Study
What cleaners and care workers earn in Switzerland by region, 2024
The median monthly wage of cleaners and of personal care workers in the 7 major regions of Switzerland, from the federal earnings survey of 2024, and what it means for a household that employs a Helper.
Go to the region mapWhat we found
- Cleaners and helpers in Switzerland earned a median of CHF 4’549 a month in 2024, gross and standardised to a full time post. One in ten earned less than CHF 3’801, one in ten more than CHF 5’908.
- That is 64.8 percent of the median of all occupations, CHF 7’024. Personal care workers earned a median of CHF 5’629, 80.1 percent of it.
- By major region, the median of cleaners runs from CHF 4’070 (Ticino) to CHF 4’762 (Espace Mittelland).
- Zurich has the highest median of all occupations, CHF 7’502. Yet cleaners there earned CHF 4’465, and 4 regions paid them more: Espace Mittelland, Northwestern Switzerland, Eastern Switzerland and Central Switzerland.
- For personal care workers the order changes: their median is highest at CHF 5’795 (Lake Geneva region) and lowest at CHF 5’414 (Eastern Switzerland).
- Women cleaners earned a median of CHF 4’460, men CHF 4’798. Among personal care workers, women earned CHF 5’592 and men CHF 5’835.
- From 2012 to 2024 the median rose by 6.4 percent for cleaners, 6.9 percent for personal care workers and 9.1 percent for all occupations, in the francs of each year.
- Read by the hour of the survey's full time month, the median of cleaners comes to CHF 26.24 and the median of personal care workers to CHF 32.48.
The wage in your region
Choose a canton on the map or in the list, then an occupation group. The survey publishes major regions, not cantons, so each canton shows the figures of its region.
On the map, the arrow keys move from canton to canton and Enter chooses one.
Canton borders: swisstopo, swissBOUNDARIES3DCleaners and helpers, 2024Zurich
Major region: Zurich (Zurich)
- Median a month
- CHF 4’465
- Median read by the hour
- CHF 25.76
- One in ten earns less than
- CHF 3’879
- A quarter earns less than
- CHF 4’075
- A quarter earns more than
- CHF 5’143
- One in ten earns more than
- CHF 5’832
- Median of women
- CHF 4’378
- Median of men
- CHF 4’761
Gross monthly wage of a full time post, with one twelfth of a thirteenth month salary.
Source
All regions
| Major region | Cantons | Cleaners and helpers | Personal care workers | All occupations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Geneva region | Geneva, Vaud and Valais | CHF 4’410 | CHF 5’795 | CHF 6’998 |
| Espace Mittelland | Bern, Fribourg, Jura, Neuchâtel and Solothurn | CHF 4’762 | CHF 5’516 | CHF 6’964 |
| Northwestern Switzerland | Aargau, Basel-Landschaft and Basel-Stadt | CHF 4’676 | CHF 5’594 | CHF 7’156 |
| Zurich | Zurich | CHF 4’465 | CHF 5’723 | CHF 7’502 |
| Eastern Switzerland | Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Glarus, Grisons, St. Gallen, Schaffhausen and Thurgau | CHF 4’636 | CHF 5’414 | CHF 6’623 |
| Central Switzerland | Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Schwyz, Uri and Zug | CHF 4’716 | CHF 5’579 | CHF 7’092 |
| Ticino | Ticino | CHF 4’070 | CHF 5’471 | CHF 5’708 |
| Switzerland | All cantons | CHF 4’549 | CHF 5’629 | CHF 7’024 |
Standardised gross monthly wage of a full time post, private and public employers together. Source: BFS table px-x-0304010000_205.
The median in Switzerland since 2012
The office recalculated the earlier survey years on the current classification of occupations, so the years can be compared. The figures are in the francs of each year, before inflation.
| Year | Cleaners and helpers | Personal care workers | All occupations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | CHF 4’277 | CHF 5’267 | CHF 6’439 |
| 2014 | CHF 4’333 | CHF 5’273 | CHF 6’427 |
| 2016 | CHF 4’219 | CHF 5’304 | CHF 6’502 |
| 2018 | CHF 4’280 | CHF 5’284 | CHF 6’538 |
| 2020 | CHF 4’298 | CHF 5’287 | CHF 6’665 |
| 2022 | CHF 4’356 | CHF 5’370 | CHF 6’788 |
| 2024 | CHF 4’549 | CHF 5’629 | CHF 7’024 |
What this means for a household that employs a Helper
The survey counts posts at firms and public employers. A household that employs a Helper itself is not in it: the list of economic divisions the survey covers ends at division 96, and households as employers are not among them. The figures here are a reference from the labour market, not the wage of household staff.
