How much do pool cleaners make a year?

Employees in the same BLS series have a median of $46,860 a year. The middle half earn between $37,520 and $57,820, and the lowest-paid tenth earn under $31,650. A one-person business in other services to buildings and dwellings averages $41,840 gross, before costs.

How much do pool cleaners make an hour?

$22.53 an hour at the median for employees in that BLS series. Careers pages we read list $22 an hour to start for experienced technicians at POOLSEYE in St. Petersburg, $20 to $26 at Classic Pools and Spas in San Diego, and $18 to $30 at SK Pools in Southern California. That is three postings, not a survey.

How much do pool route owners make?

Census puts the average gross of a one-person business in other services to buildings and dwellings, pool cleaning included, at $41,840 a year, before chemicals, truck, fuel and tax. The code also holds pressure washing, duct, chimney and gutter cleaning. What owners with crews take home is not public.

How much do pool cleaners charge a month?

Four companies' own monthly prices, not a survey. Roadrunner in Phoenix charges $80 a month for weekly service with all chemicals included. Superior Point in Maricopa County charges $124 with chemicals. Sunfish in Sacramento charges $135 to $195 for cleaning plans, depending on chemical terms. Cabana in Los Angeles charges $190 to $255, with chlorine tablets extra.

How much do pool cleaners charge per visit?

No company we read published a per-visit price. By our arithmetic, Sunfish's $165 a month for weekly service is $38 a visit over 52 visits a year ($165 x 12 / 52). That is one company's plan, not an industry figure.

Do pool cleaners make good money?

No official figure settles it. Employees in that BLS series run from under $31,650 at the lowest-paid tenth to $74,820 where the top-paid tenth start, and the band leaves out the self-employed. The average one-person business grosses $41,840, so what you keep depends on the chemicals, truck and fuel you subtract.

How many pools can a pool cleaner service in a day?

We found no official figure. The calculator's 10 pools a day is an example you change, not a measured average.

Do you tip a pool cleaner?

The IRS lists pool cleaner in entry 407 of its tipped occupations. That says the job customarily receives tips. It gives no amount, and we give no rule on what to leave.

How much do pool cleaners make in Florida, Arizona, Texas and California?

BLS medians for employees: Florida $49,000 (330 employees), Arizona $72,550 (30 employees), Texas $44,500 (employment not published) and California $48,870 (3,710 employees). Census averages for one-person businesses: Florida $41,101, Arizona $58,146, Texas $40,319 and California $51,275. Arizona's employee median rests on a very small count.

Which state pays pool cleaners the most?

Indiana has the highest BLS median in that series, $78,580, on 40 employees. Minnesota ($73,300, 60 employees), Oklahoma ($73,300, 30) and Arizona ($72,550, 30) follow, and Massachusetts ($72,550) does not publish a count. For one-person businesses, Nevada leads at $60,667 on average, then Arizona at $58,146.

Pool cleaner pay

How Much Do Pool Cleaners Make?

Q: How much do pool cleaners make?

Employees have a median of $46,860 a year (May 2025, the nearest BLS stand-in; BLS has no pool cleaner code). Census puts the average one-person business in other services to buildings and dwellings, pool cleaning included, at $41,840 gross, before chemicals, truck, fuel and tax.

BLS has no occupation code for pool cleaners. This page uses the nearest published series, SOC 37-3019 "Grounds maintenance workers, all other", BLS's code for outdoor maintenance work not listed elsewhere, as the stand-in. The series is thin: 13,630 employees nationally, with a median in only 77 of 528 areas. BLS counts employees only, and 20% of the wider grounds maintenance group work for themselves. Census counts one-person businesses instead. In its data, the ones that include pool cleaning sit in other services to buildings and dwellings, and the average one grosses $41,840 a year before chemicals, truck and fuel.

We found no pool technician or route owner who published a full year of their own income, rather than a projection or a worked example, so this page uses official figures, company price lists and careers pages. Below are three figures side by side, a ZIP code tool and a calculator.

$41,840 a year

Average gross of a one-person business in other services to buildings and dwellings, pool cleaning included, Census 2024[4]

Before chemicals, truck, fuel and tax, and the code mixes several trades.

