United States
Private housekeeping is one of the hardest roles to get right. Just the technical knowledge on it’s own takes years to develop.
Then add the need for discretion, reliability and being able to work around a family’s life without disrupting anything.
Morgan & Mallet recruits housekeepers for HNW and UHNW households across the US from a large database of handpicked candidates, every one of them interviewed for 90 minutes before being presented to you.
Years experience placing Housekeepers
Placement success rate for housekeepers
Housekeepers in our database
Of our business comes from referrals
What Will Your Housekeeper Actually Do?
Cleaning, laundry, ironing, linen changes, stocking the pantry, keeping guest rooms ready, setting the table for dinners.
In the US, most private housekeeper roles are all-rounder jobs.
Your housekeeper might also do light cooking, handle pet care, sort out dry cleaning, manage seasonal wardrobe changes, or help with packing and unpacking when you travel.
If you’ve got a bigger team with a chef, nanny, or driver, your housekeeper needs to know how to work around them.About 83% of our US candidates have worked in homes with other staff.
The technical side matters more than most people expect.
If your home has marble floors, hardwood, limestone countertops, or terrazzo, your housekeeper needs to know which products to use on each one.
If you’ve got fine art, antiques, or collectibles, they need to know how to clean around them without causing damage.
Cashmere, silk, and linen all need different handling. You can’t clean a $100,000 sofa the same way you’d clean a regular one.
Morgan Richez, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet:
“It’s not only about the top of the table. You need to check inside, under, everywhere. And use the right product for the right furniture. You can’t use the same product for everything.”
Some of our clients have homes furnished by designers like Jacques Garcia or Alberto Pinto.
The designer gives them a full book explaining how to look after every piece.
Your housekeeper follows that.
If your household uses organic or chemical-free products only, your housekeeper needs to know that before day one.
If you split time between a city home and the Hamptons or Connecticut, your housekeeper keeps both ready.
Guest suites done before you arrive, the fridge stocked, everything in order.
To read more about what a housekeeper does read our housekeeper job description page.
Do You Need to Hire a Head Housekeeper or a Personal Housekeeper?
If your property is over 10,000 square feet and you have three or more staff, you’ll probably need a head housekeeper.
A personal housekeeper cleans and maintains. A head housekeeper runs it all. They manage a team of two to five, create cleaning schedules, and plan deep cleans around your travel.
They also handle inventory, household budgets, and coordinating with suppliers and contractors.
They deal with changing wardrobes over in different seasons and getting the insides of homes ready too when the seasons change. And they spot maintenance issues early on.
Morgan Richez: “The head housekeeper will get some initiative. If she needs to buy some product, she’ll buy twice so as soon as she finishes one she’s got one ready to go. She doesn’t need to wait for the order. It’s all about organization and anticipation.”
45% of our US candidates already work at this level. If you’re not sure which you need, we’ll help you figure that out on the first call.
If you still aren’t sure if you need a housekeeper at all and you think maybe another role is right for you, why not try our tool that helps you decide what household staff you actually need and how much they will cost.
Housekeeper Salaries in the US
Housekeepers are the most in-demand role we fill. More requested than butlers, nannies, or any other position.
And unlike butlers, there are no housekeeper schools anywhere. Most of the best candidates come from five-star hotels like the Dorchester, the Four Seasons, or the Peninsula.
Morgan Richez: “If you’re looking for a five-star housekeeper in New York or Miami, you need to pay a lot of money. It’s not easy to find someone very good. There’s a lot of demand and not enough people.”
That shortage, plus tighter immigration rules in the US, is why housekeeper salaries have gone up.
Our housekeeper salary data is from our 2025/26 Household Staff Annual Report:
US City | Annual Salary (USD) |
|---|---|
New York | $90,000-$160,000 |
San Francisco | Up to $125,000 |
Los Angeles | $80,000 – $130,000 |
If you’re hiring in New York specifically, see our full guide to hiring a housekeeper in New York.
Head housekeepers managing teams earn 20 to 30% more. Live-in roles offer a lower base but include accommodation, meals, and utilities worth $20,000 to $40,000 a year on top.
How Do You Find a Good Housekeeper?
