A national quote at the published $33-$38/hr band cannot clear local wages in 50 of 393 metros. Longview-Kelso, WA is the single highest of all 50, needing $45.01/hr — $7.01/hr over the ceiling — for a monthly bill of $5,269, or $0.405/sq ft on the fixed store. Washington places five of the ten markets needing the most, from Longview-Kelso at $45.01/hr to Kennewick-Richland at $43.16/hr, with Boston-Cambridge-Newton at $44.97/hr and San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont at $42.68/hr. At the other end, 127 metros sit at or below the $33 floor, from Ponce, PR at $21.10 to Arecibo, PR at $21.72. A bid priced inside the band in one of the 50 markets is either a loss for the contractor or a crew-hours shortfall for the store.
What to do with it. If your store sits in one of these 50 metros, treat any bid inside the $33-$38/hr band as a question about crew hours, not a price win.
The board this was computed from
One store — 13,000 sq ft, four restrooms, five nights a week, 117.1 crew hours a month — priced against the median janitorial wage in 393 US metros. The building is identical in every row, so everything that moves is the local labor market.
| Market | BLS median | Loaded | Rate needed | Per month | $/sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheapest on the mainlandShreveport-Bossier City, LA | $12.68 | $17.33 | $25.48 | $2,983 | $0.229 |
| Median marketOmaha, NE-IA | $17.12 | $23.39 | $34.40 | $4,027 | $0.310 |
| DearestLongview-Kelso, WA | $22.40 | $30.61 | $45.01 | $5,269 | $0.405 |
Wages: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (metropolitan areas), May 2025. Hours from the crew-hour method; the rate each market needs is the loaded wage carried at a 68% labor share, which at the national median lands in the middle of the $33–$38 band on the costs page.