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Santa Cruz County · Sheet Metal Worker

Sheet Metal Worker prevailing wage in Santa Cruz County, California

$108.84an hour, total

$66.40 wage + $42.44 employer payments

On California public works in Santa Cruz County, a sheet metal worker must be paid at least $108.84 an hour in total: $66.40 in wages plus $42.44 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $144.30 and Sunday and holiday work is $179.74.

DIR general determination 166-104-10, issued August 22, 2026. Expires June 30, 2027. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.

DIR lists 3 sheet metal worker rates for Santa Cruz County, from $94.70 to $108.84 an hour. See all of them.

Base wage and fringe: $66.40 + $42.44

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 $108.84 or more.

Basic hourly rate (taxable wage) (footnote I)$66.40
Health and welfare (footnote AZ)$19.69
Pension (footnote BA)$20.20
Training$1.63
Other payments$0.92
Total straight-time hourly rate$108.84

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 sheet metal worker rate in Santa Cruz 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 SHEET METAL WORKER (SANTA CRUZ COUNTY) at $89.34 ($55.16 base + $34.18 fringe), from CA20260018 modification 8, published September 17, 2026, rate SHEE0104-001. Against DIR's $108.84: DIR's rate is $19.50 an hour higher. On a job covered by both, the higher rate applies.

ConstructionFederal classificationBase + fringeBaseWD
Building, Highway, HeavySHEET METAL WORKER (SANTA CRUZ COUNTY)SHEE0104-001$89.34 $55.16 CA20260018 Mod 8
Building, Highway, HeavySHEET METAL WORKER: ALL OTHER WORK (ALAMEDA, CONTRA COSTA, SAN FRANSICO, SAN MATEO, SANTA CLARA COUNTIES))SHEE0104-001$110.89 $64.06 CA20260018 Mod 8
ResidentialSHEET METAL WORKER: (AREA 3) AREA 3: SANTA CRUZSHEE0104-002$103.11 $66.18 CA20260019 Mod 6

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

Scheduled increases

DIR releases since 2024Increases DIR has already set

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.

Takes effectIncrease per hourTotal after increase
July 1, 2027+$4.25$113.09
July 1, 2028+$4.50$117.59
July 1, 2029+$4.50$122.09

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).

Rate history since 2024

Total hourly rate for this classification in each DIR release. The chart under Scheduled increases above draws the same figures with the increases that follow.

ReleaseTotalChange
2024-2$101.09
2025-1$101.09no change
2025-2$104.84+$3.75
2026-1$104.84no change
2026-2$108.84+$4.00

Every sheet metal worker rate in Santa Cruz County

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

  1. For Service and Repair$108.84
  2. Sheet Metal Worker$108.84
  3. Metal Deck & Siding$94.70
Total hourly rate of each sheet metal worker classification in Santa Cruz County, highest first, split into wage and employer payments.
ClassificationTotalBaseEmployer paymentsDaily OTDetermination
For Service and Repair$108.84 $66.40 $42.44 $144.30 166-104-10
Sheet Metal Worker: Metal Deck & Siding$94.70 $52.95 $41.75 $122.31 166-104-12
Sheet Metal Worker$108.84 $66.40 $42.44 $144.30 166-104-10

How Santa Cruz County compares

The main sheet metal worker 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

$53.26Mariposa$140.34Alameda
Santa CruzNearby: Santa Clara $140.34, San Mateo $140.34, Alameda $140.34Each column is a group of counties with about the same main rate; its height is how many. 14 counties pay more than Santa Cruz, 0 the same, 43 less.

Wage and employer payments, nearby

  1. Santa Cruz Countybase $66.40$108.84
  2. Santa Clara Countybase $81.34$140.34
  3. San Mateo Countybase $81.34$140.34
  4. Alameda Countybase $81.34$140.34

Sheet Metal Worker 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.

CountyClassificationTotalBasevs Santa Cruz County
Santa Clara CountySheet Metal Worker$140.34 $81.34 +$31.50
San Mateo CountySheet Metal Worker$140.34 $81.34 +$31.50
Alameda CountySheet Metal Worker$140.34 $81.34 +$31.50
San Francisco CountySheet Metal Worker$140.34 $81.34 +$31.50
Contra Costa CountySheet Metal Worker$140.34 $81.34 +$31.50
Santa Cruz CountySheet Metal Worker$108.84 $66.40 
San Benito CountyMetal Deck & Siding$94.70 $52.95 −$14.14

California sheet metal worker 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.

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

All Santa Cruz County prevailing wage rates

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 $108.84. 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 166-104-10: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Subtrades/STZ.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 Cruz County as CSV · Report an error