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Construction Inspector & Materials Tester prevailing wage, Northern California (46 counties)
DIR sets the same construction inspector or materials tester rates, row for row, in 46 counties: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba. Every figure on this page applies in each of them.
$101.99an hour, total · Group 1
$65.89 wage + $36.10 employer payments
On California public works in each of these 46 counties, a Group 1 construction inspector or materials tester must be paid at least $101.99 an hour in total: $65.89 in wages plus $36.10 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $134.935 and Sunday and holiday work is $167.88. DIR puts 5 job titles in Group 1, asnt level ii-iii and dsa masonry among them.
DIR general determination NC-63-3-9-2026-1, issued August 22, 2026. Expires June 30, 2027. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.
DIR lists 4 construction inspector or materials tester rates for each of these counties, from $85.01 to $101.99 an hour. See all of them.
Base wage and fringe: $65.89 + $36.10
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 $101.99 or more.
| Basic hourly rate (taxable wage) | $65.89 |
| Health and welfare (footnote b) | $13.88 |
| Pension | $14.82 |
| Vacation and holiday | $5.89 |
| Training | $1.24 |
| Other payments | $0.27 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $101.99 |
Straight time covers an 8-hour day.
Construction Inspector & Materials Tester Group 1 job titles
Work DIR classifies in Group 1, copied as printed. The other groups and their rates are in the table below.
- ASNT Level II-III
- DSA Masonry
- DSA Shotcrete
- Lead Inspector
- NDT Level Two
Source: Group 1, page 3
Scheduled increases
DIR has already set these increases. Work on or after each date is paid the higher rate. DIR often leaves part of an increase "to be allocated to wages and/or employer payments" and confirms the split when it comes due, and it can reduce a scheduled increase in a later notice, so check DIR's increase page before you pay it.
| Takes effect | Increase per hour | Total after increase |
|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2027 | +$4.00 | $105.99 |
| July 1, 2028 | +$4.00 | $109.99 |
| July 1, 2029 | +$4.00 | $113.99 |
The double asterisk after DIR's expiration date means the next rate is already set. If the work runs past that date you have to pay the new rate, and DIR says to build it into contracts signed now (DIR FAQ, Q8).
Source: DIR increase PDF
Every construction inspector or materials tester rate in Northern California
As DIR lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.
- Group 1$101.99
- Group 2$99.99
- Group 3$91.80
- Group 4$85.01
| Classification | Total | Base | Employer payments | Daily OT | Determination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | $101.99 | $65.89 | $36.10 | $134.935 | NC-63-3-9-2026-1 |
Group 25 jobs in this group
| $99.99 | $63.89 | $36.10 | $131.935 | NC-63-3-9-2026-1 |
Group 34 jobs in this group
| $91.80 | $55.70 | $36.10 | $119.65 | NC-63-3-9-2026-1 |
Group 46 jobs in this group
| $85.01 | $48.91 | $36.10 | $109.465 | NC-63-3-9-2026-1 |
How Northern California compares
The main construction inspector or materials tester 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
- Northern Californiabase $65.89$101.99
- Santa Cruz Countybase $65.89$101.99
- Alameda Countybase $65.89$101.99
- San Luis Obispo Countybase $65.18$104.53
Which county is in which construction inspector or materials tester group
Every California county with a construction inspector or materials tester rate. Counties DIR treats alike share one page; the rest have their own. You pay the rate for the county where the work is done, even if your shop is somewhere else.
| Counties | Main classification | Total | Base |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern California, 11 counties: Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura | Group 1 | $104.53 | $65.18 |
| San Diego County | Group 1 | $104.49 | $63.18 |
| Northern California, 46 counties: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo, Yuba | Group 1 | $101.99 | $65.89 |
2 groups of counties with identical DIR rates, and 1 county with rates of its own.
California construction inspector or materials tester 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 3.
- b Amount shall be paid for all hours worked up to 173 hours per month.
- c Rate applies to the first 4 daily overtime hours, Monday through Friday, and the first 8 hours on Saturday. All other overtime is paid at the Sunday/Holiday overtime rate.
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.
Every trade's rates, county by county: Alameda · Alpine · Amador · Butte · Calaveras · Colusa · Contra Costa · Del Norte · El Dorado · Fresno · Glenn · Humboldt · Kings · Lake · Lassen · Madera · Marin · Mariposa · Mendocino · Merced · Modoc · Monterey · Napa · Nevada · Placer · Plumas · Sacramento · San Benito · San Francisco · San Joaquin · San Mateo · Santa Clara · Santa Cruz · Shasta · Sierra · Siskiyou · Solano · Sonoma · Stanislaus · Sutter · Tehama · Trinity · Tulare · Tuolumne · Yolo · Yuba
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 $101.99. 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-63-3-9-2026-1, page 1: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Northern/NC-063-3-9.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 every California rate as CSV · Report an error