$46,860 a year

Median of employed workers, May 2025 (the nearest BLS stand-in; BLS has no pool cleaner code)[1]

The self-employed, and BLS does not identify pool cleaners within this series.

$74,820 a year

Where the top-paid tenth of employees in that series start, May 2025[1]

The other 90% of employees, and everyone self-employed.

Which of these you would be depends on whether you draw an hourly wage on someone's route, own the route, or add repairs.

Pool cleaner pay near you

One-person businesses in other services to buildings and dwellings gross $60,667 a year on average in Nevada and $20,856 in North Dakota

Type a ZIP code to see what one-person businesses in this Census code gross in your county, pool cleaning included. BLS's closest series is thin: it publishes a median in only 77 of 528 areas, and 12 states have none, so the tool uses Census receipts for 2,547 counties, or the state figure where a county has under 50 businesses. Every ZIP code matches.

Your ZIP code

Maricopa County one-person businesses average $62,653 a year, 50% above the national average

Census 2024: 2,612 one-person businesses in other services to buildings and dwellings, pool cleaning included, in the county that holds Phoenix. The national average is $41,840. Receipts are before chemicals, truck, fuel and tax, and part-timers are included.

Los Angeles County one-person businesses average $45,200 a year, 8% above the national average

Census 2024: 5,931 businesses, against $41,840 nationally. Part-timers are counted, and receipts are gross, before chemicals, truck, fuel and tax.

Miami-Dade County one-person businesses average $29,213 a year, 30% below the national average

Census 2024: 6,347 businesses, the most of these three counties. The average includes part-timers and is before chemicals, truck, fuel and tax.

Sources: Census 2024 Nonemployer Statistics, NAICS 56179, by county and state (Census publishes other services to buildings and dwellings at five digits, and pool cleaning is one trade inside it); Census ZIP-to-county file; USDA rural-urban codes. BLS has no pool cleaner code and the nearest BLS stand-in covers few areas, so the tool uses receipts of one-person businesses. Receipts are gross, before chemicals, truck, fuel and tax, and part-timers are included. The calculator applies the county's one-person receipts level to the price per visit, which is our assumption, because no agency publishes pool service prices by area. The lookup runs in your browser. It loads a small file for the first three digits of your ZIP code from this site and sends nothing else.

Pool cleaner pay by state

Indiana pays employed outdoor maintenance workers a median of $78,580; Mississippi pays $31,420

The table shows the national figures, then the five highest and five lowest state medians, then six more states. The BLS series is thin: it has a median in only 77 of 528 areas and in 38 of 50 states. Four of the five highest state medians rest on 30 to 60 employees (Indiana 40, Minnesota 60, Oklahoma 30, Arizona 30; Massachusetts does not publish a count), so a state row is a small sample. California's $48,870 stands on 3,710 employees, the only state with a four-digit count.

State	Employed outdoor maintenance workers (BLS 37-3019), median a year (BLS May 2025)	One-person business, other services to buildings and dwellings, pool cleaning included, average gross (Census 2024)
United States	$46,860	$41,840
Highest five
Indiana	$78,580	$36,840
Minnesota	$73,300	$36,523
Oklahoma	$73,300	$43,206
Arizona	$72,550	$58,146
Massachusetts	$72,550	$45,719
Lowest five
Mississippi	$31,420	$35,341
Louisiana	$33,970	$34,354
Idaho	$36,000	$34,578
Pennsylvania	$36,810	$38,719
West Virginia	$38,060	$25,271
Most people employed in this job
California	$48,870	$51,275
Colorado	$48,280	$49,184
Oregon	$48,890	$37,280
Tennessee	$39,980	$52,097
Georgia	$39,840	$40,220
Florida	$49,000	$41,101

First column: BLS OEWS May 2025 state medians for SOC 37-3019, the nearest BLS stand-in; BLS has no pool cleaner code. Employees only; the self-employed are not surveyed. Second column: Census Nonemployer Statistics 2024, NAICS 56179, gross receipts per one-person business before expenses, covering the whole code, which holds pool cleaning together with pressure washing, duct, chimney and gutter cleaning.

