State medians come from the same OEWS release as the national figures. The cost-of-living column divides each state median by that state's BEA Regional Price Parity, restating pay in national-average dollars so a high-cost state and a low-cost one can be compared directly.
Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment Salary (2026): Data, Outlook & How to Become One
The median pay for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment is $35,830 a year ($17.23/hr), according to BLS OEWS, May 2025. Employment is projected to grow 3.9% through 2034, with about 56,200 openings a year (BLS EP, 2024–2034). Typical entry-level education: No formal educational credential.
SOC 53-7061Transportation and Material MovingLast updated August 15, 2026
- Median pay
- $35,830
- Projected growth
- +3.9%
- Openings a year
- 56,200
- Typical education
- No formal credential
BLS OEWS, May 2025
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
BLS EP, 2024–2034
Also advertised as: Aircraft Cleaner, Automotive Detailer (Auto Detailer), Bus Cleaner, Car Detailer, Car Washer, Cleaner.
How much do Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment make?
10th percentile$27,380
Entry / lowest-paid tenth
25th percentile$30,420
Lower quartile
Median (50th)$35,830
Half earn more, half earn less
75th percentile$41,040
Upper quartile
90th percentile$47,610
Top-paid tenth
| Median annual wage | $35,830 |
|---|---|
| Median hourly wage | $17.23/hr |
| Mean annual wage | $36,980 |
| People employed | 380,430 |
Versus all US occupations
At $35,830, Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment earn 30% below the $50,980 median across all US occupations, a difference of $15,150 a year.
Versus transportation and material moving occupations
Inside the Transportation and Material Moving group, where the middle occupation pays $58,405, this is 39% below the group median.
Pay range
The top 10% earn $47,610 or more while the bottom 10% earn $27,380, a gap of 1.7×. That is a narrow spread, so experience and employer move pay less than in most occupations.
Rank in the bank
This median pays more than 4% of the 923 occupations in the NueCareer career bank.
Cost of living
District of Columbia posts the highest raw median ($42,710), but once local prices are taken into account North Dakota leads at $41,918 in national-average dollars.
Which states pay Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment the most?
| State | Median | COL-adjusted | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $42,710 | $38,862 | 350 |
| Alaska | $40,210 | $39,283 | 620 |
| Washington | $40,070 | $37,444 | 8,270 |
| Colorado | $39,610 | $38,437 | 6,750 |
| Vermont | $39,530 | $40,354 | 620 |
| New York | $39,390 | $36,499 | 20,390 |
| Massachusetts | $38,630 | $36,527 | 5,100 |
| Oregon | $38,070 | $36,832 | 5,550 |
| California | $37,920 | $34,249 | 46,030 |
| Minnesota | $37,580 | $38,105 | 4,460 |
Is Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment a growing career?
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment3.9%
All US occupations3.1%
+3.9% projected growth vs 3.1% for all occupations.
About as fast as average
BLS projects employment of Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment to change 3.9% over 2024–2034, against 3.1% projected for all occupations. That is 16,000 more jobs.
Annual openings
About 56,200 openings are projected each year, 13.7% of the 410,100 jobs that existed in 2024. Most come from workers leaving the occupation, not from growth alone.
Overall employment of hand laborers and material movers is projected to grow 4 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations.
Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
Projected employment of hand laborers and material movers varies by occupation (see table).
Hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers will still be needed to move materials in many sectors of the economy. However, some warehouses have installed equipment, such as high-speed conveyors and sorting systems, to increase efficiency.
How to become a Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment
There are usually no formal educational requirements to become a hand laborer or material mover. They typically learn through on-the-job training that lasts 1 month or less.
| Typical entry-level education | No formal educational credential |
|---|---|
| Preparation needed (O*NET job zone) | Little or no preparation |
| Work experience in a related occupation | None |
| Typical on-the-job training | Short-term on-the-job training |
What education people in the job have
O*NET incumbent survey: the highest level of education reported by people already working as cleaners of vehicles and equipment.
- High School Diploma54.0%
- Less than a High School Diploma23.8%
- Some College Courses19.9%
- Post-Secondary Certificate2.3%
What does a Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment do?
