What Does a Laundry Worker Do?
Hotel guests expect fresh sheets when they check in, and hospital patients need linen washed hot enough to kill germs. Laundry workers supply both, sorting, washing, pressing and folding linens and uniforms in hotels, hospitals, dry cleaners and campus laundries. Every piece is checked before it leaves.
Other Job Titles for This Work
Workers in this occupation report titles such as Dry Cleaner, Laundry Aide, Laundry Assistant, Laundry Attendant, Laundry Housekeeper, Laundry Technician, Personal Clothing Laundry Aide, Spotter.
Laundry Worker Duties and Responsibilities
The primary responsibilities of a laundry worker include:
- Sort soiled linens and garments by fabric, color and soil level before washing.
- Load and run commercial washers and dryers, selecting the right cycles and chemicals.
- Feed sheets and tablecloths into flatwork ironers and fold them at the other end.
- Press uniforms, shirts and trousers on steam presses and hang them for delivery.
- Treat stains with spotting chemicals, following each fabric's care label.
- Handle soiled hospital linen with gloves and gowns, following infection control rules.
- Count, bag and label finished items, and track orders for each customer or department.
- Inspect finished pieces for stains, tears and missing buttons, and send back items that fail.
- Clean lint traps, machines and floors, and report equipment breakdowns to maintenance.
- Deliver clean linen carts to floors, locker rooms or residence halls and collect soiled bins.
Required Skills and Qualifications
To succeed as a laundry worker, you will need the following skills and qualifications:
- Operating commercial washers, dryers and ironers
- Fabric care and stain removal
- Safe handling of laundry chemicals
- Stamina for standing and lifting in hot rooms
- Speed with consistent folding
- An eye for stains and damage
- Following infection control steps
- Basic counting and record keeping
Education and Training
Laundries hire for reliability and stamina, and they rarely ask for a diploma. New staff learn the machines, chemicals and folding standards in a few weeks on the job, the short-term training BLS describes as typical. Workers who stay can move up to presser, lead worker or laundry supervisor.
Salary and Job Outlook
Typical pay: $30,360 - $37,560 per year, with a median of $34,890.
The range covers the middle half of earners nationwide. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers.
Employment of laundry and dry-cleaning workers should grow about 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, with roughly 28,200 openings a year, according to BLS. Jobs are easy to find. And, as long as hospitals and hotels need clean linen every day, laundry workers will be needed to make sure it arrives on time and free of stains.
Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Laundry and dry-cleaning workers.
Laundry Worker Pay Range
| Earners | Annual pay |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% earn less than | $27,440 |
| Bottom 25% earn less than | $30,360 |
| Median (half earn more, half less) | $34,890 |
| Top 25% earn more than | $37,560 |
| Top 10% earn more than | $43,190 |
Highest-Paying States for Laundry Workers
The states with the highest median pay for this occupation are Washington ($39,590), Oregon ($37,800), District of Columbia ($37,790), California ($37,790), Colorado ($37,680). Pay is lowest in Oklahoma ($28,170), Louisiana ($27,460), Mississippi ($27,190).
Median pay in all 51 states with BLS data
| State | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Alabama | $28,370 |
| Alaska | $36,050 |
| Arizona | $36,500 |
| Arkansas | $28,460 |
| California | $37,790 |
| Colorado | $37,680 |
| Connecticut | $36,310 |
| Delaware | $33,730 |
| District of Columbia | $37,790 |
| Florida | $32,340 |
| Georgia | $30,580 |
| Hawaii | $35,690 |
| Idaho | $35,140 |
| Illinois | $35,220 |
| Indiana | $30,930 |
| Iowa | $34,050 |
| Kansas | $30,120 |
| Kentucky | $29,220 |
| Louisiana | $27,460 |
| Maine | $37,380 |
| Maryland | $34,710 |
| Massachusetts | $37,490 |
| Michigan | $35,100 |
| Minnesota | $37,580 |
| Mississippi | $27,190 |
| Missouri | $33,870 |
| Montana | $36,250 |
| Nebraska | $34,790 |
| Nevada | $36,210 |
| New Hampshire | $36,860 |
| New Jersey | $36,050 |
| New Mexico | $30,850 |
| New York | $35,050 |
| North Carolina | $31,920 |
| North Dakota | $37,470 |
| Ohio | $30,520 |
| Oklahoma | $28,170 |
| Oregon | $37,800 |
| Pennsylvania | $34,060 |
| Rhode Island | $37,230 |
| South Carolina | $30,470 |
| South Dakota | $32,780 |
| Tennessee | $33,220 |
| Texas | $29,630 |
| Utah | $35,690 |
| Vermont | $37,300 |
| Virginia | $32,140 |
| Washington | $39,590 |
| West Virginia | $28,970 |
| Wisconsin | $35,700 |
| Wyoming | $28,630 |
What the Work Is Like
O*NET surveys people who work as laundry and dry-cleaning workers about their daily conditions. Of those surveyed:
- 91% spend more than half the workday on their feet
- 75% use their hands on tools, objects or controls for more than half the day
- 69% work against deadlines every day
- 67% wear safety gear such as gloves, safety glasses or a hard hat every day
- 63% spend more than half the day walking or moving around
- 63% say being exact and accurate is very or extremely important
- 62% work indoors in a climate-controlled space every day
Education Workers Say the Job Needs
| Education level | Share of workers |
|---|---|
| Less than high school | 65% |
| High school diploma or GED | 34% |
Tools and Software Laundry Workers Use
Tools and equipment
Software
Is This Job a Good Fit for You?
People who do well in this job tend to enjoy hands-on work with tools, machines or the outdoors as well as organized work with data, records and clear procedures.
Skills O*NET rates most important: Active Listening, Monitoring, Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Operations Monitoring, Time Management.
Knowledge areas used most: Customer and Personal Service, Production and Processing, English Language, Public Safety and Security, Mathematics.
Preparation: O*NET places this occupation in Job Zone 1 of 5, which means little or no preparation.
Related Careers
These jobs use similar skills, according to O*NET's related-occupation data:
Applying for a Laundry Worker Job
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Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035.
- O*NET 30.1 Database, occupation 51-6011.00 (Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers). View on O*NET OnLine.
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. The Job Explorer has modified some of the information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these changes.