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Butte County · Dredger
Dredger prevailing wage in Butte County, California
$106.67an hour, total · Group 1
$62.61 wage + $44.06 employer payments
Butte County uses the same dredge worker rates as 18 other counties. See all of them on one page.
On California public works in Butte County, a Group 1 dredge worker must be paid at least $106.67 an hour in total: $62.61 in wages plus $44.06 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $137.975 and Sunday and holiday work is $169.28. DIR puts 3 job titles in Group 1, chief engineer and leverman/operator among them.
DIR general determination NC-63-3-12-2025-1, issued August 22, 2025 and still current in DIR's 2026-2 release. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.
DIR lists 4 dredge worker rates for Butte County, from $97.29 to $106.67 an hour. See all of them.
DIR's expiration date for this determination was July 31, 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: $62.61 + $44.06
The basic hourly rate is the taxable wage. The other lines, usually called fringe benefits, 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 $106.67 or more.
| Basic hourly rate (taxable wage) | $62.61 |
| Health and welfare | $13.38 |
| Pension (footnote b) | $23.10 |
| Vacation and holiday (footnote c) | $6.43 |
| Training | $0.73 |
| Other payments | $0.42 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $106.67 |
Straight time covers an 8-hour day.
Davis-Bacon dredge worker rate in Butte 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 determinations split this trade into groups that don't line up with DIR's. The federal rows for this trade are below; match the classification to the work.
| Construction | Federal classification | Base + fringe | Base | WD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building, Highway, Heavy | DREDGING: CLAMSHELL & DIPPER DREDGING; HYDRAULIC SUCTION DREDGING (1) LEVERMAN (AREA 2: MODOC COUNTY. COUNTIES SPLIT BETWEEN AREA 1 AND AREA 2 NOTED AS …ENGI0003-008 | $102.16 | $62.61 | CA20260007 Mod 5 |
| Building, Highway, Heavy | DREDGING: CLAMSHELL & DIPPER DREDGING; HYDRAULIC SUCTION DREDGING (2) DREDGE DOZER; HEAVY DUTY REPAIRMAN (AREA 2: MODOC COUNTY. COUNTIES SPLIT BETWEEN AREA 1 …ENGI0003-008 | $97.20 | $57.65 | CA20260007 Mod 5 |
| Building, Highway, Heavy | DREDGING: CLAMSHELL & DIPPER DREDGING; HYDRAULIC SUCTION DREDGING (3) BOOSTER PUMP OPERATOR; DECK ENGINEER; DECK MATE; DREDGE TENDER; WINCH OPERATOR (AREA 2: …ENGI0003-008 | $96.08 | $56.53 | CA20260007 Mod 5 |
| Building, Highway, Heavy | DREDGING: CLAMSHELL & DIPPER DREDGING; HYDRAULIC SUCTION DREDGING (4) BARGEMAN; DECKHAND; FIREMAN; LEVEEHAND; OILER (AREA 2: MODOC COUNTY. COUNTIES SPLIT …ENGI0003-008 | $92.78 | $53.23 | CA20260007 Mod 5 |
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
Dredger Group 1 job titles
Work DIR classifies in Group 1, copied as printed. The other groups and their rates are in the table below.
- Chief Engineer
- Day Mate (Captain)
- Leverman/Operator
Source: Group 1, page 5
Every dredge worker rate in Butte County
As DIR lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.
- Group 1$106.67
- Group 2$101.71
- Group 3$100.59
- Group 4$97.29
| Classification | Total | Base | Employer payments | Daily OT | Determination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1Area 1 | $106.67 | $62.61 | $44.06 | $137.975 | NC-63-3-12-2025-1 |
Group 2Area 12 jobs in this group
| $101.71 | $57.65 | $44.06 | $130.535 | NC-63-3-12-2025-1 |
Group 3Area 17 jobs in this group
| $100.59 | $56.53 | $44.06 | $128.855 | NC-63-3-12-2025-1 |
Group 4Area 15 jobs in this group
| $97.29 | $53.23 | $44.06 | $123.905 | NC-63-3-12-2025-1 |
How Butte County compares
The main dredge worker 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
Wage and employer payments, nearby
- Butte Countybase $62.61 · Area 1$106.67
- Yuba Countybase $62.61 · Area 1$106.67
- Glenn Countybase $62.61 · Area 1$106.67
- Modoc Countybase $64.61 · Area 2$108.67
Dredger 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 dredge worker rates for Butte County are the same as in 18 other counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Kings, Marin, Merced, Napa, Sacramento, San Benito and 10 more. The closest county with a different rate is Modoc County, at $108.67.
| County | Classification | Total | Base | vs Butte County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County | Group 1 (Area 1) | $106.67 | $62.61 | |
| Yuba County | Group 1 (Area 1) | $106.67 | $62.61 | same |
| Glenn County | Group 1 (Area 1) | $106.67 | $62.61 | same |
| Sutter County | Group 1 (Area 1) | $106.67 | $62.61 | same |
| Tehama County | Group 1 (Area 1) | $106.67 | $62.61 | same |
| Plumas County | Group 1 (Area 1) | $106.67 | $62.61 | same |
| Colusa County | Group 1 (Area 1) | $106.67 | $62.61 | same |
California dredge worker prevailing wage by county, with a map
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.
- a For classifications within each group, see Page 5.
- b Includes an amount for Annuity Trust Fund.
- c Includes an amount for Supplemental Dues.
- d Rate applies to the first 4 daily overtime hours Monday thru Friday and the first 12 hours on Saturday. All other time worked is paid at the Sunday and Holiday overtime rate.
- e Saturday in the same workweek may be worked at straight-time if a job is shut down during the normal workweek due to inclement weather.
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 $106.67. 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 NC-63-3-12-2025-1, page 1: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Northern/NC-063-3-12.pdf
Each figure is copied from DIR's file and checked by a second, separate reader. How we check · How to read a determination · Download Butte County as CSV · Report an error