SalaryExplorer

SOC 53-7061 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment — Asheville

Asheville, NC · 10 metro areas compared

$34,540 /year
$16.60per hour
380jobs in area
−3.6%vs US median

At $34,540, median pay for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in Asheville, NC tracks the national median of $35,830 closely.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $35,83010TH$23,91025TH$27,520MEDIAN$34,54075TH$38,11090TH$44,040

How pay has moved

$37,158$21,4532019202020212022202320242025$34,540
$24,950 in 2019 to $34,540 in 2025, +38.4% before inflation. BLS states that OEWS estimates are not designed for comparison across years: the occupational classification, the sampling frame and the survey method have all changed inside this window. Read the direction, not the exact difference.

The next ten years

Projected to grow about as fast as average

Change in jobs, 2024 to 2034
+3.9%
Openings per year
56,200
Typical entry-level education
No formal educational credential
On-the-job training
Short-term on-the-job training

Includes jobs opened by workers leaving the occupation, not only new positions.

7.4% of people in this occupation work for themselves.

Projections are published nationally only. This is the outlook for the occupation across the United States, not a measurement for Asheville, NC.

Projections are based on 2024 employment and run to 2034. The wages above are from the May 2025 survey, a separate BLS programme on a different release cycle, so the two are not two views of one dataset.

Salary overview

At $34,540, median pay for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in Asheville, NC tracks the national median of $35,830 closely. The middle half of workers in this occupation earn between $27,520 and $38,110. The lowest tenth earn under $23,910, while the highest tenth earn more than $44,040.

The area has 380 jobs in this occupation, giving a location quotient of 0.86 — a measure of how concentrated the occupation is here relative to the country as a whole. Durham leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $35,580. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 399th of 425 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Asheville, NC · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$23,910−33.3%
25th$27,520−23.2%
Median (50th)$34,540−3.6%
75th$38,110+6.4%
90th$44,040+22.9%
Mean$33,850−5.5%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in North Carolina

Median annual wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Durham$35,580330
2Raleigh$35,1902,030
3Goldsboro$34,470150
4Hickory$33,930450
5Wilmington$31,950570
6Charlotte$31,2604,220
7Fayetteville$31,230240
8Greensboro$31,2001,090
9Greenville$29,690180
10Winston-Salem$29,580710

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Asheville run 3.5% below the national average, so the median of $34,540 goes as far as $35,793 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 0.1% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$34,540as reported by BLS

Local price level

96.5US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$35,793US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Why the state that pays most is usually not where pay goes furthest

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $34,540 a year, 3.6% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $23,910 to $44,040 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 380 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Durham, at $35,580.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in Asheville, NC?

The median annual wage is $34,540, or $16.60 per hour, as of May 2025. Half of the workers in this occupation earn more than that and half earn less.

Is that higher than the national average?

The national median for this occupation is $35,830, so pay in Asheville, NC is 3.6% lower. These figures are medians, not averages: half of workers fall on each side.

What do the top earners make?

The top tenth of this occupation in Asheville, NC earns more than $44,040 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $23,910 per year. The survey measures wages actually paid rather than experience level, so this reflects the lowest-paid tenth rather than entry-level pay specifically.

Which area nearby pays the most?

The highest median for this occupation among the metro areas covered is in Durham, at $35,580 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 380 jobs in this occupation in Asheville, NC. Self-employed workers are not included.

Source and methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 Wages are for wage-and-salary workers; self-employed workers are not included. Salary Explorer is an independent project. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics or any government agency. Full methodology.