Hire a House Manager -
House Manager Agency in the US
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A house manager is the person that supervises the routine of one property. By managing the staff, schedules, and budgets of the household, the house manager takes charge of a home.
With over a decade of experience, Morgan & Mallet runs a house manager agency department placing qualified house managers across homes in the US through our offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Our global talent pool of over 200,000 professionals and 96% placement success rate means you only get the top picks for your home.
Get in touch today to hire a house manager.
What happens when you contact us to hire a house manager?
The first call with our recruiter will probably be long and for good reason. Before we find the right house manager we need to know about the property, staff you have right now, and current routines.
But above all, we need to know what you are looking for in the house manager. Tell us what you need this person to do and what kind of personality they need to have. This helps our recruiters understand your home before we even open our database.
Then we move onto the specifics. Is the role live-in or live-out? How big is the team expected to be managed? Does the candidate need to be fluent in a particular language? Do they report the household budget directly to you or your family office?
A thorough consultation gets you the right fit for your home. Our recruiters sift through our global database while at the same time headhunting on LinkedIn to find your match.
Laurine Mallet, our co-founder, describes the moment a match clicks: “We talk with the clients, with his needs, his expectations, his fears, what he would wish, the environment, the family situation. We understand the mindset of the client.”
Once that’s clear, she can look at a candidate and know. “This one, it’s a perfect match. So we should send his resume. And this one has a great background, everything, but we feel something is missing. So we shouldn’t send it.”
That feeling comes from the consultation. A recruiter who’s listened properly to how you run your home will sometimes already have a candidate in mind before the call ends.
The best house managers aren’t looking for a new role
The best house managers usually aren’t job hunting. They’re already placed somewhere and they’ll only move for the right role, so a job ad on its own won’t reach them. We advertise too, because the right person might not be in our system yet.
We deal with the hard work of screening. Instead of having to review over 100 applications, you only get a shortlisted list of three to five candidates to interview from. You see resumes, video introductions, and our internal notes on each one. We arrange interviews and paid trial days so you can see how each person actually works inside your home before you make any decisions.
Once you’ve chosen, we make the offer, the contract, and the start. Every placement has a 90-day replacement guarantee. If it doesn’t work out, we find someone new at no extra cost.
From the first call to a signed contract, most house manager searches take two to six weeks. You speak to one recruiter the whole way through.
What do our house manager candidates go through before you meet them?
Our recruiters do screening interviews with candidates for 90 minutes. Through years of experience, we found the best way to know how a candidate would perform is by asking them about real-life situations and how they would find solutions.
For example, we might ask what they’d do if a delivery falls through or there’s a conflict of interest within the home. More than looking for the right answer, we want to see how the candidate answers it.
According to Runet van Heerden, one of our recruiters, “I do not know how, but I can immediately tell you if somebody is going to go the extra mile. You can spot the difference between somebody that has a passion for their job and somebody that’s really doing their job because it brings in money. You can definitely see that immediately.”
Only candidates with at least three verbal references from previous employers move forward in the process.
Anyone can write a reference letter with a stamp of approval. Our recruiters directly contact references to hear the candidate’s performance straight from the people who they worked for.
Our strict vetting process allows us to separate the best from the good. For every 100 applications, only two or three pass in the eyes of our recruiters.
What does a house manager do?
A house manager runs your home day to day. They do the budgets, manage maintenance schedules, supervise household staff, and spot problems before they happen.
The role of a house manager can differ from home to home. Homes with smaller teams might need a more hands-on house manager while bigger homes need a capable leader to manage teams of over 20 people.
But the core tasks for a house manager stay the same. It involves staff and supplier management, property maintenance oversight, household budgeting, and event preparation.
Our house manager services cover live-in, live-out and seasonal placements nationwide.
For more information on the house manager duties, you can check out the house manager job description page.
What type of house manager do you need?
Live-in house manager
The house manager stays on the property, usually in staff accommodation. For larger estates, remote properties, or homes where evening events are common, a live-in house manager works well.
The base salaries are a bit lower here because housing and meals are part of what they get. That package is often worth $25,000 to $50,000 a year on top of the salary.
“My best advice is to offer good accommodation. The most important is the size, the windows, somewhere clean, because first of all you need to respect the candidate. This is going to be their home, and it’s a good way to keep your staff,” says Eric Rios, a Morgan & Mallet consultant.
Live-out house manager
Most US families hiring a private house manager choose live-out. They live separately, work fixed hours but are still on call when you need them.
