SalaryExplorer

SOC 53-7061 · May 2025 · BLS OEWS

Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment — New Orleans

New Orleans-Metairie, LA · 9 metro areas compared

$28,560 /year
$13.73per hour
800jobs in area
−20.3%vs US median

The median wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in New Orleans, LA is $28,560 per year, 20.3% below the national median of $35,830.

Wage distribution · annual

Shaded band holds the middle 50% of earners

US MEDIAN $35,83010TH$21,590MEDIAN$28,56075TH$35,29090TH$48,310

How pay has moved

$31,848$18,3632019202020212022202320242025$28,560
$20,610 in 2019 to $28,560 in 2025, +38.6% 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA.

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 New Orleans, LA is $28,560 per year, 20.3% below the national median of $35,830. Pay ranges from under $21,590 at the tenth percentile to more than $48,310 at the ninetieth, with the interquartile range running from $26,450 to $35,290.

The area has 800 jobs in this occupation, which works out to 1.8 of every thousand jobs. Houma leads the state's metro areas for this occupation, at $28,840. Set against every other occupation measured in the same area, it ranks 478th of 505 by median pay.

Percentile breakdown

Annual wages by percentile · New Orleans-Metairie, LA · May 2025
PercentileAnnualvs US median
10th$21,590−39.7%
25th$26,450−26.2%
Median (50th)$28,560−20.3%
75th$35,290−1.5%
90th$48,310+34.8%
Mean$32,190−10.2%

Why the average earner is usually not a typical earner

Other metro areas in Louisiana

Median annual wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment, by metro area
#Metro areaMedianJobsRelative
1Houma$28,840130
2Slidell$28,050230
3Baton Rouge$28,000930
4Lake Charles$27,580260
5Shreveport$27,240450
6Monroe$27,030200
7Lafayette$26,870410
8Alexandria$26,530110
9Hammond$25,770180

What the pay is worth locally

Prices in New Orleans run 7.4% below the national average, so the median of $28,560 goes as far as $30,842 would elsewhere in the country. Measured that way it compares to the national median at 13.9% below the national median in real terms.

Published median

$28,560as reported by BLS

Local price level

92.6US average = 100 · BEA 2024

Adjusted for local prices

$30,842US average = 100 · BEA 2024

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

Key takeaways

  • Median pay is $28,560 a year, 20.3% below the national median.
  • Published pay spans $21,590 to $48,310 between the tenth and ninetieth percentiles.
  • The area has 800 jobs in this occupation.
  • The highest-paying metro area covered is Houma, at $28,840.

Frequently asked questions

What is the median wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment in New Orleans, LA?

The median annual wage is $28,560, or $13.73 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 New Orleans, LA is 20.3% 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 New Orleans, LA earns more than $48,310 per year. The ninetieth percentile is the highest figure the survey publishes.

What is the starting range?

The tenth percentile wage is $21,590 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 Houma, at $28,840 per year.

How many jobs are there in this occupation here?

The survey estimates 800 jobs in this occupation in New Orleans, LA. 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.

Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment Salary in New Orleans, LA (2025): $28,560 Median | Salary Explorer