What pool route owners make

A one-person business in this Census code grosses $41,840, below the $46,860 employee median

A wage is what an employer pays. A price list shows what an owner charges, before any of the owner's costs. The two measure different things, so the figures below sit side by side, not netted against each other.

Choose one

AOn an hourly wage

+The BLS median is $46,860 a year, $22.53 an hour (the nearest BLS stand-in; BLS has no pool cleaner code).

+Half of those employees earn between $37,520 and $57,820 a year.

+Three companies' own careers pages: POOLSEYE in St. Petersburg starts experienced technicians at $22 an hour with a truck, tools and vacuum provided. Classic Pools and Spas in North County San Diego pays $20 to $26 after $18 in training, with extra pay for filter cleanings. SK Pools in Southern California pays $18 to $30 by experience and route type.

−$18 to $30 an hour is $37,440 to $62,400 over a 2,080-hour year, by our arithmetic. These are three postings, not company-wide pay and not a survey.

−The lowest-paid tenth of employees in the BLS series earn under $31,650, and the self-employed are not surveyed.

BOwning the route

+146,860 one-person businesses in other services to buildings and dwellings average $41,840 gross. Nevada ($60,667) and Arizona ($58,146) have the highest state averages.

+Published weekly-service plans run from $80 a month with chemicals included (Roadrunner, Phoenix) to $190 to $255 a month with chlorine tablets extra (Cabana, Los Angeles). Sunfish in Sacramento prices its cleaning plans by chemical terms, $135 to $195, and Superior Point in Maricopa County charges $124 with chemicals.

+Forty pools at Superior Point's $124 a month would gross $59,520 a year before costs, by our arithmetic.

−$41,840 is before chemicals, truck, fuel, insurance and tax, and the code mixes pool cleaning with pressure washing, duct, chimney and gutter cleaning.

−These are four companies' own monthly prices, not a survey and not an industry price.

What owners with crews take home is not public, and we found no trade body figure with a sample size. Companies also publish prices for work beyond the weekly visit. Marlin Pools in Scottsdale lists a $99 filter cleaning and an $89 service call, and Cabana lists algae removal from $564 and a drain and restart from $750.

Pool route income calculator

Work out what a year of pool visits brings in before tax

Put in your price per visit, pools a day, days a week and weeks a year. The starting numbers are examples to change. With a ZIP code entered above, the price per visit follows your county's level.

Price per visit$38An example to change: our arithmetic from one published monthly plan, not an industry survey.Pools a day10Pools you service on a typical working day. 10 is an example, not an official figure.Days a week5Days you work in a typical week. 5 is an example.Weeks a year50Weeks worked after time off. 50 is an example.

Visit income in a year$95,000
Your share$95,000
Card fees− $2,850

Before tax, a year$92,150about $1,772 a week

Checked November 2026. Chemicals, truck, fuel and insurance are not deducted, so subtract your own. Pools a day, days and weeks are examples. With a ZIP code, the price per visit follows that county's level of one-person business receipts.

Do pool cleaners get tips

The IRS lists pool cleaners in private homes as a tipped job, entry 407

The IRS list is the firmest fact we found on tips for pool cleaners. It says the job customarily receives tips, and nothing about how much or how often.

Pool cleaners are named in entry 407 on the IRS list of tipped occupations[5]

Entry 407 reads: "Home cleaning service workers. Perform cleaning duties in private households. House cleaner, pool cleaner, carpet cleaner, window washer 37-2012". That code is maids and housekeeping cleaners, median $35,510. The pay series on this page is 37-3019, so the tip code and the pay code differ.

Up to $25,000 of qualified tips can be deducted for tax years 2025 through 2028[6]

Employees and the self-employed can both claim it. The deduction phases out above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($300,000 joint). For the self-employed it cannot exceed the net income of the business, and the tips must be voluntary.

Employees report cash tips of $20 or more in a month to their employer[7]

The IRS says the report is due by the 10th of the next month.

No survey we could read gives tips as a share of pool cleaner pay

So this page gives no tip percentage for pool cleaners, and no view on whether to tip.

How much do new pool cleaners make

The lowest-paid tenth of employed workers in this series earn under $31,650

BLS reports $31,650 a year at the 10th percentile and $37,520 at the 25th (the nearest BLS stand-in; BLS has no pool cleaner code). Those describe all employees in the series, not only new hires. For a first year, careers pages show what three companies offer.

