Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment

Low pay & highrisk
High Risk
Low High

Explore safer careers (3)

Lower estimated automation risk

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Why it fits

Equipment care, basic tools, facility upkeep, safety, and reporting repair needs provide a bridge.

First-Line Supervisors of Housekeeping and Janitorial Workers
34% automation risk | Low Risk
Pays better
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Why it fits

Experienced cleaners can apply supply control, assignments, standards, coaching, and inspection checks.

Automotive Service Technicians and Mechanics
53% automation risk | Moderate Risk
Pays better More jobs
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Why it fits

Vehicle familiarity, shop routines, detailing observations, tools, and customer service help with targeted training.

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Occupation snapshot

What does this snowflake show?
The Snowflake is a visual summary of the five badges: Automation Risk (calculated), Risk (polled), Growth, Wages and Volume. It gives you an instant snapshot of an occupations profile. The colour of the Snowflake relates to its size. The better the occupation scores in relation to others, the larger and greener the Snowflake becomes.
JOB SCORE
3.3/10
What's this?
Job Score (higher is better):

We rate jobs using four factors. These are:

- Chance of being automated
- Job growth
- Wages
- Volume of available positions

These are some key things to think about when job hunting.

Risk & user votes

Calculated automation risk

69% (High Risk)

High Risk (61-80%): This occupation shows a significant risk of end-to-end replacement by automation. Many core parts of the role may be structured, repeatable, software-driven, or physically predictable enough for AI, machines, or robotic systems to take over. If you work in this area, it may be worth exploring safer related careers or moving towards more human-centred responsibilities.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Human strengths important in this job

These are human abilities and work contexts that are important in this occupation. They may help explain why parts of the role are harder to replace end-to-end, but they are not the only inputs into the automation score.

Assisting and caring for others

Quite important
Why this matters
Provide hands-on help, emotional support, or personal care to people—work that depends on empathy, trust, and responding to individual needs in the moment.
Jobs that also use this strength

Working directly with the public

Quite important
Why this matters
The job involves face-to-face interaction with customers, clients, or guests—answering questions, handling requests, and managing service situations in real time. Roles with frequent public interaction are harder to replace end-to-end because they rely on trust, communication, and adapting to unpredictable human needs.
Jobs that also use this strength

Decision-making and problem solving

Quite important
Why this matters
Analyze information, weigh tradeoffs, and choose the best solution—especially when situations are ambiguous, high-stakes, or have real-world consequences.
Jobs that also use this strength

Coaching and developing others

Quite important
Why this matters
Helps people learn and improve through coaching, mentoring, and feedback. This relies on trust, motivation, and adapting guidance to each person—work that’s hard to replace end-to-end with automation.
Jobs that also use this strength

What users think

Based on 44 votes

59% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted they are unsure if this occupation will be automated. However, the automation risk level we have generated suggests a much higher chance of automation: 69% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment will be replaced by robots or artificial intelligence within the next 20 years?

View sentiment trend

Pay & outlook

Wages

Very low paid relative to other professions

In 2024, the median annual wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment was $35,270 ($17 per hour).

The median annual wage for Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment was 28.7% lower than the national median annual wage, which stood at $49,500.

View wage trend

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Growth

Fast growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment' job openings is expected to rise 3.9% by 2034

View employment trend

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2023 and 2033
Updated projections are due 09-2025.

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2024 there were 373,960 people employed as 'Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment' within the United States.

This represents around 0.24% of the employed workforce across the country

Put another way, around 1 in 412 people are employed as 'Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment'.

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What people are saying (5)

Leave a comment
qqqqqq (Low)
23 Dec 2023 03:39
My first job was as a kid at a car wash. Sure, it's really easy work, but I think there does need to be some amount of human judgement to go into it.
adam (Low)
22 Sep 2022 22:27
Too much cost involved in automation, repairs to robot replacements
Rohan (Low)
06 May 2020 02:21
Since, this work requires manual labour, robots may find it hard to take over this job!
Simon Prescott (Uncertain)
25 Aug 2019 17:23
I am a car detailer and I think half of the job is completed by an automated car wash
Joe
16 Dec 2021 16:34
You got games on your phone, how many cars have you got?
Leave a reply about this occupation
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Job description

Wash or otherwise clean vehicles, machinery, and other equipment. Use such materials as water, cleaning agents, brushes, cloths, and hoses.

O*NET-SOC code: 53-7061.00