- The middle half earn between $22.68 and $32.47 an hour.
- California ranks 12th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- California pays more than all 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 7,340 crime scene cleaners on payrolls in California.
- At the state median wage, a biohazard cleaning business needs to bill about $117.97 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Crime Scene Cleaner pay in California, bottom to top
BLS has no figure for crime scene cleaners. These are its numbers for hazardous materials removal workers, the closest group, which includes decontamination workers along with asbestos and lead abatement crews. Treat them as a rough guide, not a measure of crime scene work itself.
| Pay level | Hourly | Yearly | National hourly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $20.03 | $41,660 | $18.49 |
| 25th percentile | $22.68 | $47,180 | $21.50 |
| Median | $26.98 | $56,120 | $23.78 |
| 75th percentile | $32.47 | $67,540 | $29.58 |
| 90th percentile | $41.09 | $85,470 | $39.62 |
| Average (mean) | $29.21 | $60,750 | $27.13 |
From the bottom tenth ($20.03) to the top tenth ($41.09), the top of the scale pays about 2.1 times the bottom in California, close to the 2.1 times spread for crime scene cleaners nationwide.
Both ends of the scale beat the national figures: $20.03 against $18.49 at the bottom tenth, and $41.09 against $39.62 at the top.
The average wage, $29.21, sits 8% above the median. A smaller group of higher earners pulls the average up, so the median is the better guide to what a typical crime scene cleaner makes.
How California compares with other states
Over a full year, the California median of $56,120 is $6,670 more than the national $49,450.
In the state ranking, California sits 12th, between Hawaii ($28.10) and New Jersey ($26.87). The range runs from $17.61 in Arkansas to $35.14 in New York.
California pays crime scene cleaners more than any of its neighboring states, Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Someone working near the border can earn more by taking work on this side of it.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in California. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
How many crime scene cleaners work in California
BLS estimates 7,340 crime scene cleaners on payrolls in California, 14.2% of the 51,710 nationwide. No other state has more.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in California, 1.2 times the national share.
What a biohazard cleaning business in California should charge
Higher wages in California go straight into the price. Take a biohazard cleaning business in California paying the state median of $26.98 and run it through the labor rate calculator with its starting numbers (40-hour weeks, 10 paid days off, 2 unbilled hours a day, 7.65% payroll taxes, $90,000 a year of overhead and 15% profit).
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Paid hours | 40 × 52 | 2,080 |
| Hours at work | 2,080 − 10 days × 8 | 2,000 |
| Billable hours | 2,000 × 6 ÷ 8 | 1,500 |
| Labor cost | $26.98 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $60,411 |
| Break-even rate | ($60,411 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $100.27 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $100.27 ÷ 0.85 | $117.97 |
That is $117.97 per billable hour, 4.4 times the wage, and $5.62 more than the $112.35 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $32.47 in California, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $127.61.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.68, the rate only drops to $110.42.
Overhead, at $60 of every billed hour, and the unbilled hours move this rate more than a raise does. A dollar more in wages adds about $1.76 to the rate.
Run it with your own numbers in the labor rate calculator. It is free and shows every step.
Where these numbers come from
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
The figures are the BLS state estimates for SOC 47-4041, hazardous materials removal workers, across all industries, read straight from the May 2025 state data file. They cover wage and salary workers, not the self-employed. Where BLS did not publish a figure, this page leaves it out.
All states in one table: crime scene cleaner salary by state.