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California · Field Surveyor · 34 counties

Field Surveyor prevailing wage, Santa Clara County group, California (34 counties)

DIR sets the same field surveyor rates, row for row, in 34 counties: Alameda, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo and Yuba. Every figure on this page applies in each of them.

$100.58an hour, base wage + fringe benefits · Chief of Party

$64.75 base wage + $35.83 fringe benefits

On California public works in each of these 34 counties, a field surveyor working as chief of party must be paid at least $100.58 an hour in total: $64.75 in wages plus $35.83 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $132.96 and Sunday and holiday work is $165.33.

DIR general determination 063-3-10, issued February 22, 2026 and still current in DIR's 2026-2 release. Expires February 28, 2027. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.

DIR lists 2 field surveyor rates for each of these counties, from $90.11 to $100.58 an hour. See all of them.

Base wage and fringe benefits: $64.75 + $35.83

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 $100.58 or more.

Basic hourly rate (taxable wage)$64.75
Health and welfare$13.88
Pension (footnote X)$16.01
Vacation and holiday (footnote Y)$4.40
Training$1.26
Other payments$0.28
Total straight-time hourly rate$100.58

Straight time covers an 8-hour day.

When does this rate change?

Scheduled increases

DIR releases since 2024Increases DIR has already set

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 effectIncrease per hourTotal after increase
March 1, 2027+$5.00$105.58

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).

Rate history since 2024

Total hourly rate for this classification in each DIR release. The chart above draws the same figures with the increases that follow.

ReleaseTotalChange
2024-2$91.84
2025-1$96.58+$4.74
2025-2$96.58no change
2026-1$100.58+$4.00
2026-2$100.58no change

Every field surveyor rate in the Santa Clara County group

As DIR lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.

ClassificationBase wageFringe benefitsTotal rateDaily OTDetermination
Chainman/Rodman$54.28 $35.83 $90.11 $117.25 063-3-10
Chief of Party$64.75 $35.83 $100.58 $132.96 063-3-10

How the Santa Clara County group compares

The main field surveyor 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

$17.40Tehama$110.38Imperial
Santa ClaraNearby: Alameda $100.58, Butte $100.58, Colusa $100.58, Contra Costa $100.58, Del Norte $100.58, El Dorado $100.58, Fresno $100.58, Humboldt $100.58, Madera $100.58, Marin $100.58, Mariposa $100.58, Merced $100.58, Monterey $100.58, Napa $100.58, Nevada $100.58, Placer $100.58, Sacramento $100.58, San Benito $100.58, San Francisco $100.58, San Joaquin $100.58, San Mateo $100.58, Santa Cruz $100.58, Shasta $100.58, Siskiyou $100.58, Solano $100.58, Sonoma $100.58, Stanislaus $100.58, Sutter $100.58, Trinity $100.58, Tulare $100.58, Tuolumne $100.58, Yolo $100.58, Yuba $100.58Each column is a group of counties with about the same main rate; its height is how many. 13 counties pay more than Santa Clara, 33 the same, 11 less.

Base wage and fringe benefits, nearby

  1. Santa Clara County groupbase $64.75$100.58
  2. Santa Cruz Countybase $64.75$100.58
  3. Alameda Countybase $64.75$100.58
  4. Calaveras Countybase $16.90$20.82

Which county is in which field surveyor group

Every California county with a field surveyor 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.

CountiesMain classificationBase wageTotal rate
Los Angeles County group, 13 counties: Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, VenturaChief of Party (018.167-010)$68.91 $110.38 
Santa Clara County group, 34 counties: Alameda, Butte, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Humboldt, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo, YubaChief of Party$64.75 $100.58 
Mendocino County group, 2 counties: Lake, MendocinoChief of Party (018.167-010)$21.88 $32.68 
Amador County group, 3 counties: Alpine, Amador, CalaverasChief of Party (018.167-010)$16.90 $20.82 
Glenn County group, 5 counties: Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, SierraChief of Party (018.167-010)$17.00 $20.36 
Tehama CountyChief of Party (018.167-010)$16.90 $17.40 

5 groups of counties with identical DIR rates, and 1 county with rates of its own.

California field surveyor 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.

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

Every trade's rates, county by county: Alameda · Butte · Colusa · Contra Costa · Del Norte · El Dorado · Fresno · Humboldt · Madera · Marin · Mariposa · Merced · Monterey · Napa · Nevada · Placer · Sacramento · San Benito · San Francisco · San Joaquin · San Mateo · Santa Clara · Santa Cruz · Shasta · Siskiyou · Solano · Sonoma · Stanislaus · Sutter · 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 $100.58. 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 063-3-10. DIR prints it in one file per county:

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