Young professionals are shelling out money for cleaning services.
Warren Weiss opened his business, Scrub! Cleaning, in 2008, and back then, most of his clients were older, well-off professionals. Now, he says, "Everybody has a house cleaner, especially in the city.” (1)
Giana Dennin, owner of Dog Mom Cleaning Co, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that she’s seeing a lot of clients between the ages of 25 and 35 use her services. Many of them, she says, have newborns, are pregnant, or work from home and would rather outsource the task. (2)
The Industry Blog confirms that home-cleaning demand is rising nationwide. But does that mean paying for a cleaner is becoming a middle-class necessity (3) — or is it simply lifestyle creep in disguise? We break down the costs of hiring a cleaning service and how to determine whether you can afford it.
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The cost of hiring a cleaning service
According to Angi, the average cost of a professional house cleaner for a 2,000-square-foot home runs at $200 to $400, or $25 to $80 an hour. Pricing varies by home size, labor costs and the chores included. (4)
Now compare that with what the typical American earns. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts median weekly earnings for working Americans at $1,196, or about $62,192 per year. (5)
If you hire a cleaner for $100 a week (roughly four hours at $25 an hour), that adds up to $5,200 a year — more than 8 percent of a median earner’s annual income.
However, higher earners may find the cost to be more affordable. With a $120,000 annual salary, for example, a $5,200 annual cleaning service bill amounts to just 4.3% of your income.
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How to decide if you can afford a home cleaning service
Whether you can afford to outsource cleaning depends less on your income and more on how you prioritize your spending. A good starting point is the 50/30/20 budgeting rule — 50% of your income should go toward essentials like housing, food and transportation, 30% toward discretionary expenses, and 20% toward savings and debt repayment.
A home-cleaning service clearly falls in the “wants” category, but that doesn’t mean it’s frivolous. If paying someone else to handle household chores gives you back hours that help you maintain balance — or prevent burnout — it may be a worthwhile use of that discretionary 30%.
Still, it’s worth doing the math. For someone earning the median $62,000 a year, $100 a week for cleaning adds up to more than $5,000 annually. That could easily fund a vacation, an emergency-fund boost or several months of rent. If the trade-off feels too steep, you might consider scaling back to a biweekly or monthly service instead of a weekly one.
On the other hand, if you’re earning six figures, have young kids, or work long hours in a demanding field, hiring a cleaner could be a sound investment in your productivity and mental health. Think of it as buying time — whether that time goes toward earning more, spending it with your family, or simply resting.
You can also frame the decision in terms of opportunity cost. Suppose you earn $100 an hour but pay $40 an hour for a cleaner. After taxes, you might take home around $72 per hour — meaning every hour you spend working instead of cleaning still nets you roughly $32. If you genuinely need those extra hours for your job or side income, outsourcing makes clear financial sense.
For some, time itself can be justification enough. A recent Empower survey found that 26% of workers would take a 15% pay cut for more free time. If you fall into that camp, paying for a cleaning service might be less about luxury and more about quality of life. (6)
Hiring a cleaner can feel like a small luxury, but for many Americans, it’s also a sign of changing priorities. In a world where people are working longer hours, raising kids, and navigating burnout, outsourcing household chores isn’t just about avoiding dust. The right choice for you is the one that keeps both your home and your finances in order.
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Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
The Philadelphia Inquirer (1), (2); The Industry Blog (3); Angi (4); Bureau of Labor Statistics (5); Empower (6)
This article originally appeared on Moneywise.com under the title: Americans are opting to pay others to do their household chores — here’s how to tell if it’s worth the cost
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.