Valuation · Residential cleaning
What is a residential cleaning business worth?
House cleaning and maid services are valued on owner earnings, the same as the rest of the industry, but buyers read the numbers differently. Here is where listed residential businesses are priced, and why.
Median asking multiple
3.26×
21 active listings with SDE
Middle half
2.18×–3.70×
lower to upper quartile
Median asking price
$200K
median SDE $76K
Your range as a residential cleaning business
Enter seller’s discretionary earnings: net profit plus your salary, personal expenses run through the business, interest, depreciation and one-time costs.
Why residential multiples look the way they do
Residential revenue is many small, recurring clients rather than a few contracts. That spreads risk, which buyers like: losing one home barely moves the numbers. It also means there is usually no written agreement behind the revenue, so a buyer is paying for client habits rather than signed terms.
Recurring frequency is the asset. A book of weekly and biweekly clients on autopay is worth far more than the same revenue made up of one-time deep cleans and move-outs. Expect a buyer to ask for revenue split by visit frequency.
Residential businesses are mostly smaller, and smaller businesses trade at lower multiples across every industry. Compare against the size bands on the main valuation page, not just the segment median.
Read the asking multiple above with care. Residential owners tend to list high: the residential listings that come off the market unsold were priced far lower, at around two times earnings. Commercial businesses are worth more, in total price and in what buyers actually pay per dollar of earnings.
What raises a residential valuation
Client retention you can show: month-by-month active client counts for two years, and how many of today’s clients were on the books a year ago.
Booking and payment run through software, with card-on-file billing. It proves the revenue and shows the business runs without the owner chasing invoices.
Cleaners who are properly classified, with an office manager or lead who handles scheduling. If the owner still answers every call and fills every gap, the buyer is buying a job.
Reviews and a lead source that does not depend on the owner personally: search rankings, a referral program, or a booking site that keeps producing new clients.
What lowers it
Cash payments that do not appear in the books. Unrecorded revenue cannot be valued or financed.
Independent-contractor crews treated like employees. Buyers and SBA lenders discount misclassification risk.
A client list concentrated in one neighborhood or one referral source that could disappear with the owner.
Compared with other cleaning businesses
| Type | Listings | Median asking multiple | Median asking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential cleaning | 21 | 3.26× | $200K |
| Commercial & janitorial | 42 | 2.88× | $380K |
| Restoration | 19 | 2.73× | $525K |
| Pressure washing | 15 | 1.98× | $200K |
| Window cleaning | 15 | 2.24× | $180K |
| Carpet cleaning | 14 | 2.89× | $300K |
| All cleaning businesses | 303 | 2.84× | $280K |
Common questions
How is a house cleaning business valued?
Usually as a multiple of seller’s discretionary earnings: net profit plus the owner’s salary, personal expenses run through the business, interest, depreciation and one-time costs. The multiple then moves with recurring client share, retention and how dependent the business is on the owner.
Is a residential cleaning business worth less than a commercial one?
Yes. Commercial cleaning businesses are worth more: they are typically about twice the size in earnings, and in closed deals buyers pay more per dollar of earnings for contracted commercial revenue than for residential client lists. Residential asking multiples can look high, but residential listings that come off the market without a sale were priced well below where commercial ones were.
Can a buyer use an SBA loan for a maid service?
Yes. Residential cleaning businesses are financed with SBA 7(a) loans regularly. Lenders want earnings they can verify from tax returns, so revenue that never reached the books does not count toward the price a buyer can borrow against.
Where your business actually lands
A median tells you where comparable businesses ask. Contract quality, owner dependence and how the books present decide where yours sits.
No cost, no listing agreement. Or read how to prepare a cleaning business for sale.