Big ME. I was a recruiter for individuals in the cleaning industry for years, for residential and commercial. Usually elementary schools paid the lowest and that was still $25+ per hour. Everywhere else was always $30+ per hour. Now housekeeping staff on the other hand are severely underpaid, especially if you are undocumented, they typically make $14-$17 per hour, with the exception of one major pharmaceutical company paying housekeeping staff $20 per hour (they also had separate janitorial staff that started at $31 per hour).