- The middle half earn between $15.39 and $23.14 an hour.
- Delaware is 45th of the 50 states and DC, in the bottom ten for this trade.
- Delaware pays less than all 3 neighboring states.
- At the state median wage, a biohazard cleaning business needs to bill about $107.96 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Crime Scene Cleaner pay in Delaware, 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 | $15.39 | $32,000 | $18.49 |
| 25th percentile | $15.39 | $32,000 | $21.50 |
| Median | $21.28 | $44,250 | $23.78 |
| 75th percentile | $23.14 | $48,120 | $29.58 |
| 90th percentile | $30.35 | $63,120 | $39.62 |
| Average (mean) | $21.02 | $43,720 | $27.13 |
From the bottom tenth ($15.39) to the top tenth ($30.35), the top of the scale pays about 2 times the bottom in Delaware, close to the 2.1 times spread for crime scene cleaners nationwide.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $3.10 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $9.27 less than the national top tenth.
The average wage ($21.02) is a little under the median, so the low end of the range stretches further than the high end in Delaware.
How Delaware compares with other states
Over a full year, the Delaware median of $44,250 is $5,200 less than the national $49,450.
In the state ranking, Delaware sits 45th, between Oklahoma ($21.30) and North Carolina ($20.76). The range runs from $17.61 in Arkansas to $35.14 in New York.
Every one of the neighboring states pays crime scene cleaners more than Delaware. The closest is Pennsylvania at $23.01, and the biggest gap is with New Jersey.
BLS wages are not adjusted for living costs. Lower pay often comes with lower housing costs, so the gap in take-home value can be smaller than the gap in wages.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against Delaware |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | $21.28 | $44,250 | |
| Maryland | $23.39 | $48,640 | +$2.11 an hour |
| New Jersey | $26.87 | $55,900 | +$5.59 an hour |
| Pennsylvania | $23.01 | $47,860 | +$1.73 an hour |
How many crime scene cleaners work in Delaware
BLS did not publish a count of crime scene cleaners employed in Delaware for May 2025. That happens when the survey sample is too thin to estimate the number with confidence. The wage figures above were published and are used as they are.
What a biohazard cleaning business in Delaware should charge
A lower wage helps the price less than you might expect, because the overhead does not shrink with it. Here is a biohazard cleaning business in Delaware paying the state median of $21.28, on the labor rate calculator's 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 | $21.28 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $47,648 |
| Break-even rate | ($47,648 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $91.77 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $91.77 ÷ 0.85 | $107.96 |
That is $107.96 per billable hour, 5.1 times the wage, and $4.39 less than the $112.35 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $23.14 in Delaware, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $111.23.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $15.39, the rate only drops to $97.62.
At this wage, overhead is most of the price: $60 of every billed hour goes to it before anyone is paid. Spreading the same overhead over more billable hours, with a second person or less drive time, brings the rate down fastest.
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.