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Los Angeles County · Landscape Maintenance Laborer
Landscape Maintenance Laborer prevailing wage in Los Angeles County, California
$18.045an hour, base wage + fringe benefits
$16.90 base wage + $1.145 fringe benefits
On California public works in Los Angeles County, a landscape maintenance laborer must be paid at least $18.045 an hour in total: $16.90 in wages plus $1.145 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $26.495.
DIR general determination SC-LML-2026-1, issued February 22, 2026 and still current in DIR's 2026-2 release. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.
DIR's expiration date for this determination was March 31, 2026. DIR hasn't issued a replacement, so this rate still applies, which is what the single asterisk on DIR's table means. A project keeps the rates in effect on its bid advertisement date for the life of the job.
Base wage and fringe benefits: $16.90 + $1.145
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 $18.045 or more.
| Basic hourly rate (taxable wage) | $16.90 |
| Health and welfare | $0.89 |
| Vacation and holiday (footnote f) | $0.255 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $18.045 |
DIR prints vacation ($0.115) and holiday pay ($0.14) as separate columns for this rate; the vacation and holiday line adds them.
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 SC-LML-2026-1, issued February 22, 2026.
Davis-Bacon landscape maintenance laborer 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).
The federal determinations for Los Angeles County list no landscape maintenance laborer classification.
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 landscape maintenance 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
Base wage and fringe benefits, nearby
- Los Angeles Countybase $16.90$18.045
- Ventura Countybase $16.90$20.32
- Orange Countybase $16.90$17.12
- Kern Countybase $16.90$17.63
Landscape Maintenance Laborer 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 | Landscape Maintenance Laborer (complex work) | $16.90 | $20.32 | +$2.275 |
| Los Angeles County | Landscape Maintenance Laborer | $16.90 | $18.045 | |
| Kern County | Landscape Maintenance Laborer (complex work) | $16.90 | $17.63 | −$0.415 |
| San Bernardino County | Landscape Maintenance Laborer | $16.90 | $17.37 | −$0.675 |
| San Diego County | Landscape Maintenance Laborer (complex work) | $16.90 | $17.26 | −$0.785 |
| Santa Barbara County | Landscape Maintenance Laborer (complex work) | $16.90 | $17.16 | −$0.885 |
| Orange County | Landscape Maintenance Laborer | $16.90 | $17.12 | −$0.925 |
California landscape maintenance 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.
- f $0.24 after 3 years of service: $0.37 after 7 years of service.
- c Computation is based on the first years of employment. This rate should be increased by any applicable vacation increase as stated in other footnotes.
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
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 $18.045. 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-LML-2026-1, page 1: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Southern/SC-LML.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 Los Angeles County as CSV · Report an error