Home / California / Alameda County / Painter
Alameda County · Painter
Painter prevailing wage in Alameda County, California
$85.12an hour, base wage + fringe benefits
$56.10 base wage + $29.02 fringe benefits
Alameda County uses the same painter rates as 7 other counties. See all of them on one page.
On California public works in Alameda County, a painter must be paid at least $85.12 an hour in total: $56.10 in wages plus $29.02 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $113.17 and Sunday and holiday work is $141.22.
DIR general determination 200-X-1, issued February 22, 2026 and still current in DIR's 2026-2 release. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.
DIR lists 4 painter rates for Alameda County, from $85.12 to $107.17 an hour. See all of them.
DIR's expiration date for this determination was June 30, 2026. DIR hasn't issued a replacement, so this rate still applies, which is what the single asterisk on DIR's table means. A project keeps the rates in effect on its bid advertisement date for the life of the job.
Base wage and fringe benefits: $56.10 + $29.02
The basic hourly rate is the taxable wage. The other lines, the fringe benefits DIR calls employer payments, are what DIR expects the employer to pay into health, pension and other plans for each hour worked. An employer can pay part of that as extra wages instead, as long as the total per hour stays at $85.12 or more.
| Basic hourly rate (taxable wage) (footnote I) | $56.10 |
| Health and welfare | $12.25 |
| Pension (footnote V) | $15.12 |
| Training | $1.10 |
| Other payments | $0.55 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $85.12 |
Vacation and holiday is $0.00 in DIR's table. Footnote K says where that money is counted.
Straight time covers an 8-hour day.
When does this rate change?
- A project pays the rates in effect on its bid advertisement date for the life of the job, plus any increase DIR set in advance (DIR FAQ).
- DIR issues new determinations on February 22 and August 22, and they take effect 10 days later. This rate is from determination 200-X-1, issued February 22, 2026.
Rate history since 2024
Total hourly rate for this classification in each DIR release.
| Release | Total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-2 | $78.67 | |
| 2025-1 | $81.92 | +$3.25 |
| 2025-2 | $81.92 | no change |
| 2026-1 | $85.12 | +$3.20 |
| 2026-2 | $85.12 | no change |
Every painter rate in Alameda County
As DIR lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.
- Taper$107.17
- Bridge Painter$89.87
- Industrial Painter$87.87
- Painter$85.12
Davis-Bacon painter rate in Alameda County
Federally funded or assisted construction here uses the U.S. Department of Labor's wage determinations. When a California awarding body runs a federally funded or assisted project, DIR's rates must be paid where they are higher than the Davis-Bacon rates (DIR public works FAQ).
We don't put a federal figure next to DIR's here, because the federal determination lists more than one rate for this trade here. The federal rows for this trade are below; match the classification to the work.
| Construction | Federal classification | Base wage | Total rate | WD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building, Highway, Heavy | PAINTERS. PREMIUMS: EXOTIC MATERIALS - $1.25 ADDITIONAL PER HOUR. SPRAY WORK: - $0.50 ADDITIONAL PER HOUR. INDUSTRIAL PAINTING - $0.25 ADDITIONAL PER HOUR …PAIN0016-001 | $53.38 | $81.42 | CA20260018 Mod 8 |
| Residential | PAINTER (ALAMEDA, CONTRA COSTA, MARIN, MONTEREY, NAPA, SAN BENITO, SAN MATEO, SANTA CLARA, SANTA CRUZ, SOLANO & SONOMA COUNTIES)PAIN0016-013 | $53.38 | $81.42 | CA20260019 Mod 6 |
Davis-Bacon rates from SAM.gov, read October 25, 2026. Our federal totals are base plus fringe; DOL prints no total. California Davis-Bacon changes
How Alameda County compares
The main painter rate in every county that has one, and how the pay splits here and in the nearest counties. All bars use the same scale.
Every county in California
Base wage and fringe benefits, nearby
- Alameda Countybase $56.10$85.12
- Contra Costa Countybase $56.10$85.12
- San Mateo Countybase $56.10$85.12
- San Francisco Countybase $59.72$88.74
Painter rates in nearby counties
Current DIR rates. You pay the rate for the county where the work is done, even if your shop is somewhere else.
DIR's painter rates for Alameda County are the same as in 7 other counties: Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, Sonoma.
| County | Classification | Base wage | Total rate | vs Alameda County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco County | Painter | $59.72 | $88.74 | +$3.62 |
| Alameda County | Painter | $56.10 | $85.12 | |
| Contra Costa County | Painter | $56.10 | $85.12 | same |
| San Mateo County | Painter | $56.10 | $85.12 | same |
| Santa Clara County | Painter | $56.10 | $85.12 | same |
| Santa Cruz County | Painter | $56.10 | $85.12 | same |
| San Joaquin County | Painter | $45.85 | $69.68 | −$15.44 |
Footnotes on this rate
DIR's footnotes, in DIR's words. Several change the rate itself: zone pay, a percentage added to the total, or which overtime hours get which rate.
- I Includes amount for vac/hol and dues check off.
- V Includes an amount per hour worked for annuity trust fund.
- K Included in basic hourly rate.
- D Saturdays in the same work week may be worked at straight-time if job is shut down during the normal workweek due to inclement weather.
- AG Rate applies to the first 4 overtime hours Monday through Friday and the first 12 hours worked on saturdays and designated days off. All other time is paid at the Sunday and holiday overtime rate.
- AF Employees shall receive premium pay for the following work: wallcovering ($2.00 per hour), exotic materials ($1.25 per hour) and lead abatement/removal ($1.00 per hour). Employees shall also be entitled to high time premium pay whenever the work performed requires personal fall restraints to be worn by the employee. The amount of the premium shall be as follows: an additional $2.00 per hour above basic hourly rate when working over 50 feet above ground or water level, $4.00 per hour when working from 100 to 180 feet and $6.00 per hour when working over 180 feet. See scope provisions for further details on premiums.
DIR's other marks: # means an apprenticeable craft, * means in effect until superseded, ** means the next rate is already set.
More from DIR on this rate
- Holidays (DIR PDF)
- Scope of work: which tasks this rate covers
- Travel and subsistence
- Apprentice rates: DIR publishes these separately, by program. Look them up on DIR.
Are you being paid this rate?
Add your hourly wage to what your employer pays into health, pension and other plans for you, and compare it with $85.12. Plan payments only count if the money goes into the plan; your pay stub won't show them, but plan statements will. The training amount goes to the California Apprenticeship Council or an apprenticeship program, not to you. Check a week of pay.
Contractors on most public works jobs file certified payroll with the state, and anyone can look it up in DIR's CPR public search. If your total comes up short, you can file a public works complaint with the California Labor Commissioner.
Source
California Department of Industrial Relations, general prevailing wage determination 200-X-1: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Subtrades/ALA.html
Each figure is copied from DIR's file and checked by a second, separate reader. How we check · How to read a determination · Download Alameda County as CSV · Report an error