Some cleaning services let you charge much more than basic house cleaning. Picking the right niche can help you stand out, stay busy, and earn more.
It’s important to find a niche for your cleaning business to ensure consistent, high demand, and strong profitability.
In this guide, we look at the 8 most profitable cleaning business models in 2025 and offer some tips to help you boost your business’s profit margins.
Key Takeaways
- The most profitable types of cleaning business models are usually specialized services. These include post-construction jobs, restaurant kitchens, medical facilities, high-rise windows, floor restoration, HVAC ducts, vacation rentals, and chimney sweeping.
- These business models have a high barrier to entry because they need special skills or equipment. They also mostly focus on commercial clients who need repeat service.
- To make your cleaning business more profitable, look for upselling opportunities, partner with other businesses to offer your services, and use software to follow up with customers automatically.
What’s the Most Profitable Cleaning Business?
The most profitable cleaning businesses are typically highly specialized and built around services that need specific skills or equipment. When there’s a high barrier to entry, it protects the business from new competitors and makes higher pricing possible.
That said, there’s more to making your cleaning business profitable than just specialization. It’s also important to offer cleaning services that are in demand. Focusing on commercial clients can be beneficial because they require regular cleaning and are often less focused on price than residential clients.
With these factors in mind, we researched cleaning business blogs, Reddit conversations on r/sweatystartup and r/housekeeping, and Bureau of Labor Statistics data to estimate annual profits and hourly rates for different types of cleaning businesses.
Here are the 8 most profitable cleaning business models, based on our findings:
| Cleaning Business Model | Estimated Annual Profits | Hourly Rates |
| Post-construction cleaning | $70,000–$180,000 | $50–$75 |
| Commercial kitchen cleaning | $65,000–$160,000 | $60–$80 |
| Medical facility cleaning | $60,000–$150,000 | $60–$80 |
| Mid- and high-rise window washing | $55,000–$120,000 | $80–$170 |
| Commercial floor restoration | $50,000–$130,000 | $60–$160 |
| HVAC cleaning | $50,000–$110,000 | $90–$120 |
| Vacation rental cleaning | $45,000–$95,000 | $40–$90 |
| Chimney sweeping | $40,000–$150,000 | $60–$100 |
8 Most Profitable Cleaning Company Types
Let’s take a closer look at the most profitable cleaning business models to give you some ideas for starting your own cleaning business or expanding what you have.
Post-construction cleaning
Estimated annual profits: $70,000–$180,000
Hourly rate: $50–$75
What is it: Post-construction cleaning involves cleaning up indoor spaces after a commercial or residential renovation. It can also involve cleaning up an outdoor job site after new construction or a major remodel.
Why it’s profitable: If you’ve ever walked onto a construction site, you know how much of a mess it can be. Construction creates a lot of dust, leftover mess, and unsafe materials that regular cleaners aren’t prepared to deal with. It requires specialized equipment like vacuums with HEPA filters, industrial scrubbers, pressure washers, and air blowers. You can charge a premium for having this equipment and knowing how to use it.
Another reason post-construction cleanup is so profitable is that contracts in this niche are often very large. These jobs often cover a full home or office and can take multiple days to finish. Contractors include the cost of cleaning in their project budget, so they’re not too sensitive to an expensive quote if they know you’ll do a good job.
Commercial kitchen cleaning
Estimated annual profits: $65,000–$160,000
Hourly rate: $60–$80
What is it: Commercial kitchen cleaning involves deep-cleaning and sanitizing all surfaces of commercial kitchens, including in restaurants, hotels, catering companies, and schools.
Why it’s profitable: Every restaurant in your city likely has a commercial kitchen that needs frequent cleaning. Although their regular staff can handle some cleaning tasks, professional cleaning is required for hard-to-access kitchen features such as exhaust hoods and grease traps. Frequent cleaning is often required by law, so there’s consistent demand for commercial kitchen cleaning businesses.
Restaurants and food manufacturing businesses also have a lot of incentive to pay a premium for quality cleaning. Foodborne illnesses or other health and safety violations can sink a restaurant’s reputation and lead to heavy fines. This means you can charge more if your business is reliable and thorough.
