How much does apartment turnover cleaning cost?
Updated: Oct 29
In 2024 and 2025, PINCH's average base price for an apartment turnover cleaning ranged from $129.57 for a studio to $172.51 for a three-bedroom unit. Invoices from other cleaning providers show the rest of the picture: in 14,866 turnover cleaning line items shared by property management companies, 29.1% carried an upcharge, averaging $78.77. These are 2024-2025 figures, not current 2026 rates or a national average.
About the data
This article uses two sources. Base prices by unit type are PINCH's own average turnover cleaning prices for 2024 and 2025. All other figures come from 14,866 turnover cleaning line items on invoices from other cleaning providers, shared with PINCH by property management companies covering 371 multifamily communities, before those communities moved to PINCH. Upcharge percentages use line items as the denominator. They describe these invoices and may not reflect every market or operator.
PINCH's average turnover cleaning base price by unit type, 2024-2025
Unit type | Average base price, 2024-2025 |
Studio | $129.57 |
1 bedroom | $133.37 |
2 bedroom | $156.45 |
3 bedroom | $172.51 |
Base prices exclude upcharges. Actual prices vary by market, scope, and unit condition.
What makes turnover cleaning cost more?
Five factors explain most of the difference between one turnover cleaning and the next.
Unit size. Larger units take longer to clean. In PINCH's 2024-2025 pricing, the average base price for a three-bedroom unit was 33% higher than for a studio.
Move-out condition. Units left with trash, heavy soil, or pet hair often trigger an upcharge on top of the base price.
Scope. A standard turn clean usually covers the kitchen with standard appliance cleaning, bathrooms, floors, interior windows, and fixtures. Exterior windows, moving appliances, carpet cleaning, and post-renovation dust are usually priced separately.
Local labor rates. The same scope costs more in metros with higher wages.
How each community negotiates. In the other providers' invoices PINCH analyzed, fewer than 10% of communities within the same portfolio shared the same pricing. Two properties in the same city can pay different rates for the same unit.
How much do upcharges add?
In 2024-2025 invoices from other cleaning providers, 29.1% of turnover cleaning line items included an upcharge, averaging $78.77. This rate describes the 371 communities whose invoices PINCH analyzed. It is not a national industry average.
The pattern differed by operator size:
Operator group, 2024-2025 | Line items with an upcharge | Average upcharge |
Top 50 NMHC portfolios | 19.86% | $92.08 |
Smaller operators | 41.12% | $69.91 |
Large operators saw upcharges less often, but each one cost more. Smaller operators saw them on about 2 of every 5 line items.
Illustrative estimate. To show how upcharges can add up, spread the overall averages across all line items: 29.1% multiplied by $78.77 is about $22.92 per line item. This is a modeled figure, not an observed average, and it applies one overall rate to every unit type. For a hypothetical portfolio with 1,000 turnover cleanings a year, it would mean roughly $22,900 above base pricing.
How does cleaning fit into the total cost of a turn?
Cleaning is one line in a larger turnover budget that also includes lost rent, painting, repairs, marketing, and resident screening. As an illustration, the National Apartment Association has published an example estimating about $1,800 per unit in total turnover cost for a 225-unit community with 40% turnover, or $162,000 a year (NAA, "Crunching the Numbers on Turnover Costs"). It is a historical illustrative example, not a current benchmark.
Cleaning is a small share of that total, but it sits at the end of the make-ready schedule. A late or failed clean delays move-in, and every extra vacant day adds lost rent.
How to budget turnover cleaning across a portfolio
Pull 12 months of cleaning invoices for every community and sort line items by unit type.
Calculate your base price and upcharge rate for each community, and compare them with the 2024-2025 figures above.
Set one rate card by unit type for the whole portfolio, with adjustments only for genuine regional labor differences.
Define what counts as an upcharge and require before-and-after photos before anyone approves one.
Require unit-level invoices within 24 to 48 hours so each charge lands in the right accounting period.
For more on the last two steps, see How to reduce cleaning upcharges on apartment turns.
Frequently asked questions
What is included in an apartment turnover cleaning?
A turnover cleaning prepares a vacant unit for the next resident. It usually covers the kitchen with standard appliance cleaning, bathrooms, floors, interior windows, and fixtures. Exterior windows, moving appliances, carpet cleaning, and heavy debris removal are usually priced separately.
Why do communities in the same portfolio pay different prices?
Most portfolios negotiate cleaning community by community, often with a different local vendor at each site. In the other providers' invoices PINCH analyzed, fewer than 10% of communities within the same portfolio shared the same pricing.
How can I tell if I'm overpaying for turnover cleaning?
Compare your average base price and upcharge rate by unit type with the 2024-2025 figures in this guide. Invoices without unit numbers and dates, or an upcharge rate near or above the 29.1% found in other providers' invoices, are the first signs to review.
How does PINCH price turnover cleaning?
PINCH starts with a review of what your portfolio spends today, then sets one consistent rate across your communities. Clients commonly pay 10% to 20% less, combining lower rates with fewer upcharges. In one example, a client cut its common area cleaning costs by 13.45%. Every job includes before-and-after photos and lands on one consolidated invoice.
See what your portfolio should pay for turns
Send us 12 months of cleaning invoices, and we'll show you your base price and upcharge rate by community.
Sources: Base prices are PINCH's average turnover cleaning prices, 2024-2025. Upcharge and pricing-consistency figures come from PINCH's analysis of 14,866 turnover cleaning line items on invoices from other providers, shared by property management companies covering 371 multifamily communities, 2024 and 2025 turn seasons, published in Multifamily Insiders on September 9, 2025. The $22.92 figure is an illustrative PINCH calculation, not an observed average.
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