Home / California / San Mateo County / Tree Maintenance Laborer
San Mateo County · Tree Maintenance Laborer
Tree Maintenance Laborer prevailing wage in San Mateo County, California
$44.57an hour, base wage + fringe benefits · Senior Tree Trimmer
$32.40 base wage + $12.17 fringe benefits
San Mateo County uses the same tree maintenance laborer rates as 9 other counties. See all of them on one page.
On California public works in San Mateo County, a tree maintenance laborer working as senior tree trimmer must be paid at least $44.57 an hour in total: $32.40 in wages plus $12.17 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $60.77 and Sunday and holiday work is $76.97.
DIR general determination NC-102-X-21-2026-1, issued August 22, 2026. Expires June 30, 2027. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.
DIR lists 3 tree maintenance laborer rates for San Mateo County, from $38.22 to $44.57 an hour. See all of them.
Base wage and fringe benefits: $32.40 + $12.17
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 $44.57 or more.
| Basic hourly rate (taxable wage) | $32.40 |
| Health and welfare | $6.45 |
| Pension | $3.46 |
| Vacation and holiday | $2.21 |
| Other payments | $0.05 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $44.57 |
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 NC-102-X-21-2026-1, issued August 22, 2026; DIR's expiration date for it is June 30, 2027.
Every tree maintenance laborer rate in San Mateo County
As DIR lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.
- Senior Tree Trimmer$44.57
- Tree Trimmer$41.37
- Groundsperson$38.22
| Classification | Base wage | Fringe benefits | Total rate | Daily OT | Determination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GroundspersonArea 1 | $26.05 | $12.17 | $38.22 | $51.25 | NC-102-X-21-2026-1 |
| Senior Tree TrimmerArea 1 | $32.40 | $12.17 | $44.57 | $60.77 | NC-102-X-21-2026-1 |
| Tree TrimmerArea 1 | $29.20 | $12.17 | $41.37 | $55.97 | NC-102-X-21-2026-1 |
Davis-Bacon tree maintenance laborer rate in San Mateo 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 San Mateo County list no tree 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 San Mateo County compares
The main tree 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
- San Mateo Countybase $32.40 · Area 1$44.57
- San Francisco Countybase $32.40 · Area 1$44.57
- Alameda Countybase $27.90 · Area 2$40.07
- Santa Cruz Countybase $32.40 · Area 1$44.57
Tree 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.
DIR's tree maintenance laborer rates for San Mateo County are the same as in 9 other counties: Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and 1 more.
| County | Classification | Base wage | Total rate | vs San Mateo County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Mateo County | Senior Tree Trimmer (Area 1) | $32.40 | $44.57 | |
| San Francisco County | Senior Tree Trimmer (Area 1) | $32.40 | $44.57 | same |
| Santa Cruz County | Senior Tree Trimmer (Area 1) | $32.40 | $44.57 | same |
| Santa Clara County | Senior Tree Trimmer (Area 1) | $32.40 | $44.57 | same |
| Marin County | Senior Tree Trimmer (Area 1) | $32.40 | $44.57 | same |
| Alameda County | Senior Tree Trimmer (Area 2) | $27.90 | $40.07 | −$4.50 |
| Contra Costa County | Senior Tree Trimmer (Area 2) | $27.90 | $40.07 | −$4.50 |
California tree 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.
- a There shall be at least one Senior Tree Trimmer on crews of three or more.
- b Monday thru Saturday shall constitute a workweek. Rate applies to first 4 overtime hours Monday thru Saturday, and all time worked in excess of forty (40) hours per workweek. All other time is paid at the Sunday and Holiday double-time rate.
- c Area 1: Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, and Sonoma Counties. Area 2: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Madera, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tulare, Tuolumne, Yolo, and Yuba Counties.
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 $44.57. 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 NC-102-X-21-2026-1, page 1: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Northern/NC-102-X-21.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 San Mateo County as CSV · Report an error