Wash or otherwise clean vehicles, machinery, and other equipment. Use such materials as water, cleaning agents, brushes, cloths, and hoses.
Hand laborers and material movers manually move freight, stock, or other materials. Some of these workers feed or remove material to or from machines, clean vehicles, pick up unwanted household goods, and pack materials for moving.
Day-to-day tasks
- Inspect parts, equipment, or vehicles for cleanliness, damage, and compliance with standards or regulations.
- Clean and polish vehicle windows.
- Sweep, shovel, or vacuum loose debris or salvageable scrap into containers and remove containers from work areas.
- Scrub, scrape, or spray machine parts, equipment, or vehicles, using scrapers, brushes, clothes, cleaners, disinfectants, insecticides, acid, abrasives, vacuums, or hoses.
- Mix cleaning solutions, abrasive compositions, or other compounds, according to formulas.
- Maintain inventories of supplies.
- Rinse objects and place them on drying racks or use cloth, squeegees, or air compressors to dry surfaces.
- Drive vehicles to or from workshops or customers' workplaces or homes.
O*NET core tasks, ordered by reported importance.
Core skills
- Monitoring2.8/5
- Speaking2.6/5
- Active Listening2.5/5
- Reading Comprehension2.3/5
- Critical Thinking2.3/5
- Active Learning2.0/5
- Writing1.9/5
- Learning Strategies1.9/5
Transferable skills
- Operation and Control3.0/5
- Quality Control Analysis3.0/5
- Operations Monitoring2.9/5
- Time Management2.8/5
- Service Orientation2.4/5
- Coordination2.3/5
- Equipment Selection2.3/5
- Equipment Maintenance2.3/5
Tools and software
- Operating system software · in demand
- Calendar and scheduling software
- Data base user interface and query software
- Inventory management software
“In demand” marks an O*NET Employer-Based Hot Technology, software named in real job postings for this occupation.
What personality type suits a Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment?
Interest profile: O*NET Occupational Interests, scored 1–7
Realisticprimary7.0
Investigative1.1
Artistic1.0
Social1.0
Enterprising1.0
Conventionalprimary4.0
Day to day this is work built around hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors, combined with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data.
Closest MBTI types
NueCareer fit scores: cosine similarity between each MBTI type's interest vector and this occupation's O*NET interest profile. Not a BLS or O*NET figure; the method is documented on our methodology page.
Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment: frequently asked questions
How much do Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment make?
Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment earn a median of $35,830 a year (BLS OEWS, May 2025), 30% below the $50,980 median for all US occupations. That works out at $17.23/hr. The middle half earn between $30,420 and $41,040. The top 10% earn $47,610 or more.
Do you need a degree to become a Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment?
No. BLS lists no formal educational credential as the typical entry requirement for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment, and O*NET rates the preparation needed as little or no preparation. BLS also lists short-term on-the-job training as typical on-the-job training. In O*NET's survey of people already doing the job, 54.0% hold high school diploma.
Is Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment a growing career?
It is stable rather than fast-growing: employment is projected to change 3.9% over 2024–2034, about the same as the 3.1% projected across all occupations (BLS EP, 2024–2034). BLS still projects about 56,200 openings a year, mostly from workers retiring or moving to other work.
What does a Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment do?
Hand laborers and material movers manually move freight, stock, or other materials. A core O*NET task: inspect parts, equipment, or vehicles for cleanliness, damage, and compliance with standards or regulations. Employers most often ask for Operating system software.
Which states pay Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment the most?
The highest state medians for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment are District of Columbia ($42,710), Alaska ($40,210), Washington ($40,070) (BLS OEWS, May 2025). Adjusted for local prices using BEA Regional Price Parities, North Dakota moves to the top at $41,918.
What personality type suits a Cleaner of Vehicles and Equipment?
O*NET scores Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment highest on the Realistic and Conventional interest areas, so the work mixes hands-on, practical work with tools, machines or the outdoors with organising, following procedures and working precisely with data. On NueCareer's MBTI-to-interest mapping that lines up most closely with ISTJ personalities. Personality is a fit signal, not a gate. The free NueCareer quiz scores your own profile against all 923 occupations in the bank.