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Commercial cleaning cost by building size
Across the U.S., five-night commercial cleaning costs about $280 to $360 a month for a 2,000 square foot office and $10,000 to $14,000 for a 100,000 square foot building, as of 2026. The monthly total climbs with size while the rate per square foot falls, from about $0.14 to $0.18 in small offices to $0.10 to $0.14 in the largest buildings. Below are the figures by size, the Northern California and northern Nevada band beside them, and what moves a building up or down.
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Monthly cleaning cost by building size
The table prices a five-night office program at six sizes. The U.S. columns come from the national typical band of $0.10 to $0.18 a square foot a month. The regional columns use Continental’s band for Northern California and northern Nevada, where labor costs more. Figures are rounded, as of 2026.
| Building size | U.S. rate per sq ft a month | U.S. monthly | Northern California and northern Nevada rate | Regional monthly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2,000 sq ft | $0.14-$0.18 | $280-$360 | $0.18-$0.25 | $360-$500 |
| 5,000 sq ft | $0.13-$0.18 | $650-$900 | $0.17-$0.25 | $850-$1,250 |
| 10,000 sq ft | $0.12-$0.17 | $1,200-$1,700 | $0.16-$0.24 | $1,600-$2,400 |
| 25,000 sq ft | $0.11-$0.16 | $2,750-$4,000 | $0.15-$0.23 | $3,750-$5,750 |
| 50,000 sq ft | $0.10-$0.15 | $5,000-$7,500 | $0.14-$0.22 | $7,000-$11,000 |
| 100,000 sq ft | $0.10-$0.14 | $10,000-$14,000 | $0.14-$0.21 | $14,000-$21,000 |
The arithmetic is square feet times the monthly rate. A 10,000 square foot office at $0.12 comes to 10,000 × $0.12 = $1,200 a month. ISSA’s own example, a 100,000 square foot building at $12,000 a month, lands on the same $0.12. To run the numbers for your own footage and schedule, try our facility cleaning price calculator.
Why the rate per square foot falls with size
Every cleaning night carries fixed time before a single desk is dusted: travel, setup, the restroom clean, the trash run and the supervisor’s check. A small office spreads that time across a few thousand feet, so its rate per foot sits high. A large building spreads it across tens of thousands, and open floors let a crew move faster with larger equipment. HomeGuide puts a 1,000 to 2,000 square foot office cleaned three times a week at about $200 to $400 a month, a steep per-foot figure.
A large building still climbs the band when it has a restroom core on every floor, dense private offices or round-the-clock occupancy, because each of those keeps more crew hours on every foot.
How frequency changes the total
The table assumes five nights a week. Fewer nights mean fewer crew hours and a lower monthly figure, although the drop is smaller than the night count suggests, because restrooms, kitchens and trash build up between visits and take longer each time.
A split schedule is the smart middle path. Restrooms, lobbies and break rooms stay on five nights, while private offices and quiet floors move to two or three, so the spaces tenants notice stay at full standard.
Building type: office, medical, retail and industrial
What a building is used for moves its rate as much as its size. ISSA’s national bands, per square foot a month, run $0.09 to $0.17 for offices, $0.14 to $0.29 for medical space, $0.07 to $0.15 for retail and $0.08 to $0.20 for industrial buildings. For a 25,000 square foot building that works out to about $2,250 to $4,250 a month as an office and $3,500 to $7,250 as medical space.
Medical space sits highest because exam and procedure rooms are cleaned to the practice’s protocol with EPA-registered disinfectants, and restrooms and hard floors need attention every night. Retail floors are open and quick, so they lean low. Industrial pricing covers the production and warehouse floors as well as the offices, restrooms and locker rooms around them, and multi-shift plants sit near the top.
Adding day porters, floor refinishing and carpet care
The nightly program is the base line. Day porters keep lobbies, restrooms and break rooms in shape while the building is busy. They are billed by the hour, so the monthly cost is scheduled hours times the porter rate, and four hours each weekday comes to about 87 hours a month. Our facility services cost guide lists porter rates across the region.
Periodic floor and carpet work is priced per square foot each time it runs. ISSA puts stripping and refinishing resilient floors at $0.30 to $0.60 a square foot, with small rooms and heavy buildup priced higher, and carpet cleaning at $0.08 to $0.25 a square foot per cleaning. Refinishing 5,000 square feet of corridor at $0.50 adds $2,500 a project, and cleaning 20,000 square feet of carpet at $0.15 adds $3,000 a visit.
How a walkthrough turns the range into a quote
The table gives a budget; the walkthrough gives the number. Continental walks the building with you, measures the cleanable area rather than the gross footage, counts restrooms and break rooms, notes floor types and finish condition, and asks about traffic, access and tenant hours. The written quote then prices the nightly program, porter hours and each periodic task on its own line.
Companies with buildings in several states get the same method at every address. Our nationwide coverage program prices each location on its own footage and local costs, then runs all of them under one plan and one invoice. Outside Northern California and northern Nevada, local partner crews that Continental manages do the work, and Continental schedules and inspects every site.
A few useful answers
Common questions
How much does it cost to clean a 10,000 square foot office?
On five nights a week, a 10,000 square foot office runs about $1,200 to $1,700 a month on U.S. rates as of 2026, and about $1,600 to $2,400 across Northern California and northern Nevada.
What is the monthly cleaning cost for a 50,000 square foot building?
About $5,000 to $7,500 a month on five nights at U.S. rates of $0.10 to $0.15 a square foot, and $7,000 to $11,000 in our home region, where labor costs run higher.
Why do small offices pay more per square foot to clean?
Each visit carries fixed time for travel, setup, restrooms and trash, and a small office spreads it across fewer feet. That puts small offices near $0.14 to $0.18 a square foot a month and large buildings near $0.10 to $0.14.
Does cleaning three nights a week instead of five lower the cost?
Yes. Fewer nights mean fewer crew hours and a lower monthly total, and a split plan keeps restrooms and lobbies on five nights while quiet floors move to three.
Do companies with buildings in several states pay one rate everywhere?
Each building is priced on its own footage, schedule and local labor costs, then every location runs under one plan and one invoice from Continental.
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