Carpet and Upholstery Cleaners
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 6,900 firms in the US primarily clean rugs, carpets, and upholstered products, typically on-site at the customer’s premise. Residential customers account for 85% of sales, while commercial customers account for about 15% of sales. Firms may also offer damage restoration, janitorial and custodial, hard surface floor cleaning, water damage restoration, and auto detailing services.
Sensitivity to Economic Factors
Carpet and upholstery cleaning is a discretionary expense and a service that is easy to delay when finances are tight.
Industry Contraction
The carpet and upholstery cleaning industry has contracted over time, as has the size of the carpet market.
Industry size & Structure
The average carpet and upholstery cleaner operates out of a single location, employs about 5 workers, and generates about $710,000 annually.
- The carpet and upholstery cleaning industry consists of about 6,900 firms that employ about 37,400 workers and generate about $4.9 billion annually.
- The industry is fragmented; the top 50 companies account for about 23% of industry revenue.
- Franchises account for about 19% of the industry. Major franchise operators include Stanley Steamer, Chem-Dry, and ServiceMaster.
- Most firms operate within a limited geographical market; in an industry survey by Cleanfax, 95% of respondents serviced a region up to a 200-mile area.
- Carpet and area rugs account for a third of the US flooring market, according to Floor Covering News.
Industry Forecast
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaners Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 14, 2025 - Cleaning Services Show Improvement in Late 2024
- Cleaning services providers – including residential and commercial cleaning, carpet cleaning, junk removal, and similar services - saw an improvement in the second half of 2024, according to the Home Service Economic Report released in February 2025 by Jobber, a job tracking and customer management software firm. New cleaning work scheduled continued to increase in Q4 year over year. Median revenue growth for service providers showed some upward movement during Q3 and Q4, compared to a year ago, attributed to higher prices. “While revenue dipped at times, the latter half of the year showed improvement,” noted the report. The outlook for the home services sector in 2025 is promising as inflation stabilizes, consumer demand grows, and the job market remains strong, according to the Jobber report. Consumers continue to increase their adoption of digital payments. The report noted that digital payments were about 47% of total payments in Q4 2024 with the expectation to reach 50% in 2025.
- According to a report in CFO Dive, consumer confidence and spending levels, indicators of discretionary spending, fell due to consumer concerns about tariff effects. Consumer spending was down 0.5% in January 2025, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, as consumers reduced purchases of vehicles and other durable goods. All five components of the consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan dropped in February, including a nearly 20% decrease in buying conditions for durable goods. In addition, the Conference Board index of consumer sentiment in February 2025 marked the biggest decline since August 2021 and the third straight month of declines. According to Stephanie Guichard, senior economist for global indicators at the Conference Board, “There was a sharp increase in the mentions of trade and tariffs, back to a level unseen since 2019. Most notably, comments on the current administration and its policies dominated the responses.”
- A demand indicator for carpet and upholstery cleaning services, US office vacancy rates improved to 18.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, according to real estate firm CBRE’s 4Q office report. The US office markets tracked by CBRE in Q4 saw positive net absorption, with 10.3 million square feet of net absorption. The net absorption rate outpaced construction completions for a second consecutive quarter and marked the highest quarterly total in three years. The report noted strong demand for high-quality space in prime locations in Q4 while there was limited tenant interest for commodity buildings.
- Carpet and upholstery cleaning services will want to monitor the progress of a new proposed rule from the US Department of Labor (DOL) designed to protect workers from extreme workplace heat. The proposed rule requires employers to form an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces affected by excessive heat, per the DOL. The public comment period for the proposal has been extended to mid-January 2025. The rule asks employers to evaluate heat risks and implement requirements for drinking water and taking rest breaks. In addition, employers will have to provide training, develop procedures to respond to employees who show signs of heat-related illness, and assist workers experiencing a heat emergency. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) currently conducts heat-related inspections under a program launched in 2022 to prevent worker injuries and illness. Cleaning crews can encounter extreme heat in commercial and residential buildings that are not properly ventilated or cooled.
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