Household Cleaning Wages and Contributions by Canton in 2026

A household that employs a cleaner pays more than the hourly wage. This study compares that wage, with public holidays and holiday pay, plus the employer contributions across Switzerland’s 26 cantons. For four hours a week, the subtotal ranges from CHF 23.87 per hour worked in Lucerne to CHF 30.26 in Geneva. Accident insurance is separate.

The short version

The comparison uses a gross hourly wage benchmark of CHF 20.35 in 23 cantons, CHF 21.35 in Neuchâtel, CHF 22.20 in Basel-Stadt and CHF 24.59 in Geneva. CHF 20.35 is the 2026 federal rate for unqualified domestic work. That minimum generally applies from an average five hours a week with the same employer, with further scope rules. This four-hour comparison therefore does not establish a universal legal minimum.

How to read the table

• Gross wage used is the chosen hourly wage benchmark for this example, before public holidays and holiday pay.
• Wage with holiday pay + specified contributions includes the wage with the canton’s public holiday share and holiday pay, employer AHV/IV/EO, unemployment insurance (ALV), the selected cantonal fund’s family allowance contribution (FAK), office administration at the rate the household’s own compensation office publishes and the cantonal contributions the office collects.
• Monthly subtotal covers four hours a week over 52 weeks and 12 salaries. Holiday pay is paid with every hour instead of a salary that continues during the holiday. In Ticino the month also carries the thirteenth month, a twelfth each month.
• Holiday pay is the month’s holiday pay line, 8.33% for the four holiday weeks of an adult Helper.
• Cantonal contributions are the household’s side of the cantonal contributions the compensation office collects with the AHV contributions, in Fribourg, Vaud, Valais, Neuchâtel, Ticino and Geneva.
• Per hour worked divides the monthly subtotal by 208/12 hours, approximately 17.33 hours a month.
• Flex first-hour estimate starts from the highest federal minimum wage for domestic work instead of the benchmark and includes the Helpore fee.

What the figures say

The subtotal differs by CHF 6.39 per hour worked between Lucerne and Geneva. Monthly subtotals range from CHF 413.74 in Lucerne to CHF 524.59 in Geneva. The 23 rows using the CHF 20.35 wage benchmark range from CHF 23.87 per hour worked in Lucerne, whose office publishes the lowest administration rate at 1.4%, to CHF 26.79 in Ticino, where the thirteenth month, the canton’s own public holiday share and the cantonal contributions lift the hour.

The selected cantonal funds’ employer family allowance rates range from 1.025% in Zurich to 2.75% in Jura. The actual fund and office tariff, insurance and further charges determine a household’s bill.

The separate Flex column illustrates a household’s first hour at the QR bill price. It includes the highest federal minimum wage for domestic work, applicable wage supplements and employer charges, and the CHF 3.50 first-hour Helpore fee. With no service specified, Geneva uses the higher service floor.

Flex estimates range from CHF 32.34 in Solothurn and Glarus, excluding an unavailable accident premium, to CHF 33.79 in Valais, including the sourced premium. Each row says whether the premium is included. Other unpriced conditions and optional covers remain outside the estimate. A study estimate does not confirm a Helper’s availability or open booking.

Method

The example uses 2026 rates for regular cleaning by an adult without a relevant qualification or four years of professional household experience. It does not model nanny work, regulated care or higher wage categories. The separate Flex example assumes no earlier hours within the period used to calculate its fee. The Helper’s age is unspecified, so that estimate applies the calculation’s usual assumptions.

Monthly wage is the hourly benchmark × four weekly hours × 52/12, rounded up to the next cent. The public holiday share and the holiday pay are each their own line on that wage, rounded once to the cent: the public holiday share is 0.39% for 1 August in most cantons; Basel-Stadt, Schaffhausen, Neuchâtel, Valais and Ticino have their own share, and Geneva’s share is a Helpore rule, more favourable than the law. Holiday pay is 8.33% for four weeks, on the wage and the public holiday share where the canton adds them together. Employer AHV/IV/EO is 5.3%, ALV is 1.1%, and FAK uses the selected cantonal fund’s 2026 rate, each on the gross with the holiday lines. Administration is the rate the household’s own compensation office publishes, read from a dated table and applied to the combined employer and employee AHV/IV/EO contributions, for the salary figures and the Flex estimate alike; where an office publishes no rate, the federal maximum of 5% applies, in Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Vaud and Geneva. The cantonal contributions are those the compensation office collects, each at its 2026 rate.

For the salary figures, the model works out the employer and employee AHV/IV/EO contributions as one amount and rounds it to the cent before calculating administration, then each monthly contribution line, the cantonal contributions included, to the nearest five cents. For the Flex estimate, the household’s and the Helper’s AHV/IV/EO lines are each rounded to the nearest five cents and then added, and administration on that sum is rounded to the nearest five cents, halves rounded up. The wage, the public holiday share and the holiday pay stay rounded to the cent. Hourly subtotals are derived from the monthly subtotal and rounded to the cent. These are calculation conventions for this comparison; actual invoices may use different periods or rounding. The table, chart and public JSON use the same generated study data.

The subtotal excludes accident insurance, fund charges the compensation office does not collect, occupational pension, optional covers and Helpore fees. The thirteenth month is included where the canton’s standard contract owes it, in Ticino, as a twelfth of the month’s wage lines each month, with the contributions on it. This example’s annual wage is below the CHF 22’680 occupational-pension entry threshold. Occupational accident insurance remains required; non-occupational cover generally starts at eight weekly hours with the same employer. Wage tax is not an extra employer contribution, and this is not a take-home-pay calculation.

Frequently asked questions

What does this 2026 comparison include?

It shows a regular cleaning wage with the canton’s public holiday share and holiday pay, plus employer AHV/IV/EO, ALV, the selected cantonal fund’s family allowance contribution, office administration at the rate the household’s own compensation office publishes and the cantonal contributions the compensation office collects. In Ticino it also includes the thirteenth month the canton’s standard contract owes. At four hours a week, the subtotal ranges from CHF 23.87 per hour worked in Lucerne to CHF 30.26 in Geneva. The Flex estimate uses the same administration rates. Accident insurance is separate.

Is CHF 20.35 the legal minimum for every cleaning job?

No. It is the 2026 federal rate for the unqualified category, used here as a benchmark. The federal minimum generally starts at an average five hours a week with the same employer and has further scope rules. Cantonal rules, qualifications, experience and the employment contract can change the applicable wage.

Is Helpore’s fee included?

The regular-salary subtotal excludes Helpore fees. The separate Flex column includes the CHF 3.50 first-hour fee and shows the QR bill price. It starts from the highest federal minimum wage for domestic work and marks omitted accident premiums. Helpers pay no Helpore fee.

Sources

• SECO, domestic-work standard contract information for 2026, wage categories, scope and monthly conversion.
• AHV/IV leaflet 2.06, household employment, contribution duties and rates.
• BSV, family allowance rates for 2026, selected cantonal-fund rates and separate additional charges.
• SVA Zurich, administration tariff for 2026, the Zurich office’s published rate; every other office’s page and the day it was read are in the study data.
• Basel-Stadt, minimum wage and monthly conversion, Geneva, 2026 minimum wage and Neuchâtel, 2026 minimum wage.
• Jura, domestic-work exception to the general cantonal minimum.

Cite as: Helpore, Household Cleaning Wages and Contributions by Canton in 2026. Sources and calculation date: 9 October 2026, first published 8 September 2026. Press and researchers can reach us at hello@helpore.com.

Download the study data, method and sources (JSON)