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Drywall Finisher prevailing wage in Los Angeles County, California
$79.69an hour, base wage + fringe benefits
$48.20 base wage + $31.49 fringe benefits
On California public works in Los Angeles County, a drywall finisher must be paid at least $79.69 an hour in total: $48.20 in wages plus $31.49 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $103.79 and Sunday and holiday work is $127.89.
DIR general determination 200-X-18, issued August 22, 2026. Expires August 31, 2027. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.
DIR lists 2 drywall finisher rates for Los Angeles County, from $79.69 to $83.82 an hour. See all of them.
Base wage and fringe benefits: $48.20 + $31.49
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 $79.69 or more.
| Basic hourly rate (taxable wage) (footnote M) | $48.20 |
| Health and welfare | $9.20 |
| Pension | $13.08 |
| Vacation and holiday | $7.07 |
| Training | $0.92 |
| Other payments | $1.22 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $79.69 |
Straight time covers an 8-hour day.
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 200-X-18, issued August 22, 2026; DIR's expiration date for it is August 31, 2027.
Scheduled increases
DIR has scheduled an increase for this rate, but it's in a regional PDF we haven't matched to this classification yet. The amounts are in DIR's increase file.
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).
Every drywall finisher rate in Los Angeles County
As DIR lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.
Davis-Bacon drywall finisher rate in Los Angeles 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).
For building, highway and heavy work, the matching Davis-Bacon classification is DRYWALL FINISHER/TAPER (REMAINDER OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY) at $76.15 ($49.33 base + $26.82 fringe), from CA20260022 modification 5, published August 6, 2026, rate PAIN0036-006. Against DIR's $79.69: DIR's rate is $3.54 an hour higher. On a job covered by both, the higher rate applies.
| Construction | Federal classification | Base wage | Total rate | WD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building, Highway, Heavy | DRYWALL FINISHER/TAPER (ANTELOPE VALLEY NORTH OF THE FOLLOWING BOUNDARY: KERN COUNTY LINE TO HWY. #5, SOUTH ON HWY. #5 TO HWY. N2, EAST ON N2 TO PALMDALE …PAIN0036-006 | $45.20 | $72.02 | CA20260022 Mod 5 |
| Residential | DRYWALL FINISHER/TAPER IMPERIAL, LOS ANGELES, ORANGE, RIVERSIDE, SAN BERNARDINO, SAN LUIS OBISPO, SANTA BARBARA AND VENTURA COUNTIESPAIN0036-011 | $32.27 | $46.97 | CA20260017 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
How Los Angeles County compares
The main drywall finisher 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
Base wage and fringe benefits, nearby
- Los Angeles Countybase $48.20$79.69
- Ventura Countybase $52.33$83.82
- Orange Countybase $52.33$83.82
- Kern Countybase $48.20$79.69
Drywall Finisher 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.
| County | Classification | Base wage | Total rate | vs Los Angeles County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County | Drywall Finisher | $52.33 | $83.82 | +$4.13 |
| Orange County | Drywall Finisher | $52.33 | $83.82 | +$4.13 |
| Santa Barbara County | Drywall Finisher | $52.33 | $83.82 | +$4.13 |
| San Bernardino County | Drywall Finisher | $52.33 | $83.82 | +$4.13 |
| Los Angeles County | Drywall Finisher | $48.20 | $79.69 | |
| Kern County | Drywall Finisher | $48.20 | $79.69 | same |
| San Diego County | Drywall Finisher | $43.59 | $68.39 | −$11.30 |
California drywall finisher 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.
- M Includes amount withheld for working dues.
- N Rate applies to first 8 hours only. Double time thereafter. 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.
- L Rate only applies to work performed in antelope valley which is highway 5, south on u.s. 5 to highway n2; east on highway n2 to palmdale blvd to highway 14; south to highway 18; east to highway 395.
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 $79.69. 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 200-X-18: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Subtrades/LOS.html
Each figure is copied from DIR's file and checked by a second, separate reader. How we check · How to read a determination · Download Los Angeles County as CSV · Report an error