The 2026 Carpet and Floor Cleaning Benchmarking Survey

The 2026 Cleanfax Carpet and Floor Cleaning Benchmarking Survey shows an industry that has its customer relationships figured out and is now fighting over costs, labor and a shrinking supply of carpet.

The typical carpet cleaning company in 2026 is run by someone who has been at it a long time. Among the contractors who responded to the 2026 Cleanfax Carpet and Floor Cleaning Benchmarking Survey, 81% are owners, and 55% run companies that have been in the industry for more than 30 years. Two-thirds still do the physical work of cleaning themselves.

That experience shows in the numbers. These owners know exactly where their revenue comes from, and they know how quickly it erodes when costs rise faster than prices.

Repeat customers carry the business

Ask owners what matters most, and customer retention wins by a wide margin. A full 86% rated it “very important,” well ahead of every other challenge on the list. Their client rosters back that up. More than half (56%) said roughly 75% of their customers are repeat business, and another 15% said every customer is a repeat.

New work follows the same path. Referrals generate leads for 89% of respondents, far ahead of social media at 58% and electronic marketing at 42%. One in three still gets jobs through carpet retailers, while 31% don’t use social media for business at all.

For most of these companies, the customer list is the most valuable asset they own. Every job either strengthens it or puts it at risk.

Costs are squeezing the middle

After retention, the next tier of concern is about money. Maintaining margins was rated very important by 61%, cash flow by 58% and rising costs by 50%. When respondents described their biggest challenges in their own words, costs came up more than anything else, in 42% of written answers. Fuel, chemicals, insurance, vehicles and equipment all made the list.

“Price of supplies and equipment is almost double, if not more,” one contractor said.

The competition numbers tell a more complicated story. Only 7% rated competing with low-cost providers as very important, and 40% called it not important at all. Still, nearly one-in-five written responses named low-price or unqualified competitors as a top frustration. Describing low-price companies working mostly on the commercial side, one owner noted, “It has made carpet cleaning in general a commodity.”

Read together, owners don’t seem worried about losing loyal customers to the cheapest bidder. The bigger problem is the price anchor low-ballers set for the whole market.

Growth arrived in small steps

Most companies grew in 2025, though not by much. About 78% reported higher gross sales than in 2024, but 57% landed between 1% and 10%. Only 15% grew by more than 10%, and 12% went backward.

The economy was the biggest single factor behind those results, and mostly as a drag. Negative economic conditions were cited by 30% of respondents. The top positive driver was offering more services (16%), ahead of a change in marketing strategy (11%) and adding vehicles or employees (7%).

Looking ahead, 56% project an increase in gross sales for 2026, 29% expect no change and 15% expect a decline.

Hard floors pay more per foot

Carpet isn’t going away, but there’s less of it. Floor Covering News research shows carpet and rugs made up 43.4% of U.S. flooring volume in 2025, down from about 60% in 2015. Respondents feel that shift on the job. “Hard surface flooring sales are limiting the amount of cleaning done in a home,” one said.

The pricing data suggests that shift doesn’t have to mean lost revenue. Among companies offering each service, 47% charge between $0.31 and $0.50 per square foot for residential carpet cleaning. For hard floor cleaning, 60% charge more than $0.50 per square foot, and 32% charge $1.00 or more. Only 31% charge more than $0.50 for carpet.

Already, 90% of respondents offer tile and grout cleaning. The real question is whether they sell and price it with the same confidence they bring to carpet.

Some money is also left on the table. Nearly 28% charge nothing extra for specialty stain removal, and 26% include deodorizing in the base price. For some companies, those are deliberate loyalty plays. For others, they’re margin given away out of habit.

Paying more to keep good technicians

Labor sits right behind costs. Recruiting and retaining quality staff was rated very important by 47%, and finding and keeping good people was the second most common theme in written responses. “The biggest challenge is getting workers that want to work,” one owner said.

Wages reflect the pressure. Among respondents reporting pay, 32% start technicians at $20 or more per hour, and 73% pay experienced technicians an average of $20 or more. One in 12 pays experienced techs $30 or more. Benefits lag pay, with 64% offering vacation time and only 36% providing health insurance.

AI moves past curiosity

Contractors are split on artificial intelligence (AI). Some 43% haven’t implemented it yet, while 46% are exploring it, using it in parts of the business or relying on it extensively. Cost doesn’t appear to be the obstacle. Only 7% called affordability a significant barrier.

When asked which technology has helped their business most recently, AI came up in 20 of 66 written answers, with CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and field service software close behind. Owners described using AI for everything from bookkeeping to preparing for a tough job. “I use AI for consulting prior to a difficult cleaning or dyeing job,” one respondent said.

Putting the data to work

Loyal customers and strong referral networks give these companies more pricing power than many of them use. One contractor said competitors need to realize “they are worth more than they charge.” A good starting point is reviewing what’s included in the base price and which add-ons are given away for free.

Hard surface work deserves its own pricing and marketing push, not a spot on the add-on list. With less carpet going into homes, it’s one of the clearest growth lines available to companies that already own the equipment.

Retention also deserves a number. Owners who track their repeat rate and where each referral came from will know which relationships are paying the bills and which ones are slipping.

Finally, seven respondents described their next big move as retiring or selling. With more than half of these companies past the 30-year mark, the most valuable thing some owners can build over the next few years is a business someone else can run.

Download the entire report with all data and statistics at the link below.