Alaska prevailing wage rates, by county
What contractors must pay each trade on federally funded jobs in Alaska, county by county. Wage plus fringe, next to what the same trade earns on private work.
Look up the prevailing wage in your Alaska county
Rates by county for the main trades
| County | Electrician | Plumber | Carpenter | Construction laborer | Heavy equipment operator | Ironworker | Sheet metal worker | Painter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aleutians East | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Aleutians West | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Anchorage | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Bethel | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Bristol Bay | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Chugach | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Copper River | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Denali | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Dillingham | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Fairbanks North Star | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Haines | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Hoonah-Angoon | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Juneau | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Kenai Peninsula | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Ketchikan Gateway | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Kodiak Island | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Kusilvak | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Lake and Peninsula | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Matanuska-Susitna | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Nome | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| North Slope | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Northwest Arctic | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Petersburg | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Prince of Wales-Hyder | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Sitka | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Skagway | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Southeast Fairbanks | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Wrangell | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Yakutat | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
| Yukon-Koyukuk | $85.77 | $83.20 | $77.21 | $66.83 | $88.55 | $86.46 | $86.82 | $67.49 |
Building construction, wage + fringe per hour, current revision. * = survey rate. Not the official determination: the lookup gives the determination number and a link to the official text.
Prevailing wage vs market pay in Alaska
The prevailing wage is what federally funded jobs must pay. The market median is what Alaska employers report paying across all work, with no benefits in it. Every trade in the state is ranked on the highest-paying trades in Alaska page, and every state is compared on the prevailing wage rates by state page.
| Trade | Market median $/hr | Prevailing wage $/hr (wage + fringe) | Rate type | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrician in Alaska | $43.00 | $85.77 | Union | +$42.77 |
| Plumber in Alaska | $45.15 | $83.20 | Union | +$38.05 |
| Carpenter in Alaska | $35.51 | $77.21 | Union | +$41.70 |
| Construction laborer in Alaska | $27.91 | $66.83 | Union | +$38.92 |
| Heavy equipment operator in Alaska | $37.41 | $88.55 | Union | +$51.14 |
| Ironworker in Alaska | $37.01 | $86.46 | Union | +$49.45 |
| Sheet metal worker in Alaska | $45.48 | $86.82 | Union | +$41.34 |
| Painter in Alaska | $29.32 | $67.49 | Union | +$38.17 |
Prevailing wage is the typical Davis-Bacon rate across counties with one, Building construction. The market median has no benefits in it, so the gap is bigger than the difference in take-home pay. Not the official determination.
Questions this page answers
What is the prevailing wage in Alaska?
On federally funded construction in Alaska, it is the Davis-Bacon rate: a wage plus a fringe amount for benefits, set by county and trade in 5 wage determinations covering Building, Residential, Heavy and Highway work. Electricians are on a union rate in 30 of the 30 counties with a Building rate, and the typical union rate is $85.77 an hour, wage and fringe together.
How many Davis-Bacon wage determinations cover Alaska?
5 active determinations cover Alaska: 1 Building, 1 Heavy, 1 Highway, 3 Residential. The Building ones list rates for 30 counties, shown on this page. This page covers the federal rates; state-funded jobs may fall under Alaska's own prevailing wage law.
How often do the rates change?
The Department of Labor publishes changes most Thursdays. The latest change to a Alaska determination in our data is dated 2026-11-05. New determination numbers come out each January.
Sources and notes
- SAM.gov Davis-Bacon wage determinations for Alaska, current revisions as of 2026-11-06: Building 1, Heavy 1, Residential 3, Highway 1.
- BLS OEWS May 2025 for market medians.
- Trade names simplified from the official classification labels by Skilled Wages; where a determination lists several electrician or laborer classes, the journeyman or general class is shown. The official text governs.