A quarter of employed workers in this series earn under $37,520 a year[1]

That is the BLS 25th percentile for May 2025. It counts employees only, so it says nothing about a new route owner.

Classic Pools and Spas pays $18 an hour for 2 to 6 weeks of training, then $20 to $26[10]

The North County San Diego company's careers page lists $20 to $26 an hour by experience, a company truck, and extra pay for filter cleanings. The page carries no posting date.

POOLSEYE's $22 an hour start is quoted for experienced technicians[9]

The St. Petersburg, Florida company's careers page lists tiered raises, a truck for the daily route, and tools and vacuum provided.

SK Pools lists $18 to $30 an hour by experience and route type[11]

The pay applies to pool service technicians at six Southern California companies, residential or commercial routes, with a company truck or your own, health insurance, a 401k and a company phone. Across a 2,080-hour year that range is $37,440 to $62,400, our arithmetic.

BLS expects the wider grounds maintenance group to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035[2]

The group held 1,299,200 jobs in 2025 and has about 162,500 openings a year. It is far wider than pool cleaners, and pesticide and fertilizer licensing varies by state.

Routine pool cleaning has no license of its own in the rules we read[12][13][15][14]

We found no state that licenses routine pool cleaning as its own trade in the rules we read. Florida licenses servicing and repair, Arizona and California put a dollar line on contractor work, and Texas licenses the electrical side. Check your state before you take on repairs.

What people ask about pool cleaner pay

Each bar counts the distinct ways people phrase the question in Google's suggestions, from fixed starting points per row at the same depth for every row, so the numbers compare. Phrasings that name a place are counted separately.

about payaround the edgesthe control

Per year

Per pool or visit

Starting out

Per hour

Tipping pool cleaners

Is it worth it

Self-employed pool cleaners

Owning a pool route

By state or city

Pool service companies and franchises

Domain and email

Pay per year is the most-asked row, with 39 phrasings

Pay per pool or visit came next with 29, and starting out drew 28.

Pay per hour drew 24 phrasings, tipping 22 and whether it is worth it 21

Self-employed pool cleaners drew 17 and owning a pool route 11.

Questions that name a pool service company or franchise did not register

That row counted 0 phrasings. Pay by state or city drew 3, and phrasings that name a place are counted separately.

Measured by us in November 2026. Courses and training were measured but left off the chart. Each row counts distinct phrasings, not searches, so a bar shows how many ways people ask, not how many people ask.

Pool cleaner pay questions

Booking software for pool serviceFor pool service businesses that want customers to book and pay online.How much do landscapers makePay for landscapers, another outdoor maintenance trade.How much do pressure washers makePay for pressure washers, a trade Census counts in the same code as pool cleaning.

If you run your own pool route, let customers book and pay online between stops.

Set up your services and prices once, then share one booking page. Customers pick a service and a time, and pay online.

A booking page that works as the link in your bio.
Each service with its own length and price, like weekly pool service, a one-time clean or a filter cleaning.
A deposit at booking, or a card on file for later.
Tap to Pay on iPhone, to take a card in person.

Free to start. No credit card needed.

Pool technician checking the pressure gauge on a sand filter at a backyard equipment pad.

Pool technician carrying a pole and a bucket across a driveway to a white pickup.

Hands holding a pool water test kit with two tinted vials above the water.

The kiwilaunch iPhone app showing today's bookings and payments

Services

Book now

Sources

Where every number on this page comes from, by publisher and date. Company pages were read in November 2026, and each is one company's own page, not a survey. The three careers pages carry no posting date.