Another reason commercial kitchen cleaning is so profitable is that it’s labor-intensive and often takes place overnight. This decreases the number of companies interested in taking on this work and allows you to justify higher prices.
Medical facility cleaning
Estimated annual profit: $60,000–$150,000
Hourly rate: $60–$80
What is it: Medical facility cleaning is a specialized type of janitorial service that focuses on cleaning and disinfecting healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, medical laboratories, and outpatient clinics.
Why it’s profitable: Medical facilities are filled with biological waste and hazards that aren’t present in other types of buildings. You’ll need specialized training in handling biohazard waste, disinfecting surfaces exposed to blood or body fluids, and ensuring spaces are safe for patients with weakened immune systems. In some cases, your business may even need to be HIPAA-compliant. This degree of specialization creates a high barrier to entry, letting you charge relatively high prices.
At the same time, medical facility owners know that it’s worth paying a premium for a reliable cleaning company. Patients’ lives are on the line in these buildings, so it’s extremely important that cleaning protocols are followed closely.
On top of all that, medical facilities typically prefer long-term contracts since they need regular cleaning and don’t want to switch cleaners often. You can potentially add janitorial services to these long-term contracts to boost your margins.
Mid- and high-rise window washing
Estimated annual profit: $55,000–$120,000
Hourly rate: $80–$170
What is it: Mid- and high-rise window washing businesses focus on cleaning the outside of buildings that are at least 5 stories tall. The main service they provide is window washing, but these businesses can also offer power washing or even painting.
Why it’s profitable: Working on the outside of tall buildings is tough, dangerous work. You can’t use ladders since they’re not tall enough. Instead, your cleaning staff needs to be trained to use harnesses, scaffolding, lifts, and water-fed poles. The expertise, equipment, and safety risks involved mean there usually isn’t much competition, and you can charge very high hourly rates.
Even better, this kind of work often leads to repeat business. Commercial building managers typically schedule window cleaning once or twice a year. Just keep in mind that this regular cleaning is not very frequent, so you’ll need a large customer base to keep your cleaners busy every day.
Commercial floor restoration
Estimated annual profit: $50,000–$130,000
Hourly rate: $60–$160
What is it: Commercial floor restoration goes beyond simply vacuuming and mopping. It involves waxing, sealing, and polishing floors in commercial buildings like warehouses, grocery stores, schools, hospitals, and office buildings.
Why it’s profitable: Commercial floor restoration sits between cleaning and light renovation, making it a niche that few cleaning companies enter. You need to know how to restore different types of flooring and be comfortable working with dangerous chemicals. There’s also a lot of technique involved that can only be learned through working on various types of flooring.
In addition, commercial floor restoration is a huge job that only needs to be done once every several years. So, facility managers see it as a big investment and are willing to spend more to make sure the job is done right. If your business delivers high-quality work, you can charge premium rates.
HVAC Cleaning
Estimated annual profit: $50,000–$110,000
Hourly rate: $90–$120
What is it: HVAC cleaning involves deep-cleaning residential and commercial heating, ventilation, and air conditioning ducts.
Why it’s profitable: HVAC cleaning is a specialized service that usually requires powerful vacuums and positive-pressure equipment to clean hard-to-access ductwork. While there aren’t a ton of training requirements compared to other types of specialized cleaning, the equipment is very expensive, which keeps many competitors out.
At the same time, homeowners and business owners often view HVAC cleaning as more than just a cleaning service. Because of its impact on air quality, HVAC cleaning plays into the wellness trend—and you can charge a premium if you market your business right. You can also try to upsell customers with other wellness-related cleaning services like carpet cleaning and filter replacements.
Vacation rental cleaning
Estimated annual profit: $45,000–$95,000
Hourly rate: $40–$90
What is it: Vacation rental cleaning entails cleaning residential properties in between short-term rentals, like Airbnb stays.
Why it’s profitable: Homeowners who rent out their property for short-term stays often need it to be cleaned within a tight window, often as short as a few hours. This creates a sense of urgency you can charge a premium for.