For household work, the federal standard employment contract sets minimum hourly wages from CHF 20.35 to CHF 24.55, by training and experience, and some cantons and cities set their own minimum. The household is the employer: it agrees the wage with its Helper in the employment contract and pays at least the minimum that applies where the work is done.
To set a monthly figure beside an hourly wage, divide it by the survey's full time month of 4⅓ weeks of 40 hours. The median of cleaners, CHF 4’549, then reads as CHF 26.24 an hour, and one in ten earns less than CHF 21.93 an hour. The monthly figure includes one twelfth of a thirteenth month salary and of other yearly payments, so the hourly reading includes them too.
Method
Every figure comes from table px-x-0304010000_205 of the Swiss Earnings Structure Survey of the Federal Statistical Office (BFS), last updated on 29 April 2026 and read through the office's data interface on 2 November 2026. The survey asks employers for the wages of October, every second year.
The wage is the standardised gross monthly wage: what a full time post of 4⅓ weeks of 40 hours earns in a month, with the employee's social contributions, one twelfth of a thirteenth month salary and of other yearly payments, and without family allowances. Private and public employers are counted together.
The occupation groups follow the Swiss classification of occupations. Cleaners and helpers covers cleaners and helpers in homes, hotels and offices and other cleaning work. Personal care workers covers child care workers and care workers in health services and at home.
Each canton shows the figures of its major region, as table px-x-0304010000_101 names the cantons of each region. The hourly reading divides the monthly figure by the survey's month in whole rappen, rounded half up.
Limits
- Private households as employers are outside the survey. The wage a household pays its Helper may differ from these figures.
- The survey publishes major regions, not cantons. Two cantons in one region show the same figure.
- Part time posts are counted as full time equivalents, so a median here is not what a part time worker earns in a month.
- The office marks 25 figures the study reads as statistically uncertain, and the data file names each one. None of them is from 2024.
- The figures are gross, before the employee's social contributions are deducted.
- This study states the figures as the office publishes them. It is not advice on a single wage.
Questions
How much does a cleaner earn in Switzerland?
In 2024 the median standardised wage of cleaners was CHF 4’549 a month, gross, for a full time post. One in ten earned less than CHF 3’801 and one in ten more than CHF 5’908. The source is the federal earnings survey, table px-x-0304010000_205.
What is the hourly wage of a cleaner in Switzerland?
Read by the hour of the survey's full time month of 4⅓ weeks of 40 hours, the median comes to CHF 26.24 gross, with one twelfth of a thirteenth month salary. One in ten earns less than CHF 21.93 an hour.
Where in Switzerland do cleaners earn the most?
In 2024 the median was highest at CHF 4’762 a month (Espace Mittelland) and lowest at CHF 4’070 (Ticino). In Zurich, where the median of all occupations is highest, cleaners earned CHF 4’465.
How much do care workers earn in Switzerland?
Personal care workers, who include child care workers and care workers in health services and at home, earned a median of CHF 5’629 a month in 2024, gross and full time. One in ten earned less than CHF 4’564 and one in ten more than CHF 7’488.
Do women cleaners earn less than men?
In 2024 women cleaners earned a median of CHF 4’460 a month and men CHF 4’798. Among personal care workers, women earned CHF 5’592 and men CHF 5’835.
What is the minimum wage for a Helper employed by a household?
The federal standard employment contract for household work sets minimum hourly wages from CHF 20.35 to CHF 24.55, by training and experience, and some cantons and cities set their own minimum. The household is the employer and pays at least the minimum that applies where the work is done. The earnings survey does not cover households as employers.
Data and downloads
The region file holds every figure of the table the study reads, for every survey year, with the office's marks. The definitions say what each column means.
