According to Indeed, the median pay for a housekeeper in the U.S. is about $15 an hour, but in Palm Beach, Florida, a severe shortage of household staff is earning applicants well over six figures.
According to a new report by CNBC, housekeepers in Palm Beach are seeing salaries as high as $150,000 per year, and hourly rates reaching $50 per hour, due to a shortage of workers in the field and an increase in demand — thanks to wealthy new residents relocating from places like New York.
“I have been placing staff for 30 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” April Berube, founder of household staffing agency The Wellington Agency, told the outlet. “For housekeepers it’s wonderful. For us, it’s extremely difficult. It’s a severe shortage.”
And making six figures is just the start. The report notes household staff also have full-time employee benefits including 401(k) plan enrollment, health care, and overtime pay.
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Of course, discretion is expected. House staff are used to hearing the off-the-record secrets spilled by the rich and well-to-do — and they’re compensated for keeping them quiet.
“Affairs, money, divorces. We know them better than even their best friends know them. I don’t think they even know how much we know,” one Palm Beach housekeeper named Ana, who said she made $161,000 last year, told the New York Post.
“I actually feel like they’re family,” she added. “So I listen but I don’t repeat. Not even to other members of the family. I really like them.”
Melissa Psitos, who runs staffing company Lily Pond Services, noted that the massive uptick in need for services began during Covid, and it hasn’t let up.
“These are ultra-high net worth people who want the best, and they’re willing to pay for it,” Psitos told the New York Post.
Per Zillow, the average cost of a home in Palm Beach is $2,114,224, a 2.5% increase year-over-year.
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