While hourly rates for this niche aren’t as high as some other services, it’s pretty easy to get repeat work and grow your business. Vacation rental properties often need cleaning multiple times per week, depending on guest turnover. In addition, many owners have multiple properties that need cleaning, so you can secure a lot of business if you wow your clients.
Chimney sweeping
Estimated annual profit: $40,000–$150,000
Hourly rate: $60–$100
What is it: Chimney sweeping businesses clean out fireplaces and chimneys to remove soot, tar, and other buildup that can cause blockages. Many businesses in this niche also inspect and repair chimneys.
Why it’s profitable: Chimney sweeping is highly competitive, as the barrier to entry is lower than in many other cleaning niches. Even so, it can still be very profitable, as the work is physically demanding, done in tight spaces, and involves working with chemicals.
In addition, chimneys need to be swept annually to prevent soot buildup, which means you can look forward to repeat business.
Pro Tip
Offer services across your region to maximize your customer base. Scheduling software like Connecteam can help you arrange your jobs by location to minimize travel costs.
Bonus Tips: How To Make Your Cleaning Business More Profitable
Whatever model you choose for your business, it’s important to ensure you’re taking every opportunity to sell cleaning services and maximize your earnings. Here are a few tips to make your cleaning business more profitable.
- Look for upselling opportunities: Offering add-on services can help you boost the size of each contract your business lands. Think about what cleaning or related services your customers might need. For example, if you clean vacation rentals, consider offering window washing or carpet cleaning as add-ons.
- Partner with other businesses: Network with real estate agents and contractors to generate leads for your business. For instance, partnering with a contractor could help you earn steady post-construction cleaning work, while teaming up with a commercial real estate firm could help you find cleaning opportunities when buildings are prepared for sale.
- Follow up with customers: Use customer relationship management (CRM) software like Pipedrive or HubSpot to send reminders for repeat cleaning services. This can help you get repeat business on a regular schedule.
FAQs
A cleaning business is profitable due to low startup costs, high demand, and recurring clients. Residential and commercial cleaning services often achieve profit margins between 10% and 30%. Profitability increases by scaling operations, optimizing labor, and maintaining consistent customer retention.
Set cleaning service rates based on service type, job duration, and crew size. Compare competitor pricing and align with customer willingness to pay. General residential cleaning starts at $35 per hour. Specialized services can command $50 to $100 per hour or more.
Increase your cleaning business profits by raising rates for specialized services, reducing overhead, and improving client retention. Use a cleaning services app like Connecteam to schedule workers, track job time, optimize travel, and make sure every cleaner follows the same checklist.
Starting a cleaning business costs $1,200–$10,000, depending on business size. Monthly operating costs start at $1,000 and increase with employees. Ongoing expenses include labor, insurance, equipment, and marketing.
Start a cleaning business by obtaining a business license, employer identification number (EIN), and liability insurance. Some states require a vendor’s license to collect sales tax. If hiring employees, secure workers’ compensation and a state tax ID.
Grow a cleaning business by offering niche services, asking for referrals, building an online presence, and hiring staff as you expand. Use Connecteam to onboard workers, deliver training, assign jobs, and verify completed work. Track performance and schedules to maintain consistent service quality. Customer retention drives long-term growth.
Unique cleaning business ideas include eco-friendly cleaning, post-construction cleanup, personalized services, niche specialties, and commercial kitchen cleaning. Profitable niches like crime scene cleanup, HVAC cleaning, and Airbnb turnovers offer low competition. Find more ideas in this guide on cleaning industry trends.
A strong cleaning business runs on clear systems: scheduling, checklists, communication, and follow-up. Plan jobs by location and time, assign task lists to each cleaner, and review performance regularly. Keep clients on a consistent schedule with reminders and simple payments. Use Connecteam to manage schedules, send team updates, and collect proof of work with checklists and photos—all in one place.
Disclaimer
This article is for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as and does not constitute business, financial, or professional advice, and should not be relied upon as such. Connecteam accepts no responsibility for consequences arising from actions taken or not taken based on the information present in this article.