Career Explorer Buildings and grounds
Human edge, steady
Maids and housekeeping cleaners
Perform any combination of light cleaning duties to maintain private households or commercial establishments, such as hotels and hospitals, in a clean and orderly manner. Duties may include making beds, replenishing linens, cleaning rooms and halls, and vacuuming.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 69% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is very low (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it low), and US jobs are projected to change by +0.6% by 2035, slower than average.
AI struggles with much of this work. Hiring is expected to grow slower than average, or to shrink.
- Median pay (2025)
- $35,510
- Job growth to 2035
- +0.6%
- Openings a year
- 176,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 1.3 million
- Usual route in
- No formal credential, then short on-the-job training
Where people already use AI for this work
- Arrange displays or decorations
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Clean tools, equipment, facilities, or work areas
- Monitor resources or inventories
- Move materials, equipment, or supplies
What the work looks like
- Keep storage areas and carts well-stocked, clean, and tidy.
- Carry linens, towels, toilet items, and cleaning supplies, using wheeled carts.
- Clean rooms, hallways, lobbies, lounges, restrooms, corridors, elevators, stairways, locker rooms, and other work areas so that health standards are met.
- Disinfect equipment and supplies, using germicides or steam-operated sterilizers.
- Empty wastebaskets, empty and clean ashtrays, and transport other trash and waste to disposal areas.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
What the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects
- Fewer of these jobs, as some hotels continue to implement flexible schedules and on-demand room cleaning services instead of daily housekeeping.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleanersHuman edge, steady, Index 70, +2.2%
- Fast food and counter workersHuman edge, growing, Index 79, +5.8%
- Laundry and dry-cleaning workersHuman edge, growing, Index 83, +4.3%
- Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpersHuman edge, growing, Index 96, +5.3%
Also known as: Environmental Services Aide, Environmental Services Worker, Housekeeper, Housekeeping Laundry Worker, Chambermaid, Cleaner, Cottage Attendant, Guest Room Attendant (GRA).
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.