What the state adds to the price, and what it lets you verify
Federal rules for cleaning contractors are thin; the expensive differences are state-level. What Colorado charges in sales tax, whether it licenses cleaning companies at all, and what its wage floor does to Dillon labor cost are below with official sources.
Two free marketplace paths: one request brings back multiple vetted cleaning contractors who know they are competing for the account.
Colorado does not charge sales tax on commercial cleaning services, so a Dillon cleaning quote is the whole price - Colorado taxes retail sales of tangible personal property plus a short list of enumerated services (telecom, lodging, prepared food, certain utilities); general labor and services such as janitorial work are not among them..
Most states do not license commercial cleaning companies, which surprises buyers who assume a board exists to check - in Dillon that means insurance certificates, a written scope and real references do the verifying that a licence would elsewhere.
Colorado janitors and cleaners earn a median of $18.56 an hour per federal wage data, which is the labor floor under every Dillon cleaning quote - labor is roughly the whole cost structure in this trade.
Most states do not license commercial cleaning companies, which surprises buyers who assume there is a board to check. What Colorado does or does not require - and what that means for verifying a Dillon contractor - is set out below, with the state's own source next to it.
Cleaning is labor, and labor is priced locally. What Colorado sets as its wage floor, and what janitors in the state actually earn at the median, explain more of the spread between Dillon quotes than any vendor's sales pitch does.
Put a compliance check out to competing bids before comparing prices
Two free marketplace paths: one request brings back multiple vetted cleaning contractors who know they are competing for the account. Competing bids on identical scope are the only reliable way to learn what your building actually prices at.
External links go to the marketplaces' own sites and forms. This site may earn a referral fee at no cost to you - it never changes the data above, and no individual cleaning company pays to appear in our research.
What Colorado adds to a cleaning contract
| Question | Colorado answer |
|---|---|
| Sales tax on commercial cleaning | No - not taxable - Colorado taxes retail sales of tangible personal property plus a short list of enumerated services (telecom, lodging, prepared food, certain utilities); general labor and services such as janitorial work are not among them. Separately stated labor charges are not taxed. |
| Median janitor wage (federal data) | $18.56 per hour |
| State minimum wage | $15.16 |
Colorado neither licenses cleaners at the state level nor taxes janitorial services, so the main state-driven cost variable is its annually indexed minimum wage plus higher Denver-area local floors.
This page is independent research, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Sales-tax treatment, licensing rules, wage floors and contract law vary by state and change - verify current requirements with your state's revenue and labor agencies, and have significant contracts reviewed by your own counsel or broker before signing.
Why Colorado rules move Dillon quotes
Two of the three state variables land directly on your invoice. Sales tax, where a state charges it on cleaning services, is added to every monthly bill - on a mid-size contract that is real money over a year. The wage floor sets the labor cost every bid is built on, which is why identical buildings in different states get materially different quotes. Licensing is the third and it works differently: it does not change the price, it changes what a Dillon buyer can verify before signing.
What this means in Dillon
'Bonded' sounds like protection and functions like credit: the bond pays only after an employee is criminally convicted, and the cleaning company repays the surety afterward. If theft protection is what a Dillon buyer actually wants, the thing to verify is the contractor's own crime coverage and hiring screening, not the word 'bonded' on a flyer.
This page is independent research, not legal, tax or insurance advice. Sales-tax treatment, licensing rules, wage floors and contract law vary by state and change - verify current requirements with your state's revenue and labor agencies, and have significant contracts reviewed by your own counsel or broker before signing.
Put a compliance check out to competing bids before comparing prices
Two free marketplace paths: one request brings back multiple vetted cleaning contractors who know they are competing for the account. Competing bids on identical scope are the only reliable way to learn what your building actually prices at.
External links go to the marketplaces' own sites and forms. This site may earn a referral fee at no cost to you - it never changes the data above, and no individual cleaning company pays to appear in our research.
Common questions
Is it cheaper to pay hourly or per square foot?
Neither is inherently cheaper; they suit different jobs. Hourly pricing runs $25-$75 per worker per hour and fits small or irregular scopes. Square-foot pricing fits predictable routine work and makes budgeting easier. The only fair comparison is to ask every bidder for the all-in monthly total on identical scope and frequency, then divide.
Is a certificate of insurance enough proof?
It is a starting point, not proof. The standard certificate states in its own header that it confers no rights upon the certificate holder - it is a snapshot of what was in force the day it was issued, with limits that may already be partly consumed by other claims. Ask the broker to send it directly, have your entity named as additional insured, and re-request it at renewal.
Do I have to pay sales tax on cleaning services?
That depends entirely on your state - most states do not tax cleaning services, but a minority do, and in those states it is a real line on a real invoice: at typical rates it adds several percent to every monthly bill. This site publishes the treatment state by state with the revenue department's own source; check your state's page.
Are commercial cleaning companies licensed?
In most states there is no cleaning-specific license to check, which surprises buyers who expect a board to verify. A few states do license or register cleaning contractors, and many cities require a general business license. Where there is no license, verification falls to insurance certificates, references and written scope - not to a registry.
Does cleaning less often save money?
Less than you would think, and sometimes not at all. Soil accumulates between visits, and industry measurement puts the additional cleaning time required by infrequent service at 60-70%. The per-visit price rises as frequency falls, so halving the schedule does not halve the bill - and the building looks worse in between.
Put a compliance check out to competing bids before comparing prices
Two free marketplace paths: one request brings back multiple vetted cleaning contractors who know they are competing for the account. Competing bids on identical scope are the only reliable way to learn what your building actually prices at.
External links go to the marketplaces' own sites and forms. This site may earn a referral fee at no cost to you - it never changes the data above, and no individual cleaning company pays to appear in our research.