Morgan Richez: “Every couple of months we get a call from someone who tried to hire a housekeeper by themselves and it was a big mess. We need to understand what they did wrong and then manage it properly from there.”
When you call our housekeeper recruitment agency, a recruiter asks about your home, your routine, your materials, your staff, and what you actually need the housekeeper to do every day.
We search our database of 6,400+ housekeeping candidates. Every one of them has at least three to five years in private homes or luxury hotels and every candidate does a 90-minute interview with us.
We test things like which products would you use on this surface. How would you set up for a last-minute dinner party for 20 people. What would you do if you found a leak behind a wall.
Ellie Littlechild, recruiter at Morgan & Mallet, also puts candidates through real scenarios: “Travel changes late in the evening. Vendor failures before guests arrive. Expense approvals under pressure. These moments reveal working style quickly.”
Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, tests discretion personally on senior placements. In homes where NDAs and confidentiality agreements are standard, discretion matters more than any technical skill.
She once placed a housekeeper who didn’t have the strongest luxury background on paper. But her discretion in the interview was quite amazing. That placement with a VIP client lasted five years.
You see three to five candidates. We set up your interviews and organize paid trial days so you can see how each person actually works in your home.
A resume can only really tell you so much. You need to see how someone works before you commit to hiring them.
What Happens If Something Goes Wrong?
We check how things are going every week during the first few months.
We once placed a housekeeper who dropped a glass in her first week. The client called us wanting a replacement. They thought she was careless.
Through our check-in calls, we found out the real problem. She was stressed because nobody had given her any feedback. She didn’t know if she was doing well or badly.
We spoke to both sides. We helped the employer understand that a simple “you’re doing great” would have fixed it. That housekeeper has been with the family for three years now.
You get a 90-day replacement guarantee. If it doesn’t work out, we replace at no extra cost.
We also help with contracts, payroll, and connecting you with employment lawyers in New York, California, Florida, and every other state where you’re hiring.
Other Types of Housekeeper Roles
Part-time and seasonal
Big for families with summer homes. Keep a small team year-round, scale up when you arrive.
Live-in housekeeper
For homes that need to stay ready all the time. Cover utilities on top of accommodation.
Housekeeper-cook
About 20% of our candidates have solid cooking experience.
Traveling housekeeper
For families with homes in multiple states. They earn 25 to 40% above standard rates plus travel.
Laundress
If you’ve got a big wardrobe or a lot of fine linens, a dedicated laundress handles garments, table linens, and specialty items full-time. About 3% of our US candidates specialize in this.
Housekeeper Hiring Resources
Some more useful information that can help with your housekeeper recruitment decision.
Housekeeper job description → An example job description and more information about what a housekeeper does in the role.
Head housekeeper job description → How the head housekeeper role differs, including staff leadership responsibilities and salary expectations.
Housekeeper vs maid → What’s the difference between a housekeeper and a maid and which one do you need?
Live-in vs Live-out housekeeper → We help you decide whether it’s best to hire a housekeeper who lives on your property or who only visits when they are working.
Housekeeper vs Nanny-Housekeeper → Do you need someone to focus only on housekeeping or to look after your children and also do some housekeeping. We compare the two roles more in this article.
Frequently Asked
Questions About Hiring a Housekeeper
How long does it take to hire a housekeeper?
Two to four weeks for most roles. Specialist searches can take longer.
What background checks do you run?
90-minute interviews, references with former employers, criminal background screening, five to seven years of employment history.
What about employment law?
It varies by state. New York has the Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights covering overtime, days off, and notice periods.
California has strict protections too. We connect you with lawyers in every state where you’re hiring and help set up contracts that cover workers’ comp and employer liability.
Do you place housekeepers outside major cities?
Yes. We place in the Hamptons, Greenwich, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard, Aspen, the Berkshires, and anywhere else our clients have homes.
Rural or remote searches can take longer, and you may need to offer a higher salary or a live-in arrangement to get the right person out there.
Can you staff multiple properties?
Yes. Same recruiter, so the same system. If you’ve also got a home in London or Monaco, we cover that too.
New York
office address
260 Madison Avenue, 8th floor, 10016, New York, NY - United States
phone
+1 (646)965-2308
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
Miami
office address
1221 Brickell Ave Bricknell, 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