How long does it take to sell a cleaning business?

Listings that actually closed spent a median of 51 days on market. Figures based on currently active listings understate this substantially, because listings still on the market are measured mid-run rather than at completion.

CleaningExits · Valuation Data

What is my cleaning business worth?

Q: What is my cleaning business worth?

Across 303 listed cleaning businesses with reported cash flow, the median asking price is 2.84× seller's discretionary earnings. Smaller operations trade lower and larger ones higher; the full range by size band is published on this page.

Most valuation guides quote a range someone made up in 2015. This one is calculated from live and closed listings, updated as the market moves.

Median multiple

2.84×

303 listings with reported SDE

Median asking price

$280K

443 active listings

Median SDE

$113K

303 listings

Find your range

Enter your seller’s discretionary earnings — net profit plus your own salary, personal expenses run through the business, interest, depreciation, and one-time costs.

Annual SDE

Multiples by business size

Size is the single largest determinant of multiple. Bands below the 8-listing minimum are shown with sample size and no median.

SDE band	Listings	Lower	Median	Upper
Under $75K	87	2.11×	3.00×	4.15×
$75K - $150K	98	1.77×	2.42×	3.57×
$150K - $300K	65	2.10×	2.78×	3.13×
$300K - $500K	25	2.71×	3.47×	4.00×
$500K+	17	3.02×	4.00×	4.67×

What moves you within the range

Recurring contracts

Buyers pay for contracted monthly revenue, not one-off jobs. A book weighted toward multi-year commercial contracts prices above one built on residential turnover.

Owner dependence

If you still clean, quote, or hold the key customer relationships, a buyer is purchasing a job. Supervisors and a working manager move you up the range.

Customer concentration

One account above roughly a quarter of revenue is the most common reason a cleaning deal reprices during diligence.

Labor stability

Documented crews, legal classification, and low turnover reduce the risk a buyer inherits. Undocumented 1099 crews are a discount.

A correction

How long a sale actually takes

Active listings in this market show a median of 51 days on market. Listings that actually sold show 51 days.

Both numbers are correct and they measure different things. Anything still listed is being measured partway through its run, which drags the figure down. Only completed sales tell you how long the process takes. Most published “days on market” statistics use the first method, which is why the number you have probably seen is roughly 1× too low.

Based on 443 active and 192 closed listings across 185 brokerages. Data through October 24, 2026.

Where your business actually lands

The range above is what comparable businesses are asking. What yours is worth depends on contract quality, owner dependence, and how the books present — none of which a calculator can see.

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