# Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

US SOC code 37-2012. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/37-2012

Also called: Housekeeper, Room attendant, Hotel housekeeper, Housekeeping cleaner, Hotel room cleaner.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **860,670** US maids and housekeeping cleaners, with median pay of **$35,510** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/9050occup.shtml) of **1,500,000** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for maids and housekeeping cleaners: Maidbot Rosie autonomous room vacuum, 2018 to 2020.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to change +0.6% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=37-2012&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **5.9%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)
- **0.69** estimated probability that the whole occupation could be computerised, over an unspecified number of years. Not a forecast of job losses. [Frey and Osborne, 2013](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf)

### Since the 2013 prediction

In 2013, Frey and Osborne put this job's probability of computerisation at 0.69. BLS counted **917,470** of these jobs in May 2013 and **860,670** in May 2025. The count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed how it estimates these counts, so no change is derived here.

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1700
- Latest US employment: 860,670 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $35,510 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [8]
- Outlook: +0.6% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [22]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Canada** (NOC 65310)
  - Employment, 2020: 251,930. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [6]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021: number of persons with employment income in NOC 65310 Light duty cleaners, Canada, reference year 2020. A recipients basis (anyone with employment income during the year), slightly broader than a point-in-time employed count. Statistics Canada Open Licence.
  - Median pay, 2020: C$36,800. Source: Statistics Canada Census 2021 [9]. Statistics Canada Census of Population 2021 (Table 98-10-0586): median employment income for NOC 65310 Light duty cleaners, Canada, reference year 2020, full-year full-time workers (the basis comparable to the US OEWS full-time median). Statistics Canada Open Licence.

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 1,500,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., IPUMS USA [1] |
| 1940 | 1,800,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Domestic worker [2] |
| 1960 | 1,300,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Holiday Inn [3] |
| 1985 | 900,000 (estimate) | $9,000 (estimate) | Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook [4] |
| 2000 | 1,400,000 (estimate) | $16,000 (estimate) | Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook [4] |
| 2003 | 896,370 | $16,600 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 880,150 | $16,900 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 893,820 | $17,080 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 900,040 | $17,580 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 915,890 | $18,350 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 917,120 | $18,990 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 887,890 | $19,250 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 865,960 | $19,300 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 877,980 | $19,390 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 894,920 | $19,570 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 917,470 | $19,780 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 929,540 | $20,120 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 926,240 | $20,740 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 924,640 | $21,820 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 922,660 | $22,860 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 924,290 | $23,770 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 926,960 | $24,850 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 795,590 | $26,220 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 723,430 | $28,780 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 771,390 | $29,960 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 836,230 | $33,450 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [5] |
| 2024 | 854,910 | $34,660 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 860,670 | $35,510 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (87)

### Employment series

1. [IPUMS USA — 1900 Census occupational categories; domestic and personal service (OCC codes for servants, chambermaids, housekeepers)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/9050occup.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
2. [Domestic worker — Wikipedia (domestic workers excluded from FLSA/Social Security; ~1.8M private household workers in 1940 era)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_worker), Wikipedia
3. [Holiday Inn — Wikipedia (first Holiday Inn August 1, 1952, Memphis; 100 locations by 1959, 1,000 by 1968 — scale of commercial housekeeping demand)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_Inn), Wikipedia
4. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners (historical employment context, 1980s baseline)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/building-and-grounds-cleaning/maids-and-housekeeping-cleaners.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Wage series

7. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners (1980s wage context); inflation adjustment via BLS CPI-U calculator](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/building-and-grounds-cleaning/maids-and-housekeeping-cleaners.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
8. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
9. [Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021, Table 98-10-0586 (Employment income statistics by occupation unit group, NOC 2021), income reference year 2020](https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810058601), Statistics Canada

### Tool eras

10. [IPUMS USA — 1900 Census occupational categories (domestic servants, chambermaids, laundresses — establishing the category in the pre-industrial era)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/9050occup.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
11. [Library of Congress — "The World's Columbian Exposition" (Chicago 1893; industrial and commercial machinery exhibited)](https://www.loc.gov/collections/worlds-columbian-exposition/), Library of Congress
12. [Smithsonian Magazine — "The Invention of the Vacuum Cleaner, From Broom to Roomba" (Hoover Model O 1908, million sold by 1913)](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/sponsored/invention-vacuum-cleaner-broom-roomba-180962691/), Smithsonian Magazine
13. [Holiday Inn — Wikipedia (first location August 1, 1952 Memphis; 30 locations 1957; 1,000 by 1968; industry standardization)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_Inn), Wikipedia
14. [American Hotel & Lodging Association — About AHLA (training programs, operational standards for hotel housekeeping)](https://www.ahla.com/about), American Hotel & Lodging Association
15. [EPA — "Green Cleaning" (microfiber cloth technology, bacteria removal without chemicals)](https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2013-11/documents/green_cleaning_manual.pdf), US Environmental Protection Agency
16. [OSHA — "Hotel Industry Ergonomics" (musculoskeletal disorders in housekeeping, ergonomic cart design guidelines)](https://www.osha.gov/ergonomics), Occupational Safety and Health Administration
17. [Airbnb — Wikipedia (founded August 2008, origin story, scale — more listings than top 5 hotel chains by 2015)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbnb), Wikipedia
18. [TurnoverBnB — About (STR cleaning marketplace, founded 2016, coordinating cleaning services for Airbnb hosts)](https://www.turnoverbnb.com/about), TurnoverBnB
19. [Maidbot — Company website (Rosie autonomous room vacuum, hotel deployments at Marriott and Hilton properties, 2018 commercial launch)](https://tailos.com/), Maidbot
20. [American Hotel & Lodging Association — "State of the Hotel Industry 2021" (COVID-19 impact: ~25% housekeeping layoffs, April 2020 occupancy crash)](https://www.ahla.com/), American Hotel & Lodging Association
21. [BLS National Employment Matrix — 37-2012 Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners (2024-2034: +0.4%, 1,356.8K → 1,362.8K)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=37-2012&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Forecasts and exposure studies

22. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 37-2012 Maids and housekeeping cleaners (2025: 1,332.1 thousand; 2035: 1,339.5 thousand; +0.6%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=37-2012&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
23. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 37-2012 Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners: probability 0.69, rank 381 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
24. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 37-2012.00, human-rated β 0.059)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

25. [IPUMS USA — 1900 Census occupational categories (domestic and personal service: ~1.5M workers, predominantly female)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/9050occup.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
26. [Domestic worker — Wikipedia (FLSA and Social Security exclusions; domestic workers added to Social Security 1950, FLSA coverage 1974)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_worker), Wikipedia
27. [Holiday Inn — Wikipedia (first location August 1, 1952 Memphis; founder Kemmons Wilson; 30 locations 1957; 1,000 by 1968; industry standardization)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_Inn), Wikipedia
28. [Airbnb — Wikipedia (founded August 11, 2008; more listings than top 5 hotel chains by 2015)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airbnb), Wikipedia
29. [Maidbot — Company website (Rosie autonomous vacuum, hotel guest-room deployment, 2018 launch, Marriott and Hilton pilot properties)](https://tailos.com/), Maidbot
30. [American Hotel & Lodging Association — "State of the Hotel Industry" (COVID-19: April 2020 occupancy ~24%, ~25% housekeeping layoffs, stayover policy adoption)](https://www.ahla.com/), American Hotel & Lodging Association
31. [BLS National Employment Matrix — 37-2012 Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners (2024-34: +0.4%, 1,356.8K → 1,362.8K; annual openings)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=37-2012&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Predecessors & successors

32. [IPUMS USA — 1900 Census occupational categories (servants, private family; chambermaids — establishing the lineage from domestic service)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/9050occup.shtml), IPUMS / University of Minnesota
33. [Domestic worker — Wikipedia (Great Migration context — African American women from domestic service in the South to hotel employment in northern cities)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestic_worker), Wikipedia

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners (37-2012.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/37-2012.00), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Eloundou et al. (2023) — GPTs are GPTs (Science 2024): physical cleaning tasks score near-zero on LLM exposure](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj0998), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Brain Corp — BrainOS Clean 2.0 with SelfPath AI: 40,000+ robots deployed, +22% coverage, +55% autonomy (April 2026)](https://www.roboticstomorrow.com/news/2026/04/07/brain-corp-launches-brainos-clean-20-with-selfpath-ai-advancing-adaptive-autonomy-for-tennant-company-floor-cleaning-robots/26371/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Tennant Company — X2 ROVR SCRUB for autonomous cleaning in small high-traffic spaces (May 2026)](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260511031667/en/Tennant-Company-Introduces-X2-ROVR-SCRUB-for-Autonomous-Cleaning-in-Small-High-Traffic-Spaces), accessed 2026-06-03
- [Tailos — Rosie commercial robot vacuum: automates 2+ hours vacuuming per shift, 1,000+ sq ft/hr](https://tailos.com/blogs/hotel-automation-industry-trends/commercial-robot-vacuums-in-hotels), accessed 2026-06-03
- [ISSA — Robotic Deployment: AMRs take over floor cleaning, labor is 90% of cleaning costs](https://www.issa.com/articles/robotic-deployment/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [ISSA — Cleaning Industry Trends 2026: wages up 8-12%, turnover 200-400%, robotics mainstream](https://cleanerhq.com/cleaning-industry-trends-and-opportunities-in-2026/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [American Hotel and Lodging Association — 87% of hotels reported housekeeping staffing shortages in 2025](https://www.revfine.com/housekeeping-robots/), accessed 2026-06-03
- [BLS OOH — Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners: median $34,660/yr, 1.36M employed, little or no change projected 2024-2034](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/building-and-grounds-cleaning/maids-and-housekeeping-cleaners.htm), accessed 2026-06-03
- [UpKeep — #1 ranked CMMS app 2025, 200,000+ users, mobile work-order management](https://upkeep.com/mobile-cmms-maintenance-app/), accessed 2026-06-03

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.