SalaryExplorer

SOC 53-7061 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment — Modesto

Modesto, CA · 10 metro areas compared

$37,480 /year
$18.02per hour
1,010jobs in area
+4.6%vs US median

The median wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in Modesto, CA is $37,480 per year, close to the national median of $35,830 for the same occupation.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $35,83010TH$35,060MEDIAN$37,48075TH$46,44090TH$52,240

How pay has moved

$40,245$23,6552019202020212022202320242025$37,480
$26,420 in 2019 to $37,480 in 2025, +41.9% 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 Modesto, CA.

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

The median wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in Modesto, CA is $37,480 per year, close to the national median of $35,830 for the same occupation. Pay ranges from under $35,060 at the tenth percentile to more than $52,240 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $35,830 to $46,440.

Employment stands at 1,010, or 5.2 jobs per thousand held locally. San Francisco leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $44,350. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 373rd of 398 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · Modesto, CA · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$35,060−2.1%
25th$35,830+0.0%
Median (50th)$37,480+4.6%
75th$46,440+29.6%
90th$52,240+45.8%
Mean$42,130+17.6%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in California

Median annual wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1San Francisco$44,3504,930
2San Jose$43,6802,090
3Santa Rosa$39,590590
4Merced$38,860380
5Salinas$38,830790
6Vallejo$38,590550
7Napa$38,480140
8Sacramento$37,7002,410
9Hanford$37,650360
10Los Angeles$37,54015,950

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in Modesto run 4.1% above the national average, so the median of $37,480 buys what $36,004 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way the gap against the national median narrows to 0.5% above the national median in real terms.

Published median

$37,480as reported by BLS

Local price level

104.1US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$36,004US average = 100 · BEA 2024

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

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $37,480 a year, 4.6% above the national median.
  • Published pay spans $35,060 to $52,240 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 1,010 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is San Francisco, at $44,350.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in Modesto, CA?

The median annual wage is $37,480, or $18.02 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 Modesto, CA is 4.6% higher. 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 Modesto, CA earns more than $52,240 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $35,060 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 San Francisco, at $44,350 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 1,010 jobs in this occupation in Modesto, CA. 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.