- The middle half earn between $20.67 and $24.90 an hour.
- West Virginia ranks 39th of the 50 states and DC for median pay in this trade.
- West Virginia pays more than 1 of its 5 neighboring states.
- BLS counts about 130 crime scene cleaners on payrolls in West Virginia.
- At the state median wage, a biohazard cleaning business needs to bill about $109.75 an hour on the labor rate calculator's starting numbers.
Crime Scene Cleaner pay in West Virginia, 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 | $18.04 | $37,530 | $18.49 |
| 25th percentile | $20.67 | $42,990 | $21.50 |
| Median | $22.30 | $46,390 | $23.78 |
| 75th percentile | $24.90 | $51,790 | $29.58 |
| 90th percentile | $36.85 | $76,650 | $39.62 |
| Average (mean) | $24.05 | $50,030 | $27.13 |
From the bottom tenth ($18.04) to the top tenth ($36.85), the top of the scale pays about 2 times the bottom in West Virginia, close to the 2.1 times spread for crime scene cleaners nationwide.
Both ends trail the national figures. The bottom tenth earn $0.45 an hour less than the bottom tenth nationally, and the top tenth $2.77 less than the national top tenth.
The average wage, $24.05, 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 West Virginia compares with other states
Over a full year, the West Virginia median of $46,390 is $3,060 less than the national $49,450.
In the state ranking, West Virginia sits 39th, between Ohio ($22.41) and Kansas ($21.89). Michigan has exactly the same median, $22.30, so the two share that place. The range runs from $17.61 in Arkansas to $35.14 in New York.
Against its neighboring states, West Virginia is in the middle: Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania pay more, and Virginia pays less.
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 West Virginia |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | $22.30 | $46,390 | |
| Kentucky | $22.91 | $47,640 | +$0.61 an hour |
| Maryland | $23.39 | $48,640 | +$1.09 an hour |
| Ohio | $22.41 | $46,620 | +$0.11 an hour |
| Pennsylvania | $23.01 | $47,860 | +$0.71 an hour |
| Virginia | $21.79 | $45,320 | −$0.51 an hour |
How many crime scene cleaners work in West Virginia
West Virginia has one of the smaller workforces in the trade: 130 crime scene cleaners on payrolls, 0.3% of the 51,710 nationwide.
It is a smaller part of local jobs than in most of the country, at 0.2 per 1,000 jobs, 0.57 times the national share.
What a biohazard cleaning business in West Virginia 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 West Virginia paying the state median of $22.30, 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 | $22.30 × 2,080 × 1.0765 | $49,932 |
| Break-even rate | ($49,932 + $90,000) ÷ 1,500 | $93.29 |
| Rate with 15% profit | $93.29 ÷ 0.85 | $109.75 |
That is $109.75 per billable hour, 4.9 times the wage, and $2.60 less than the $112.35 the same math gives at the national median wage.
Paying the 75th percentile instead, $24.90 in West Virginia, to hire and keep experienced people raises the rate to $114.32.
A cheaper crew saves less than it seems: at the 25th percentile wage of $20.67, the rate only drops to $106.89.
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.