242,089 |
|
IOWA |
85,321
|
|
KANSAS |
103,875
|
|
KENTUCKY |
113,087 |
|
LOUISIANA |
140,151
|
|
MAINE |
44,183
|
|
MARYLAND |
439,313
|
|
MASSACHUSETTS |
494,034
|
|
MICHIGAN |
484,935 |
|
MINNESOTA |
308,815
|
|
MISSISSIPPI |
54,402 |
|
MISSOURI |
211,447
|
|
MONTANA |
26,189
|
|
NEBRASKA |
74,706
|
|
NEVADA |
139,495
|
|
NEW HAMPSHIRE |
94,935 |
|
NEW JERSEY |
683,078 |
|
NEW MEXICO |
55,780
|
|
NEW YORK |
944,314 |
|
NORTH CAROLINA |
376,022
|
|
NORTH DAKOTA |
11,676
|
|
OHIO |
542,072 |
|
OKLAHOMA |
86,506
|
|
OREGON |
168,452
|
|
PENNSYLVANIA |
487,814 |
|
RHODE ISLAND |
45,486
|
|
SOUTH CAROLINA |
150,699
|
|
SOUTH DAKOTA |
16,276 |
|
TENNESSEE |
186,175
|
|
TEXAS |
876,982
|
|
UTAH |
112,130
|
|
VERMONT |
22,308
|
|
VIRGINIA |
448,208
|
|
WASHINGTON |
371,079 |
|
WEST VIRGINIA |
22,718
|
|
WISCONSIN |
282,967
|
|
WYOMING |
12,522
|
|
US TOTAL |
13,787,000 |
*Source: InfoUSA 2005
Average Cleaning Price:
The price for
house cleaning varies, depending on a number of factors.
-
The entity doing the
cleaning. There is generally a wide gap between what individual
house cleaners can charge for their service versus what a full-fledged,
professional residential cleaning company can command.
-
The amount of work
involved: No two homes are identical when it comes to cleaning
them, even if they are identical in size and layout. Obviously, the
more work the higher the price.
-
The geographic
location: The price for cleaning a home that requires "X" amount
of time and labor in a large urban center is generally higher than it is
for a house with the same amount of time and labor in a small town. The difference is in the cost of labor and other
operating expenses.
-
The value-added
features and benefits: A professional cleaning service offers
far more than just doing a satisfactory job of house cleaning. ""Real" cleaning companies carry liability insurance, third-party fidelity
bonding, and Workers' Compensation Insurance. They pre-screen their employees, including
legal eligibility to work in the United States, conduct criminal background and reference checks,
look after their employees' social security and Medicare taxes, and provide professional
training and supervision of their employees. The average cleaning
price we've experienced around the country has ranged between $75 and $110
in recent years for routine weekly and biweekly cleaning visits.
-
First time or onetime
versus repeat cleaning visits: It can take as long to clean the
bathrooms alone on a first time cleaning visit as it will to do the entire
home on subsequent regular weekly or biweekly visits. It is not
unusual for a first time cleaning to take two to four times as long as
routine light house cleaning thereafter. We have seen first
time/onetime cleaning charges ranging from as low as what is charged on
repeat visits (for homes in pristine condition) to as much as several
hundred dollars.
The Value of the "Average" Client:
In many businesses the owner is challenged
with spending a lot of time, money and effort to find and sell a customer one
time, or only infrequently after the first sale. One of the benefits of
this industry is that you get to sell the client every week or two.
A client who pays you $85 every other week represents over $2,000 per year
in revenues. A weekly client at the same cleaning price can be
worth double that amount annually. Get your calculator out and do the
math! A couple hundred repeat clients can represent substantial annual
sales revenues.
The Number of Existing House Cleaning Companies:
With all the individuals who
clean houses on their own or with one or two helpers -- many of them
operating in the underground economy and under the radar of the IRS and the
INS, no one knows for sure how many of these small independents there are
throughout the country. However, we do know that there were over
12,000 house cleaners listed in the telephone directories across America in
2005. The breakdown by state is as follows:
|
STATE |
NUMBER OF
HOUSE CLEANING
COMPANIES |
|
ALABAMA |
124
|
|
ALASKA |
53
|
|
ARIZONA |
211
|
|
ARKANSAS |
41 |
|
CALIFORNIA |
1,788
|
|
COLORADO |
278
|
|
CONNECTICUT |
240
|
|
DELAWARE |
58
|
|
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA |
19
|
|
FLORIDA |
945 |
|
GEORGIA |
309
|
|
HAWAII |
54
|
|
IDAHO |
44
|
|
ILLINOIS |
480
|
|
INDIANA |
152 |
|
IOWA |
96
|
|
KANSAS |
114
|
|
KENTUCKY |
86
|
|
LOUISIANA |
95
|
|
MAINE |
80
|
|
MARYLAND |
331
|
|
MASSACHUSETTS |
527
|
|
MICHIGAN |
341
|
|
MINNESOTA |
180
|
|
MISSISSIPPI |
53
|
|
MISSOURI |
222
|
|
MONTANA |
37
|
|
NEBRASKA |
56
|
|
NEVADA |
186
|
|
NEW HAMPSHIRE |
129
|
|
NEW JERSEY |
348
|
|
NEW MEXICO |
79
|
|
NEW YORK |
731
|
|
NORTH CAROLINA |
458
|
|
NORTH DAKOTA |
15
|
|
OHIO |
427
|
|
OKLAHOMA |
92
|
|
OREGON |
175
|
|
PENNSYLVANIA |
471
|
|
RHODE ISLAND |
64
|
|
SOUTH CAROLINA |
252
|
|
SOUTH DAKOTA |
19
|
|
TENNESSEE |
180
|
|
TEXAS |
535
|
|
UTAH |
89
|
|
VERMONT |
51
|
|
VIRGINIA |
418
|
|
WASHINGTON |
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