This works for principals who want full privacy in their own home at the end of the day.
Estate or household manager
For multiple homes, there’s usually one house manager per property, with an estate manager above them to look after everything across all locations.
When the job grows to cover more than one property or a team of more than six or seven, the job title usually changes to estate manager.
An estate manager does more financial duties and travels between each property.
US estate managers earn more for that scope, generally $150,000 to $250,000+. We place these too. See our estate manager page.
Executive house manager (family office)
An executive house manager reports into a family office or chief of staff rather than the principal. They deal with budgets, lawyers, accountants, and reporting.
This works well for people with corporate or hospitality backgrounds.
Seasonal or second-home house manager
These managers open and close the property, manage staff for the season, and supervise contractors all year. We place them on annual contracts with seasonal hours, or full-time with rotating locations.
For holiday homes especially, having someone on site is also a security decision. As Morgan our co-founder says, US families often want a human presence in the property when the owner isn’t there, which is one reason demand for live-in and seasonal staff stays strong.
How much does a house manager cost?
Below are the salaries for house managers across the US based on our Household Staff Annual Report.
Total = Average salary + Placement fee (20%) + On-costs (25%). On-costs cover payroll taxes, social security, and workers’ comp via Morgan & Mallet’s employer-of-record service.
| Region | Salary range | Average salary | Total cost to employ |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $85,000 – $160,000 | $122,500 | $177,625 |
| London | $81,000 – $162,000 | $121,500 | $176,175 |
| New York | $80,000 – $150,000 | $115,000 | $166,750 |
| Los Angeles | $75,000 – $140,000 | $107,500 | $155,875 |
| Dubai | $68,000 – $136,000 | $102,000 | $147,900 |
| Miami | $70,000 – $130,000 | $100,000 | $145,000 |
Homes in Manhattan, the Hamptons, Beverly Hills and Palm Beach pay top of the range salary.
The size of the property and team to be managed also makes salaries higher.
Other things like experience and language skills add another 10 to 20% on the salary.
But the most influential factor that drives house manager salaries higher is the supply and demand. From the last decade, Morgan & Mallet has seen the number of wealthy households increase while the pool of qualified house manager professionals remains small.
This is paired with the recent trend of fewer people entering the field. As Morgan Richez says, “There are less and less people with experience so the salary increases a lot.”
What's the difference between a house manager, a housekeeper, and an estate manager?
The difference between each role comes down to the duties and who they report to.
The housekeeper does the cleaning, laundry, light cooking, wardrobe care and reports to the house manager.
A head housekeeper would be in charge of a small team but the focus is within the cleaning of one house.
A house manager runs the whole household. They hire and supervise staff and manage budgets. They make sure everything in the property runs smoothly so it doesn’t disturb your day. This role is above the housekeeper and the manager directly reports to you or an estate manager if there is one.
The estate manager is more senior to the house manager and looks after multiple properties. As Laurine Mallet our co-founder puts it, “The estate manager has the same skills as a house manager, but manages all the properties. It’s about the financial side too with administration, taxes, the link between each property for the principal.” The pay is higher with a range of $150,000 to $250,000+ in the US as per 2025/26 Annual Report.
The talent pool for estate managers isn’t very big. They make up about 10% of the roles we get asked to fill in the US, so the search takes longer than for a single-property house manager.
In short, the housekeeper looks after the cleanliness of your home, the house manager runs it, and the estate manager looks after all your properties.
What should you look for when hiring a house manager?
Service experience, with private-household experience
Candidates with a minimum of five years experience in private homes or hospitality is what’s expected of a good house manager.
“The most important thing is to have experience with management. It’s not easy to manage domestic workers. You need to understand how to talk to them, know each task in duty, and know how to organize the planning,” says co-founder Morgan Richez.
References from people who actually worked with them
Three reference calls minimum happens on every placement we make.
Resumes never give the whole story so we dig deeper than that.
The truth comes out when we call up references and ask if the candidate completed their roles as they explained in the resume.
“I speak with at least three or four of their previous employers to make sure that yes, they were there and if the dates, the job responsibilities, and the reason for leaving all matches. That’s all critical,” says Jonathan De Vanderbilt, our lead recruiter in New York.
Full background screening
In the US, the IDs, criminal records, and other certifications are checked before you meet any candidate. This is done so you get only qualified and trusted professionals in your home.
Discretion
A house manager sees so much of what goes on in a home. But they are trained to keep it all to themselves. Morgan Richez our co-founder describes the best people as discreet, someone who doesn’t talk too much.
