- The middle half earn between $22.20 and $26.68 an hour.
- New Mexico ranks 16th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- New Mexico pays more than 4 of its 5 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 680 crime scene cleaners on payrolls in New Mexico.
- At the state median wage, a biohazard cleaning business needs to bill about $115.70 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Crime Scene Cleaner pay in New Mexico, 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 | $17.79 | $37,010 | $18.49 |
| 25th percentile | $22.20 | $46,170 | $21.50 |
| Median | $25.69 | $53,440 | $23.78 |
| 75th percentile | $26.68 | $55,500 | $29.58 |
| 90th percentile | $37.50 | $78,000 | $39.62 |
| Average (mean) | $26.71 | $55,550 | $27.13 |
From the bottom tenth ($17.79) to the top tenth ($37.50), the top of the scale pays about 2.1 times the bottom in New Mexico, close to the 2.1 times spread for crime scene cleaners nationwide.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $0.70 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $2.12 less than the national top tenth.
The average, $26.71, is close to the median, so pay sits fairly evenly around the middle.
How New Mexico compares with other states
Over a full year, the New Mexico median of $53,440 is $3,990 more than the national $49,450.
In the state ranking, New Mexico sits 16th, between Montana ($26.22) and South Dakota ($24.72). The range runs from $17.61 in Arkansas to $35.14 in New York.
Against its neighboring states, New Mexico is in the middle: Colorado pays more, and Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah pay less.
These are wages as paid, not adjusted for what it costs to live in New Mexico. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
How many crime scene cleaners work in New Mexico
About 680 crime scene cleaners work on payrolls in New Mexico, 1.3% of the 51,710 nationwide, the 22nd largest count among the states.
The trade is a bigger part of the local job market than it is nationally: 0.8 of every 1,000 jobs in New Mexico, 2.4 times the national share.
What a biohazard cleaning business in New Mexico should charge
Higher wages in New Mexico go straight into the price. Take a biohazard cleaning business in New Mexico paying the state median of $25.69 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 | $25.69 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $57,523 |
| Break-even rate | ($57,523 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $98.35 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $98.35 ÷ 0.85 | $115.70 |
That is $115.70 per billable hour, 4.5 times the wage, and $3.35 more than the $112.35 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $26.68 in New Mexico, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $117.44.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $22.20, the rate only drops to $109.58.
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.