Prevailing wage and Davis-Bacon rates, explained and looked up

What contractors must pay on public construction, county by county, next to what the market actually pays.

Data compiled by Skilled WagesSAM.gov determinations as of 2026-09-28

4,235Active wage determinationsall states and territories

2026-09-24Latest modification57 determinations changed

51States with electrician rates parsedBuilding construction type

Look up a county rate

From the field

On a real bid, the determination is the first thing the estimator opens. Labor is priced from the base wage plus the fringe for every classification on the job, and the fringe is not a rounding error: on a union electrician rate in a large metro it can be forty to seventy percent on top of the base. Whether the contractor pays that fringe into the union plans or as cash on the check, it is part of the required package, and certified payroll has to show it.

Two things trip people up. First, the classification has to match the work, not the worker's title: an electrician running low-voltage cable may fall under a different, lower classification in the same determination. Second, survey rates in rural counties can be years old. When the required rate is far below what anyone in the area actually pays, the determination is simply not binding on the market; contractors pay what it takes to staff the job and the determination becomes a floor nobody touches. That gap is what the "stale rates" tables on this site measure.

Union scale vs survey rate, by state

Share of counties whose Davis-Bacon Building determination lists a union-contract electrician rate (as opposed to a survey rate). Click a state to look up any county.

State	Counties with a union electrician rate	Typical union package $/hr	Typical survey rate $/hr	Survey rates 8+ years old
New Jersey	100%	$103.81	—	0
Hawaii	100%	$89.71	—	0
Washington	97%	$87.78	$84.62	0
Alaska	100%	$85.77	—	0
Connecticut	100%	$84.53	—	0
Massachusetts	100%	$84.36	—	0
Illinois	100%	$83.99	—	0
Delaware	100%	$83.43	—	0
Pennsylvania	94%	$82.64	$45.08	4
District of Columbia	100%	$82.56	—	0
Missouri	98%	$81.86	$31.86	2
Rhode Island	100%	$80.85	—	0
California	91%	$80.15	$23.46	5
Oregon	56%	$79.51	$60.45	0
New York	92%	$76.39	$60.66	1
Wisconsin	100%	$70.47	—	0
Ohio	84%	$69.93	$45.51	13
Indiana	97%	$68.36	$10.58	3
West Virginia	65%	$66.44	$43.27	19
Iowa	17%	$66.39	$32.80	82
Kansas	22%	$64.30	$38.59	82
Kentucky	78%	$63.40	$42.47	26
Michigan	85%	$63.35	$28.15	11
Maine	31%	$59.88	$34.57	11
Colorado	98%	$59.17	$35.14	1
New Hampshire	70%	$59.04	$34.70	3
Montana	93%	$58.91	$36.03	4
Utah	97%	$58.89	$34.87	1
Idaho	95%	$58.74	$27.83	2
North Dakota	79%	$57.59	$34.00	11
Virginia	71%	$55.97	$31.09	30
Oklahoma	91%	$54.54	$27.78	7
Nebraska	100%	$53.88	—	0
New Mexico	88%	$53.71	$33.42	2
South Dakota	73%	$53.15	$32.33	18
Arizona	93%	$51.34	$37.35	1
Georgia	77%	$49.20	$27.04	20
Florida	60%	$47.70	$19.96	27
Tennessee	40%	$47.70	$33.77	0
Texas	19%	$47.19	$22.93	204
South Carolina	67%	$46.79	$15.86	15
North Carolina	32%	$45.41	$18.57	53
Louisiana	83%	$43.91	$30.93	11
Arkansas	45%	$43.89	$26.95	41
Mississippi	70%	$42.94	$26.13	25
Vermont	29%	$42.85	$27.51	10
Alabama	36%	$41.24	$23.78	43
Maryland	0%	—	$69.45	0
Minnesota	0%	—	$76.74	0
Nevada	0%	—	$78.49	0
Wyoming	0%	—	$49.43	0

Questions this page answers

What is prevailing wage?

The minimum hourly wage and fringe benefit package that contractors must pay each class of worker on public construction projects. The federal version comes from the Davis-Bacon Act (1931) and applies to federally funded or assisted construction over $2,000. Many states have their own prevailing wage laws for state-funded work.

What is a Davis-Bacon wage determination?

A document published by the U.S. Department of Labor, one per state, county group and construction type (Building, Residential, Heavy, Highway), listing the required base wage and fringe for each classification. Rates marked with a union identifier (for example ELEC0134-001) come from a collective bargaining agreement; rates marked SU come from a Department of Labor survey.

How is prevailing wage determined?

The Department of Labor surveys wages paid on similar projects in the area. Where a majority of workers in a classification are paid the same rate (usually a union scale), that rate prevails; otherwise a weighted average is used. Survey rates can stay in force for many years, which is why some counties show rates well below the current market.

What counts as fringe benefits under Davis-Bacon?

Employer contributions to health insurance, pensions, vacation, apprenticeship training and similar plans. A contractor can pay the fringe amount as cash on the paycheck instead. The total package on this site is base plus fringe.

Where do I find the official determination?

On SAM.gov. Every rate table on this site links to the determination number and revision it came from. This site is a reference, not the official determination; always confirm the current text before bidding or paying.

Sources and notes

SAM.gov Davis-Bacon wage determinations, current revisions as of 2026-09-28, parsed by Skilled Wages. Classification labels are normalised to trades; the official text governs.
U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division: Davis-Bacon and Related Acts.