- The middle half earn between $18.62 and $30.75 an hour.
- Only 4 states pay crime scene cleaners more at the median.
- North Dakota pays more than all 3 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 170 crime scene cleaners on payrolls in North Dakota.
- At the state median wage, a biohazard cleaning business needs to bill about $121.38 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Crime Scene Cleaner pay in North Dakota, 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 | $10.06 | $20,930 | $18.49 |
| 25th percentile | $18.62 | $38,720 | $21.50 |
| Median | $28.92 | $60,160 | $23.78 |
| 75th percentile | $30.75 | $63,960 | $29.58 |
| 90th percentile | $33.72 | $70,130 | $39.62 |
| Average (mean) | $26.43 | $54,970 | $27.13 |
Pay spreads out a lot in North Dakota. The bottom tenth earn $10.06 an hour or less while the top tenth earn $33.72 or more, a gap of 3.4 times against 2.1 nationally. Where a crime scene cleaner sits on that range matters as much as the state.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $8.43 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $5.90 less than the national top tenth.
The average wage ($26.43) is a little under the median, so the low end of the range stretches further than the high end in North Dakota.
How North Dakota compares with other states
Over a full year, the North Dakota median of $60,160 is $10,710 more than the national $49,450.
In the state ranking, North Dakota sits 5th, between the District of Columbia ($28.96) and Tennessee ($28.89). Washington has exactly the same median, $28.92, so the two share that place. The range runs from $17.61 in Arkansas to $35.14 in New York.
North Dakota pays crime scene cleaners more than any of its neighboring states, Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota. 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 North Dakota. Rent, home prices and taxes decide how far a higher wage goes.
| Neighboring state | Median hourly | Median yearly | Against North Dakota |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | $28.92 | $60,160 | |
| Minnesota | $28.41 | $59,100 | −$0.51 an hour |
| Montana | $26.22 | $54,540 | −$2.70 an hour |
| South Dakota | $24.72 | $51,420 | −$4.20 an hour |
How many crime scene cleaners work in North Dakota
About 170 crime scene cleaners work on payrolls in North Dakota, 0.3% of the 51,710 nationwide, the 44th largest count among the states.
That is 0.4 of every 1,000 jobs in North Dakota, close to the trade's share of jobs nationally.
What a biohazard cleaning business in North Dakota should charge
Higher wages in North Dakota go straight into the price. Take a biohazard cleaning business in North Dakota paying the state median of $28.92 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 | $28.92 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $64,755 |
| Break-even rate | ($64,755 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $103.17 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $103.17 ÷ 0.85 | $121.38 |
That is $121.38 per billable hour, 4.2 times the wage, and $9.03 more than the $112.35 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $30.75 in North Dakota, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $124.59.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $18.62, the rate only drops to $103.29.
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.