A good fit
A house manager works inside your home, often every day, so personality matters as much as competence. Laurine our co-founder says, “I would recommend around 50% of the placement is based on personality. The feeling has to be right, because they’re in your home.”
Get the contract right
House managers don’t work fixed hours, so the contract has to cover on-call, overtime, time off, and bonuses.
Through our employer-of-record service we deal with payroll taxes, social security, and workers’ compensation.
Although we don’t offer legal advice, we can guide you on what should be included in the contract based on our decade of experience.
What other household staff might you need?
A house manager doesn’t normally work alone. Depending on your home, you may also need.
A butler to oversee multiple properties.
A housekeeper for daily cleaning and laundry.
A personal assistant to handle the principal’s calendar and travel.
A private chef for daily meals and entertaining
Once the house manager is in place, Morgan & Mallet can help you build out the rest of the team around them. Two or three times a month, we receive a request to staff up to ten people in an entire new property.
The house manager comes first, then everything else follows in order. Morgan Richez explains, “We start with the estate manager or the house manager, and then step by step we set it up in that order because the manager is the one who knows how to build the team.”
Why Morgan & Mallet?
Morgan & Mallet is a luxury household staffing agency with a 96% placement success rate and a network of 200,000 professional candidates.
“We’ve got the database because we’ve run this business for many years, so we’ve got the candidate already. You don’t need to search,” says Morgan Richez.
We place house managers for estates across the US with offices in New York, Miami, and Los Angeles. Be it for your holiday home in the Hamptons, your rustic estate in Aspen or your modern mansion in Beverly Hills.
With over a decade of house manager staffing experience, we understand the most important thing needed for your home is trust and confidentiality.
Every step of the recruitment process keeps your privacy safe. We never attach your name to the brief. Candidates are not aware of the client until the final round of face-to-face interviews with the principal.
They are bound by confidentiality agreements before learning anything about your home.
For a foundational role like a house manager, we strive to get it right the first time around. From the very first consultation, our recruiters understand what you’re looking for and why and only then give a shortlist of top candidates.
That’s why the process can take anywhere from two to six weeks. If we don’t find your ideal candidate right away, we will let you know. Our 96% success rate comes from patience and not rushing through hires.
Our recruiter stays in touch with your home for the first few weeks to make sure the candidate settles well into your home. If you’re unhappy with your hire, we offer a 90-day replacement guarantee at no extra cost.
This transparent and honest approach is why families have placed their trust in us since 2015.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I hire a house manager?
Call Morgan & Mallet on +1 (646) 965-2308 or get in touch online. We’ll set up a consultation call, write the role specification with you, and send a shortlist of three to five vetted candidates within two to four weeks.
How much does a house manager cost?
US house manager salaries range from $100,000 to $180,000 a year, according to Morgan & Mallet’s 2025/26 Annual Report. On top of that you’ll cover payroll taxes, workers’ comp, health insurance, an agency placement fee, and accommodation if the role is live-in.
What's the difference between a house manager and a housekeeper?
A housekeeper does the hands-on cleaning, laundry, and wardrobe care. A house manager runs the household by supervising the housekeepers, managing the budget, scheduling vendors, and reporting to the principal. The house manager is the housekeeper’s boss.
Can a house manager be live-in?
Yes. Live-in roles are common on larger estates, remote properties, and households with evening events. Accommodation and meals are included and represent $25,000 to $50,000 of value on top of base salary.
How quickly can you place a house manager?
Most searches take two to six weeks from first call to start date. UHNW and celebrity placements with NDA requirements take longer because vetting and confidentiality slow the process.
Do you place house managers across the US?
Yes. New York, the Hamptons, Greenwich, Miami, Palm Beach, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Aspen, and anywhere else our clients have homes. Rural or remote searches may take longer but we run them regularly.
How do I find a house manager?
The best way to find a house manager is by using an experienced agency like Morgan & Mallet.
We source only candidates with proven experience in the role and have a 96% placement success rate.
It takes the stress out of finding the right person because we can use our database and network to find the ideal house manager for you.
New York
office address
260 Madison Avenue, 8th floor, 10016, New York, NY - United States
phone
+1 917-843-5691
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
Miami
office address
1221 Brickell Ave Brickell, Miami, FL 33131, United States
phone
+1 305 710 3380
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
Los Angeles
office address
895 Dove St, Newport Beach, CA 92660, United States
phone
+1 305 710 3380
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed