Laborer prevailing wage, California Area 1 (6 counties)

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 NC-23-102-1-2026-2, issued August 22, 2026; DIR's expiration date for it is June 27, 2027.

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.

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

Laborer Group 1 job titles

Work DIR classifies in Group 1, copied as printed. The other groups and their rates are in the table below.

• Asphalt spreader boxes (all types)
• Barko, wacker and similar type tampers
• Biohazard cleanup worker
• Buggymobile
• Caulkers, banders, pipewrappers, conduit layers, plastic pipe layers
• Certified asbestos and mold removal worker
• Certified hazardous waste worker (including lead abatement)
• Compactors of all types
• Concrete and magnesite mixer and ½ yard
• Concrete pan work
• Concrete sanders, concrete saw
• Cribbers and/or shoring
• Cut granite curb setter
• Dri pak-it machine
• Faller, logloader and bucker
• Form raisers, slip forms
• Green cutters
• Headerboard men, hubsetters, aligners by any method
• High pressure blow pipe (1-1/2" or over, 100 lbs. Pressure/over)
• Hydro seeder and similar type
• Jackhammer operators
• Jacking of pipe over 12 inches
• Jackson and similar type compactors
• Kettlemen, potmen, and men applying asphalt, lay kold, creosote, lime, caustic and similar type materials (applying means applying dipping, or handling of such materials)
• Lagging, sheeting, whaling, bracing, trench-jacking, lagging hammer
• Magnesite, epoxy resin, fiber glass and mastic workers (wet/dry)
• No joint pipe and stripping of same, including repair of voids
• Pavement breakers and spaders, including tool grinder
• Perma curbs
• Precast-manhole setters
• Pipelayers (including grade checking in connection with pipelaying)
• Pressure pipe tester
• Post hole diggers-air, gas, and electric power broom sweepers
• Power tampers of all types, except as shown in group 2
• Ram set gun and stud gun
• Riprap-stonepaver and rock-slinger, including placing of sacked concrete and/or sand (wet or dry) and gabions and similar type
• Rotary scarifier or multiple head concrete chipping scarifier
• Roto and ditch witch
• Rototiller
• Sand blasters, potmen, gunmen, and nozzlemen
• Signaling and rigging
• Skilled wrecker (removing and salvaging of sash, windows, doors, plumbing and electric fixtures)
• Tank cleaners
• Tree climbers
• Trenchless technology laborer- pipe installation, bursting, relining, or similar
• Trenchless laborer's work, camera controller, CCTV
• Turbo blaster
• Vibra-screed-bull float in connection with laborer's work
• Vibrators
• Sewer cleaners (any workmen who handle or come in contact with raw sewage in small diameter sewers) shall receive $4.00 per day abov group 1 wage rates. Those who work inside recently active, large diameter sewers, and all recently active sewer manholes shall receive $5.00 per day above group 1 wage rates.

Source: Group 1, page 5, Group 1 (B), page 6

Every laborer rate in California Area 1

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

Davis-Bacon laborer rates in these counties

The counties share DIR's rates, but not always the same federal wage determination. 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).

How California Area 1 compares

The main laborer rate in every county that has one, and how the pay splits here and in the nearest counties. All bars use the same scale.

Which county is in which laborer group

Every California county with a laborer 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.

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

California laborer 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 Group 1(d) - maintenance or repair trackmen and road beds and all employees performing work covered by this classification shall receive $0.25 per hour above their regular rate for all work performed on underground structures not specifically covered herein. This shall not apply to work below ground level in open cut. This shall apply to cut and cover work of subway construction after temporary cover has been placed. Group 1(h) - all laborers working off or with or from bos'n chairs, swinging scaffolds, belts receive $0.50 per hour above their applicable wage rate. This shall not apply to laborers entitled to receive the wage rate set forth in group 1(a).
• b Zone pay at three dollars ($3.00) per hour, factored at the applicable overtime multiple, will be added to the base rate for work performed outside the free zone described by the boundaries along township and range lines. Please see travel and subsistence provision for map description and exceptions.
• c When three shifts are employed for five (5) or more consecutive days, seven and one-half (7 1/2) consecutive hours (exclusive of meal period), shall constitute a day of work, for which eight (8) times the straight time hourly rate shall be paid at the non-shift wage rate for the second shift. The third shift shall be seven (7) hours of work for eight (8) hours pay at the non-shift wage rate.
• d Rate applies to the first 4 daily overtime hours worked on Monday through Friday and the first 12 hours worked on Saturday; all other time is paid at the Sunday and holiday overtime hourly rate. Saturdays in the same work week may be worked at straight-time if job is shut down during the normal work week due to inclement weather, major mechanical breakdown or lack of materials beyond the control of the employer.
• e Group 1(b) receives an additional amount each day. See page 6 for details

DIR's other marks: # means an apprenticeable craft, * means in effect until superseded, ** means the next rate is already set.