How Much to Charge for Pressure Washing in 2026 (Per Square Foot + Per Surface)

Every week we hear the same question in pressure-washing Facebook groups: "Am I charging enough?" After reviewing hundreds of real quotes sent through Quote King in the first quarter of 2026, here's what crews are actually charging — broken down by surface, with ranges for different markets.

The short answer (if you only read one paragraph)

For a standard 2,400 sq ft house in a mid-tier US market, a full exterior wash — driveway, house siding, roof soft-wash, and gutters — ships for $850 to $1,150. If you're charging under $700, you're leaving money on the table. If you're over $1,300 you'd better have a truck with a wrap, printed shirts, and follow-up automation.

Per-square-foot rates by surface

Driveway / flatwork concrete

$0.15 – $0.30 per sq ft. The floor is around 15¢ for rural Midwest crews, the ceiling is 30¢ for coastal metros (Miami, LA, Seattle, Boston). A typical 1,000 sq ft driveway quotes at $180 – $280.

Keep in mind: a one-stop driveway job takes the same amount of drive time, truck setup, and chemical as a $400 job. If your minimum charge is under $180, you're paying the customer to wash their driveway.

Roof (soft wash)

$0.35 – $0.60 per sq ft of actual roof surface (not footprint — see the section on pitch below). A 2,400 sq ft footprint roof at a 6/12 pitch is actually closer to 2,700 sq ft of surface. At 45¢/sq ft, that's $1,215.

Roof soft-washing is the single highest-margin service you can offer. It costs a tiny amount of SH, water, and time, and the ceiling price is 2-3x what the driveway commands. If you're not upselling it, you're leaving the majority of your route profit on the table.

House siding

$0.15 – $0.25 per sq ft of wall area. For a single-story 2,400 sq ft footprint house with 10 ft walls, that's roughly 1,500 sq ft of wall area, which lands at $225 – $375. Double-story houses roughly double the wall area.

Gutters

$1.00 – $1.75 per linear foot for a standard gutter cleaning. Add $0.50/lf for gutter-face whitening. A 150 lf house runs $150 – $265 for cleaning, or $225 – $340 with whitening.

Minimum charges matter more than rates

Your rate card is nice, but your minimum charge is what protects you from losing money on small jobs. The industry standard in 2026:

• Solo crew: $150 minimum per visit
• 2-person crew with truck + trailer: $225 minimum
• 3+ person crew: $300 minimum

These aren't arbitrary. A solo operator's truck, fuel, chemical, water, and hour of labor costs somewhere between $50 and $85 per stop. A minimum of $150 guarantees ~$65 of gross margin even on the smallest job. Anything less and you're essentially volunteering.

Adjust for your market

Coastal cities, large metros, and tourism towns can charge the high end of every range. Rural areas, small towns, and lower-cost-of-living regions land closer to the floor. A handful of rules of thumb:

• If the median home price in your zip is above $500k, you're on the high end.
• If 60%+ of your customers pay with credit card (vs. check or cash), you're in a high-end market and can price accordingly.
• If you compete with 3+ other crews on every Facebook lead, you're in a saturated market and need to differentiate on service, not price.

How to stop guessing

Every pressure washer starts by quoting from their head or a dusty spreadsheet. It works until you're doing 10+ quotes a week and you realize half are under-priced. Three things to fix immediately:

1. Pick a rate card. Write it down. Use the same rates every time.
2. Set a minimum charge. Stick to it even when a homeowner pushes back.
3. Measure the job, don't eyeball it. A satellite measurement takes 30 seconds and is usually 5-15% bigger than what you'd guess by eye.

If you want a free interactive version of this rate card, try our free pressure washing pricing calculator. Plug in square footage, adjust for pitch, and get a quote in seconds. When you're ready to send it to a customer, Quote King handles the SMS and email with a pay link.

Stop quoting from your laptop at 9pm. Start free with Quote King.