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Grounds Maintenance Workers, All Other (37-3019), national, state and area, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-05-15 Employees only; the self-employed are not surveyed. BLS has no pool cleaner code, and this is the nearest series. Coverage: a median in 77 of 528 areas and in 38 of 50 states; the ZIP tool uses Census receipts instead.
Occupational Outlook Handbook: Grounds Maintenance Workers, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-11-09 Covers the whole grounds maintenance group, far wider than pool cleaners: 1,299,200 jobs in 2025, 20% self-employed, 5% growth from 2025 to 2035.
2018 SOC direct match title file, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2026-11-09 About 6,000 job titles matched to codes. No title contains "pool cleaner"; "Concrete Swimming Pool Installer" and "Swimming Pool Plasterer" are construction codes.
Nonemployer Statistics 2024: Other Services to Buildings and Dwellings (NAICS 56179), national, state and county, U.S. Census Bureau, 2026-09-29 Gross receipts of businesses with no paid employees, before costs and tax. Pool cleaning is counted together with pressure washing, duct, chimney and gutter cleaning; Census does not publish pool cleaning alone.
Occupations that customarily and regularly received tips on or before Dec. 31, 2024, Internal Revenue Service, 2026-11-09 Entry 407, home cleaning service workers, names pool cleaner and carries code 37-2012.
One Big Beautiful Bill Act: tax deductions for working Americans and seniors (no tax on tips), Internal Revenue Service, 2026-11-09 The cap, tax years, income limits and voluntary-tip condition of the deduction.
Topic no. 761, Tips: withholding and reporting, Internal Revenue Service, 2026-11-09 The monthly cash tip reporting rule for employees.
Stripe pricing, standard US card rate, Stripe, 2026-10-25 The card processor kiwilaunch uses; quoted for the 3% card fee in the calculator.
Careers: experienced pool maintenance technician, St. Petersburg, Florida, POOLSEYE, 2026-11-09 $22.00 an hour starting for experienced technicians, tiered raises, a truck for the daily route, tools and vacuum provided.
Careers: pool technician, North County San Diego, California, Classic Pools and Spas, 2026-11-09 $20.00 to $26.00 an hour by experience; $18 during a 2 to 6 week training period; company truck; extra pay for filter cleanings.
Careers: pool service technician, Southern California, SK Pools, 2026-11-09 $18 to $30 an hour by experience and route type, company truck or your own, health insurance, 401k, company phone.
Florida Statutes section 489.105, definitions: swimming pool/spa servicing contractor, Florida Legislature, 2026-11-09 Defines licensed servicing and repair work. Routine skimming, brushing and chemical balancing are not named.
Arizona Revised Statutes 32-1121, contractor license exemptions, Arizona Legislature, 2026-11-09 No license for a job under $1,000 in labor and materials together, and a job cannot be split to stay under. The gardener exemption names lawn, garden, shrub and tree maintenance.
Residential Appliance Installers: authorized scope of work and service of pool-related electrical devices, Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, 2026-11-09 Notice of January 2019. We found no Texas license for cleaning-only service.
Fast Facts: Landscaping, 2025, California Contractors State License Board, 2026-11-09 A licensed contractor is needed for jobs of $1,000 or more in labor and materials, and a job cannot be split to stay under. We found no California license for routine pool cleaning.
Weekly pool service plans and prices, Sacramento, California, Sunfish Pool Service, 2026-11-09 Four monthly plans: Chemical Service $125 (chemistry only), Essential $135 plus chemicals at cost, Premium $165 with core chemicals included, Sunfish Plan $195 with all chemicals. Phosphate treatment $60 once a year; vacuuming $125 an hour. No contract.
Pool service prices, Los Angeles, California, Cabana Pools, 2026-11-09 Weekly service $190 to $255 a month by plan and pool; balancing chemicals included, chlorine tablets charged separately. Algae removal from $564 a cleanup; drain and restart from $750.
Weekly pool service prices, Phoenix, Arizona, Roadrunner Pool Service, 2026-11-09 Full weekly service $80 a month with all chemicals included; chemical-only visits $48 a month; equipment inspected every visit.
Pool service prices, Maricopa County, Arizona, Superior Point Pool Service, 2026-11-09 $124 a month for a standard pool up to 18,000 gallons, chemicals included, month to month; first month $62.
Weekly pool cleaning service, Scottsdale, Arizona, Marlin Pools, 2026-11-09 Used only for the add-on prices: $89 service call, $99 filter cleaning.

Not tax, legal or financial advice. Prices, pay and what you keep vary by state and city, licensing rules differ by state, and the tax rules on tips have conditions. A tax professional who knows your situation can answer for you.