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Merced County · Electrician
Electrician prevailing wage in Merced County, California
$87.38an hour, total · Inside Wireman
$53.00 wage + $34.38 employer payments
Merced County uses the same electrician rates as 3 other counties. See all of them on one page.
On California public works in Merced County, an electrician working as inside wireman must be paid at least $87.38 an hour in total: $53.00 in wages plus $34.38 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $115.35 and Sunday and holiday work is $143.32.
DIR general determination 061-684-1, issued August 22, 2026. Expires May 31, 2027. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.
DIR lists 6 electrician rates for Merced County, from $77.74 to $94.58 an hour. See all of them.
Base wage and fringe: $53.00 + $34.38
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 $87.38 or more.
| Basic hourly rate (taxable wage) | $53.00 |
| Health and welfare | $13.78 |
| Pension | $15.15 |
| Training | $2.50 |
| Other payments | $0.01 |
| Added to the total by footnote R, S | $2.94 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $87.38 |
Vacation and holiday is $0.00 in DIR's table. Footnote F says where that money is counted.
Straight time covers an 8-hour day.
Davis-Bacon electrician rate in Merced 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 ELECTRICIAN ( at $140.08 ($91.03 base + $49.05 fringe), from CA20260018 modification 8, published September 17, 2026, rate ELEC0332-001. Against DIR's $87.38: The Davis-Bacon rate is $52.70 an hour higher. On a job covered by both, the higher rate applies.
| Construction | Federal classification | Base + fringe | Base | WD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building, Highway, Heavy | ELECTRICIAN: ALL OTHER WORK (CALAVERAS AND SAN JOAQUIN COUNTIES)ELEC0595-002 | $81.41 | $49.45 | CA20260018 Mod 8 |
| Building, Highway, Heavy | ELECTRICIAN (MARIPOSA, MERCED, STANISLAUS AND TUOLUMNE COUNTIES) CABLE SPLICER = 110% OF JOURNEYMAN ELECTRICIANELEC0684-001 | $78.59 | $48.50 | CA20260018 Mod 8 |
| Residential | ELECTRICIAN MERCED AND STANISLAUS COUNTIESELEC0684-003 | $78.59 | $48.50 | CA20260009 Mod 1 |
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
Rate history since 2024
Total hourly rate for this classification in each DIR release.
| Release | Total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-2 | $78.03 | |
| 2025-1 | $79.88 | +$1.85 |
| 2025-2 | $83.64 | +$3.76 |
| 2026-1 | $83.64 | no change |
| 2026-2 | $87.38 | +$3.74 |
Every electrician rate in Merced County
As DIR lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.
- Heading Cable Splicer$94.58
- Cable Splicer$92.91
- Heading Wireman$89.04
- Inside Wireman$87.38
- Comm & System Tech.$84.98
- Comm & System Installer$77.74
| Classification | Total | Base | Employer payments | Daily OT | Determination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cable Splicer | $92.91 | $58.30 | $34.61 | $123.64 | 061-684-1 |
| Electrician: Comm & System Installer | $77.74 | $46.60 | $31.14 | $101.85 | 061-X-7(NO-2) |
| Electrician: Comm & System Tech. | $84.98 | $53.59 | $31.39 | $112.71 | 061-X-7(NO-2) |
| Heading Cable Splicer | $94.58 | $59.89 | $34.69 | $126.15 | 061-684-1 |
| Heading Wireman | $89.04 | $54.59 | $34.45 | $117.84 | 061-684-1 |
| Inside Wireman | $87.38 | $53.00 | $34.38 | $115.35 | 061-684-1 |
How Merced County compares
The main electrician 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
Wage and employer payments, nearby
- Merced Countybase $53.00$87.38
- Stanislaus Countybase $53.00$87.38
- San Benito Countybase $70.41$105.25
- Mariposa Countybase $53.00$87.38
Electrician 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.
DIR's electrician rates for Merced County are the same as in 3 other counties: Mariposa, Stanislaus, Tuolumne.
| County | Classification | Total | Base | vs Merced County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Clara County | Inside Wireman, Technician | $147.73 | $95.53 | +$60.35 |
| San Benito County | Inside Wireman, Technician | $105.25 | $70.41 | +$17.87 |
| San Joaquin County | Inside Wireman, Technician | $90.73 | $53.85 | +$3.35 |
| Merced County | Inside Wireman | $87.38 | $53.00 | |
| Stanislaus County | Inside Wireman | $87.38 | $53.00 | same |
| Mariposa County | Inside Wireman | $87.38 | $53.00 | same |
| Madera County | Inside Wireman, Technician | $83.96 | $52.00 | −$3.42 |
California electrician 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.
- R In addition, an amount equal to 3% of the basic hourly rate is added to the total hourly rate and overtime hourly rates for the National Employees Benefit Board. Pursuant to Labor Code sections 1773.1 and 1773.8, the amount paid for this employer payment may vary resulting in a lower taxable basic hourly wage rate, but the total hourly rates for straight time and overtime may not be less than the general prevailing rate of per diem wages.
- F Included in straight-time hourly rate.
- S In addition, the amounts for the labor management cooperative trust ($0.55) and contract administrative fund (1.5% of the basic hourly rate) are added to the total hourly rate and factored into the overtime hourly rates.
- T Rate applies to the first 2 daily overtime hours and the first 8 hours on Saturday only; all other time is paid at the Sunday and holiday overtime hourly 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
- 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 $87.38. 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 061-684-1: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Subtrades/MER.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 Merced County as CSV · Report an error