Laborer prevailing wage in San Diego County, California

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 SD-23-102-4-2026-1, issued September 29, 2026; DIR's expiration date for it is June 30, 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.

• 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 Ways only.
• Fire Watcher
• Flagman
• Gas, Oil and Water Pipeline Laborer
• Laborer, Asphalt-Rubber Material Loader
• Laborer, General Clean-up
• Laborer, General or Construction
• 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
• Tar Man & 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

Every laborer rate in San Diego County

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

Davis-Bacon laborer rate in San Diego 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).

We don't put a federal figure next to DIR's here, because the federal determination for this county has no matching classification. The federal rows for this trade are below; match the classification to the work.

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 San Diego County 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.

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.

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 classifications within each group, see pages 2 and 3.
• b Includes an amount per hour worked for supplemental dues.
• c Rate applies to the first 4 daily overtime hours and for the first 12 overtime hours on Saturday: thereafter, all daily and Saturday overtime is paid at the Sunday/Holiday rate.
• d Saturdays in the same workweek may be worked at straight-time rate for the first 8 hours, if the employee was unable to complete the 40 hours during the normal workweek.

DIR's other marks: # means an apprenticeable craft, * means in effect until superseded, ** means the next rate is already set.