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California · Laborer · 11 counties

Laborer prevailing wage, Southern California (11 counties)

DIR sets the same laborer rates, row for row, in 11 counties: Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura. Every figure on this page applies in each of them.

$78.65an hour, total · Group 1

$49.20 wage + $29.45 employer payments

On California public works in each of these 11 counties, a Group 1 laborer must be paid at least $78.65 an hour in total: $49.20 in wages plus $29.45 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $103.25 and Sunday and holiday work is $127.85. DIR puts 27 job titles in Group 1, certified confined space laborer and flagman among them.

DIR general determination SC-23-102-2-2026-1, issued August 22, 2026. Expires June 30, 2027. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.

DIR lists 5 laborer rates for each of these counties, from $78.65 to $81.65 an hour. See all of them.

Base wage and fringe: $49.20 + $29.45

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 $78.65 or more.

Basic hourly rate (taxable wage)	$49.20
Health and welfare	$9.85
Pension	$12.92
Vacation and holiday (footnote b)	$5.20
Training	$0.80
Other payments	$0.68
Total straight-time hourly rate	$78.65

Straight time covers an 8-hour day.

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).

County	Federal classification	Base + fringe	WD	vs DIR
Imperial County	Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match
Inyo County	Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match
Kern County	Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match
Los Angeles County	Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match
Mono County	Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match
Orange County	Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match
Riverside County	Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match
San Bernardino County	Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match
San Luis Obispo County	Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match
Santa Barbara County	Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match
Ventura County	Federal rates listed on the county page; no one-to-one match

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.

Boring Machine Helper (Outside)
Certified Confined Space Laborer
Cleaning and Handling of Panel Forms
Concrete Screeding for Rough Strike-Off
Concrete, Water Curing
Demolition Laborer, the cleaning of brick if performed by an employee performing any other phase of demolition work, and the cleaning of lumber
Fiberoptic Installation, Blowing, Splicing, and Testing Technician on public right-of-way only
Fire Watcher, Limbers, Brush Loaders, Pilers and Debris Handlers
Flagman
Gas, Oil and/or Water Pipeline Laborer
Laborer, Asphalt-Rubber Material Loader
Laborer, General or Construction
Laborer, General Cleanup
Laborer, Jetting
Laborer, Temporary Water and Air Lines
Plugging, Filling of Shee-Bolt Holes; Dry Packing of Concrete and Patching
Post Hole Digger (Manual)
Railroad Maintenance, Repair Trackman and Road Beds; Streetcar and Railroad Construction Track Laborers
Rigging and Signaling
Scaler
Slip Form Raisers
Tarman and Mortar Man
Tool Crib or Tool House Laborer
Traffic Control by any method
Water Well Driller Helper
Window Cleaner
Wire Mesh Pulling - All Concrete Pouring Operations

Source: Group 1, page 2

Scheduled increases

$78.65now$82.31Jul 1, 2027$86.07Jul 1, 2028$90.08Jul 1, 2029

Current rate, DIR Aug 22, 2026Increases 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 effect	Increase per hour	Total after increase
July 1, 2027	+$3.66	$82.31
July 1, 2028	+$3.76	$86.07
July 1, 2029	+$4.01	$90.08

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 laborer rate in Southern California

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

Group 5$81.65
Group 4$81.30
Group 3$79.75
Group 2$79.20
Group 1$78.65

Total hourly rate of each laborer classification in Southern California, highest first, split into wage and employer payments.

