Tidy Sum
Tool 2 · Real hourly rate

What does cleaning really pay per hour?

A $150 three-hour clean looks like $50 an hour. Take a normal week, count the driving, the gas, the supplies, the evenings spent on texts and laundry, and put tax money aside. This is what’s left per hour.

1A typical week of jobs
$
h
Your real average time inside the house.
min
There and back, or to the next house.
2What it costs you each week
mi
$
Your estimate. The IRS 2026 business rate is 76¢ from July 1 (72.5¢ before).
$
Products, cloths, bags, vacuum parts.
$
Insurance, phone, booking app, advertising, divided by 52.
%
Of everything clients pay. 0 if it’s all cash or checks.
h
Quotes, texts, invoices, washing cloths, restocking the car.
3Tax money to set aside

Self-employment tax is worked out for you: 15.3% on 92.35% of your profit, which is 14.13% of it. Income tax depends on your whole household, so set your own percentage. A tax preparer can tell you the right number.

%
Of profit. Your own estimate, federal plus state.
$
Optional. Shows the price that would get you there.
Real hourly rateper week
Take-home per hour worked
$0

    How the hourly rate is worked out

    The formula

    take-home = revenue − fees − mileage − supplies − other − SE tax − income set-aside

    per hour = take-home ÷ (cleaning + driving + admin hours)

    Self-employment tax

    Social Security and Medicare for the self-employed: 15.3% (12.4% + 2.9%) on 92.35% of net earnings, owed once you net $400 or more in a year. Above $184,500 of earnings in 2026 the 12.4% part stops, which this weekly view ignores. Half of it is deductible for income tax, also ignored here, so the set-aside leans cautious. Sources and dates are on the About page.

    What to do with it

    Use the price in the last rows as your target for new clients, and the per-cleaning-hour figure as the rate in the house quote. Fewer, closer houses help too: every 20 minutes of driving between jobs is unpaid.

    Per hour$0