# how much do you pay your cleaning lady? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 8, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973 "2003-05-08T21:33:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/1 "2003-05-08T21:33:36Z")
how much do you pay your cleaning lady? We have a woman who comes every 2 weeks to clean and I love having her come. It has greatly improved my sanity and my marriage. But now she’s asking for a substantial raise. I’m trying to decide if I should pay it or look for someone else. So… How much do you pay your cleaning lady? How long does she stay? What part of the country? How biig is your house? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/2 "2003-05-08T21:38:42Z")
Pay her? Marrying her wasn’t enough? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/3 "2003-05-08T21:40:51Z")
She comes every other week and works for four hours. We pay her $60 per visit ($15/hr). We have a standard 3 bed/2 bath ranch house in Santa Barbara, CA. Haj ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/4 "2003-05-08T21:57:15Z")
We just started having someone come every couple of weeks to do the stuff that we always poop out before we get to or just really hate doing. She straightens the kitchen as needed, dusts, scrubs the bath and a half, and does the floors for a roughly 1200 sq. foot house. Oh, and she also dehairs the living room furniture. She charges $20/hour, and the initial cleaning took almost 3 hours. From here on in, she estimates it’ll take an hour to an hour and a half. We’re in central North Carolina, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/5 "2003-05-08T22:31:12Z")
My MIL used to have someone come in (Laguna Niguel, CA)- $60 for a half-day, $120 for all day. Medium-to-large house, and woman did incredible work. You could literally eat off the floor after she’d cleaned. I would think $10 is reasonable, but maybe nowadays it’s higher. ---
**Author:** ![epeepunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f19dbf/32.png) [@epeepunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epeepunk)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/6 "2003-05-08T22:34:21Z")
We pay $75 for someone who comes every two weeks. We live in Delaware, and have a two bath, two bedroom house (its pretty small). She cleans the floor, counters, bathroom (and tidies a little even though she said that she wouldn’t pick things up for us). I have no idea how long she takes, she does while we are at work. Man that’s great, coming home to a clean house. Like Christmas every other week. ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/7 "2003-05-08T22:59:44Z")
I guess I should also note that our other estimates were around $80 for the initial cleanining, then $70 every time after that. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/8 "2003-05-08T23:25:35Z")
Back in Colorado, outside of Boulder, we paid $55 per visit. She cleaned for maybe 2-3 hours. Here in the middle of nowhere, our cleaning lady charges us $8/hour and stays between 2 and 3 hours. I think that’s too low, so I pay her $30 per visit. She thinks I walk on water. All is good. ---
**Author:** ![justwannabeme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@justwannabeme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannabeme)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/9 "2003-05-09T00:24:26Z")
Holy shit, cleaning ladies are expensive in the States. Up here in Canada I believe the average hourly wage is about $18. That is about $13 American. For my cleaning lady to come in and do a 1600 square foot 2 story home with 2 1/2 baths, 3 bedrooms, would take about 5 hours. That would include doing everything except tidy up. The place would be spotless when I got home. ---
**Author:** ![X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/bbe5ce/32.png) [@X\_Slayer\_ALE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X_Slayer_ALE)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/10 "2003-05-09T00:34:04Z")
So, we seem to be averaging about $120 a month for having the house spotless twice a month. That seems reasonable. Think of it this way. How much is _your_ hourly wage and how long will it take you to do what the cleaning lady does? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/11 "2003-05-09T01:25:25Z")
2000 sq ft. 2 1/2 baths, three bedrooms. $25 an hour. She used to come twice a week. Now she comes every Thursday and every other Monday. Monday is just a pick up day. But I can send her to get my groceries if I want. I pay the guy who mows the lawn the same. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/12 "2003-05-09T01:46:48Z")
Oh, 3 hours for the full cleaning, an hour for the pickup. More if I have her do odd jobs (can you fit in a fridge cleaning?) So it was $100 a week. ---
**Author:** ![E72521](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@E72521](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E72521)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/13 "2003-05-09T01:49:02Z")
My wife cleans a 10k sq ft house weekly for 15 hrs spread over three days for $300. She also cleans a 3.5k sq ft for 6-7 hrs weekly for $125. It’s hard work but she’s home before and after school for the kids and it’s all cash. She’s raising her rates 10% for one and 15% for the latter next month. She has a waiting list of clients. I keep telling her she should hire one or two migrants and pay 'em $8/hr, but she doesn’t want the hassle. She has a BS in microbiology and is a licensed medical technoligist and makes better money scrubbing floors. ---
**Author:** ![presidebt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@presidebt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/presidebt)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/14 "2003-05-09T02:03:36Z")
I fill in my work study doing cleaning for a few clients. I’m not bonded so I charge $15/hr/minimum three hours. That means I get paid for three hours even if it only takes 2 and a half, but it never takes just 2 and a half. 🙂 If I wanted to put up the cash to get bonded, I’d charge $20 an hour. I live across the bridge from Louisville, KY, where all of my clients are. I have a couple of people who will tip me an extra ten, but I do their houses less often, usually before Derby parties and such. It’s back breaking work folks, the occassional thank you is appreciated. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TeaElle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@TeaElle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TeaElle)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/15 "2003-05-09T02:34:37Z")
We have a fabulous woman, Mariposa, who comes in two days a week, six hours or so a day, for $175 a week. (Plus lunches and free-flowing Pepsi.) She doesn’t just clean, she does full housekeeping including laundry, grocery shopping and cooking if we ask. (With a baby and one on the way, I can use all the help I can get.) This is slightly less than $15 an hour, which I’ve been led to understand is highly reasonable in NYC, though we’re probably getting off cheap because this woman, unlike many in her profession, isn’t trying to support a family on what she earns cleaning houses – though she probably could since she works for other families the rest of the week and I’m fairly certain that they pay about the same. I’m not sure of our square footage but we have four large bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a huge kitchen, den, office, living room, dining room and a service hall/laundry room on one floor (apartment). I’d gladly pay $20 an hour. She’s a consummate professional, she’s got a beautiful personality, she’s doing work that I simply would not be able to do myself and she’s helping me regain my Spanish fluency to boot. How can you put a price tag on that? ---
**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/16 "2003-05-09T03:32:27Z")
What the frig is .5 of a bathroom? 😕 Is that just the toilet or just the shower or something? ---
**Author:** ![justwannabeme](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3be4f8/32.png) [@justwannabeme](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/justwannabeme)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/17 "2003-05-09T04:07:00Z")
.5 of a bathroom or a half bath is usually just a toilet and a sink. It’s usually on the main floor of the house or just off the master bedroom. Hope that helps a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Diletante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Diletante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diletante)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/18 "2003-05-09T07:02:01Z")
I have a one bedroom apartment, 1 bathroom and small kitchen nook. I have a cleaning lady come in about twice a month to clean the bathroom, and the floors (no carpeting) plus straighten up and miscellaneous. She takes about 2 hours, not exactly a brisk pace, but that’s okay, she only charges $1.50 per hour. I’m living in China, by the way. And before anyone gets on me for slave labor or being cheap, she absolutely refuses a tip, or anything extra. I’ve had her hand me back extra money before. Well, it’s interesting to see how prices vary. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/19 "2003-05-09T10:46:10Z")
ummm, full time, which means 6 days a week. about $75/month plus meals (and she can pack away the rice). One of those quality of life tradeoffs that actually fall in my favor. ---
**Author:** ![guava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/71e660/32.png) [@guava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guava)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2003, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973/20 "2003-05-09T10:51:36Z")
China Guy, I had a maid in China. I paid her about a dollar an hour. She was great. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-do-you-pay-your-cleaning-lady/173973.md?page=2)