Classification	Total	Base	Employer payments	Daily OT	Determination
Group 1	$78.65	$49.20	$29.45	$103.25	SC-23-102-2-2026-1
Group 2 22 jobs in this group Asphalt Shoveler Cement Dumper (on 1 yard or larger mixer and handling bulk cement) Cesspool Digger and Installer Chucktender Chute Man, pouring concrete, the handling of the chute from readymix trucks, such as walls, slabs, decks, floors, foundations, footings, curbs, gutters and sidewalks Concrete Curer-Impervious Membrane and Form Oiler Cutting Torch Operator (Demolition) Fine Grader, Highways and Street Paving, Airport, Runways, and similar type heavy construction Gas, Oil and/or Water Pipeline Wrapper-Pot Tender and Form Man Guinea Chaser Headerboard Man-Asphalt Installation of all Asphalt Overlay Fabric and Materials used for Reinforcing Asphalt Laborer, Packing Rod Steel and Pans Membrane Vapor Barrier Installer Power Broom Sweepers (small) Riprap, Stonepaver, placing stone or wet sacked concrete Roto Scraper and Tiller Sandblaster (Pot Tender) Septic Tank Digger and Installer (leadman) Tank Scaler and Cleaner Tree Climber, Faller, Chain Saw Operator, Pittsburgh Chipper and similar type Brush Shredders Underground Laborer, including Caisson Bellower	$79.20	$49.75	$29.45	$104.075	SC-23-102-2-2026-1
Group 3 19 jobs in this group Asphalt Installation of all fabrics Buggymobile Man Compactor (all types including Tampers, Barko, Wacker) Concrete Cutting Torch Concrete Pile Cutter Driller, Jackhammer, 2 1/2 ft. drill steel or longer Dri Pak-it Machine Gas, Oil and/or Water Pipeline Wrapper - 6-inch pipe and over by any method, inside and out Impact Wrench, Multi-Plate Kettlemen, Potmen and Men applying asphalt, lay-kold, creosote, lime caustic and similar type materials Laborer, Fence Erector Material Hoseman (Walls, Slabs, Floors and Decks) Operators of Pneumatic, Gas, Electric Tools, Vibrating Machines, Pavement Breakers, Air Blasting, Come- Alongs, and similar mechanical tools not separately classified herein; operation of remote controlled robotic tools in connection with Laborers work Pipelayer's backup man, coating, grouting, making of joints, sealing, caulking, diapering and including rubber gasket joints, pointing and any and all other services Power Post Hole Digger Rock Slinger Rotary Scarifier or Multiple Head Concrete Chipping Scarifier Steel Headerboard Man and Guideline Setter Trenching Machine, Hand Propelled	$79.75	$50.30	$29.45	$104.90	SC-23-102-2-2026-1
Group 4 15 jobs in this group Any Worker Exposed to Raw Sewage Asphalt Raker, Luteman, Ironer, Asphalt Dumpman, and Asphalt Spreader Boxes (all types) Concrete Core Cutter (walls, floors or ceilings), Grinder or Sander Concrete Saw Man, Cutting Walls or Flat Work, Scoring old or new concrete Cribber, Shorer, Lagging, Sheeting and Trench Bracing, Hand-Guided Lagging Hammer Head Rock Slinger High Scaler (including drilling of same) Laborer, Asphalt-Rubber Distributor Bootman Laser Beam in connection with Laborer's work Oversize Concrete Vibrator Operator, 70 pounds and over Pipelayer Prefabricated Manhole Installer Sandblaster (Nozzleman), Water Blasting, Porta Shot- Blast Subsurface Imaging Laborer Traffic Lane Closure, certified	$81.30	$51.85	$29.45	$107.225	SC-23-102-2-2026-1
Group 5 4 jobs in this group Blasters Powderman Driller Toxic Waste Removal Welding, certified or otherwise in connection with Laborers' work	$81.65	$52.20	$29.45	$107.75	SC-23-102-2-2026-1

How Southern California 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.

Every county in California

Los Angeles $78.65406

$71.96Alpine$78.65Imperial

Los AngelesNearby: Imperial $78.65, Inyo $78.65, Kern $78.65, Mono $78.65, Orange $78.65, Riverside $78.65, San Bernardino $78.65, San Luis Obispo $78.65, Santa Barbara $78.65, Ventura $78.65Each column is a group of counties with about the same main rate; its height is how many. 0 counties pay more than Los Angeles, 10 the same, 47 less.

Wage and employer payments, nearby

Southern Californiabase $49.20$78.65
Ventura Countybase $49.20$78.65
Orange Countybase $49.20$78.65
San Diego Countybase $49.20$76.87

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.

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	$78.65	$49.20
San Diego County	Group 1	$76.87	$49.20
Area 1, 6 counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara	Group 1; Group 1(B) (Area 1)	$72.96	$40.65
Area 2, 40 counties: Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Benito, San Joaquin, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo, Yuba	Group 1; Group 1(B) (Area 2)	$71.96	$39.65

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 For classification within each group, see page 2.
b Includes an amount per hour worked for supplemental dues.
c Any hours worked over 12 hours in a single workday are double (2) time.
d Saturdays in the same work week may be worked at straight-time if job is shut down during work week due to inclement weather or similar Act of God, or a situation beyond the employer's control.

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

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 $78.65. 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 SC-23-102-2-2026-1, page 1: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Southern/SC-023-102-2.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