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Santa Barbara County · Electrician
Electrician prevailing wage in Santa Barbara County, California
$80.57an hour, base wage + fringe benefits · Inside Wireman
$54.61 base wage + $25.96 fringe benefits
On California public works in Santa Barbara County, an electrician working as inside wireman must be paid at least $80.57 an hour in total: $54.61 in wages plus $25.96 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $120.87 and Sunday and holiday work is $161.14.
DIR general determination 061-413-1, issued February 22, 2026 and still current in DIR's 2026-2 release. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.
DIR lists 3 electrician rates for Santa Barbara County, from $70.80 to $82.65 an hour. See all of them.
DIR's expiration date for this determination was May 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: $54.61 + $25.96
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 $80.57 or more.
| Basic hourly rate (taxable wage) (footnote M) | $54.61 |
| Health and welfare | $13.62 |
| Pension | $8.90 |
| Training | $1.00 |
| Other payments (footnote O) | $0.80 |
| Added to the total by footnote N | $1.64 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $80.57 |
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 061-413-1, issued February 22, 2026.
Rate history since 2024
Total hourly rate for this classification in each DIR release.
| Release | Total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-2 | $74.89 | |
| 2025-1 | $77.72 | +$2.83 |
| 2025-2 | $77.72 | no change |
| 2026-1 | $80.57 | +$2.85 |
| 2026-2 | $80.57 | no change |
Every electrician rate in Santa Barbara County
As DIR lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.
- Cable Splicer$82.65
- Inside Wireman$80.57
- Sound Installer$70.80
Davis-Bacon electrician rate in Santa Barbara 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.
| Construction | Federal classification | Base wage | Total rate | WD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building, Highway, Heavy | ELECTRICIANS CABLE SPLICERS: $2.00 ADDITIONAL PER HOUR. ALL WORK AT VANDENBERG AFB: $3.75 ADDITIONAL PER HOUR.ELEC0413-001 | $54.61 | $79.77 | CA20260014 Mod 7 |
| Residential | ELECTRICIAN: DOES NOT INCLUDE FIRE ALARM, HOLD-UP ALARM, BURGLAR ALARM AND SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS LOS ANGELESELEC0011-003 | $37.63 | $46.04 | CA20260017 Mod 5 |
| Residential | ELECTRICIANS (SANTA BARBARA COUNTY) WORK AT VANDENBERG AFB: $3.75 ADDITIONAL PER HOURELEC0413-002 | $41.00 | $45.73 | 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 Santa Barbara 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
Base wage and fringe benefits, nearby
- Santa Barbara Countybase $54.61$80.57
- San Luis Obispo Countybase $59.50$85.68
- Ventura Countybase $56.59$89.43
- Kern Countybase $58.65$82.01
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.
| County | Classification | Base wage | Total rate | vs Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monterey County | Inside Wireman, Technician | $70.41 | $105.25 | +$24.68 |
| Los Angeles County | Inside Wireman, Radio Monitor Technician | $65.00 | $103.12 | +$22.55 |
| Ventura County | Inside Wireman | $56.59 | $89.43 | +$8.86 |
| San Luis Obispo County | Inside Wireman, Technician | $59.50 | $85.68 | +$5.11 |
| Kings County | Inside Wireman, Technician | $52.00 | $83.96 | +$3.39 |
| Kern County | Inside Wireman, Technician | $58.65 | $82.01 | +$1.44 |
| Santa Barbara County | Inside Wireman | $54.61 | $80.57 |
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.
- M Includes an amount for working dues (6.75%).
- N 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.
- O Includes an amount for the national labor-management cooperation fund and the administrative maintenance fund.
- P Rate applies to the first 2 daily and the first 8 Saturday overtime hours worked. All other overtime is paid at the Sunday rate. All fringes factored into ot rate.
- Q All fringes factored into ot 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 $80.57. 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 061-413-1: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Subtrades/STB.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 Santa Barbara County as CSV · Report an error