Compared with the local labor market
Custodian pay vs. the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area
Across all employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area, the median wage for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners — about 83,160 people — is $38,720. Public Works - Sanitation pays a median base salary of $56,530 for this role, 46% above that figure — above the 90th percentile of local pay for the occupation.
Where Public Works - Sanitation sits in the local pay range
$35,700
$36,520
$38,720
$47,070
$56,300
Public Works - Sanitation median · $56,530
The bar is the range of annual wages for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners across every employer in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area, from the 10th to the 90th percentile, with the middle 50% highlighted. The marker shows Public Works - Sanitation’s median base salary for this role. Both figures are base pay only.
And across the country
Nationwide, the median wage for Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners — about 2,209,760 people — is $36,840. Public Works - Sanitation’s median base salary is 53% above that national figure, above the 90th percentile of pay for the occupation nationally.
$28,640
$32,240
$36,840
$44,060
$50,270
Public Works - Sanitation median · $56,530
Local and national wages differ for reasons beyond how well a job pays — cost of living, the mix of employers, and local demand for the occupation all move the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA range relative to the national one.
Median total compensation for this role at Public Works - Sanitation is $81,400, which includes overtime and employer-paid benefits. The benchmark above excludes both, so total compensation is deliberately not compared against it.
Benchmark: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025). BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) covers all employers in the area — private, non-profit, and government alike — so this is a comparison against the whole local labor market for the occupation, not against private-sector pay. OEWS wages are straight-time pay and exclude overtime, shift differentials, and employer-paid benefits, so the government figure shown here is base pay on the same basis. Total compensation is not comparable to it. Job titles are matched to the closest standard occupation, so the comparison is between similar work rather than an identical job classification.
Compare departments
This role across City of Los Angeles
Custodian is held in 6 City of Los Angeles departments. In Public Works - Sanitation, the median of $81,400 ranks #3 of 6.
Highest-paying departments for this role
Median total compensation for the Custodian role in other City of Los Angelesdepartments (highest first). Each bar links to that department’s page for this role.
Compare jurisdictions
Custodian beyond City of Los Angeles
This role is reported in 18 jurisdictions. In City of Los Angeles, the median of $77,741 ranks #5 of 18. See Custodian across all of City of Los Angeles →
Highest-paying jurisdictions for this role
Median total compensation for comparable Custodianroles in other jurisdictions. Titles are matched by normalized name across sources, not identical job classification, and pay is not cost-of-living adjusted. Each bar links to that jurisdiction’s page for the role.