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Tulare County · Tile Setter
Tile Setter prevailing wage in Tulare County, California
$79.38an hour, base wage + fringe benefits
$51.09 base wage + $28.29 fringe benefits
Tulare County uses the same tile setter rates as 5 other counties. See all of them on one page.
On California public works in Tulare County, a tile setter must be paid at least $79.38 an hour in total: $51.09 in wages plus $28.29 in employer payments to health, pension, training and other funds. Daily overtime is $104.93 and Sunday and holiday work is $130.47.
DIR general determination 018-3-7, issued August 22, 2026. Expires March 31, 2027. Checked against dir.ca.gov on October 24, 2026.
Base wage and fringe benefits: $51.09 + $28.29
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 $79.38 or more.
| Basic hourly rate (taxable wage) | $51.09 |
| Health and welfare | $13.50 |
| Pension | $9.20 |
| Vacation and holiday | $2.75 |
| Training | $0.75 |
| Other payments | $2.09 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $79.38 |
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 018-3-7, issued August 22, 2026; DIR's expiration date for it is March 31, 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.
| Takes effect | Increase per hour | Total after increase |
|---|---|---|
| April 1, 2027 | +$3.50 | $82.88 |
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 above draws the same figures with the increases that follow.
| Release | Total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-2 | $73.60 | |
| 2025-1 | $73.60 | no change |
| 2025-2 | $76.38 | +$2.78 |
| 2026-1 | $76.38 | no change |
| 2026-2 | $79.38 | +$3.00 |
Davis-Bacon tile setter rate in Tulare 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 highway and heavy work, the matching Davis-Bacon classification is TILE LAYER at $72.33 ($50.28 base + $22.05 fringe), from CA20260021 modification 2, published May 18, 2026, rate BRCA0003-016. Against DIR's $79.38: DIR's rate is $7.05 an hour higher. On a job covered by both, the higher rate applies.
| Construction | Federal classification | Base wage | Total rate | WD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highway, Heavy | TILE LAYERBRCA0003-016 | $50.28 | $72.33 | CA20260021 Mod 2 |
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 Tulare County compares
The main tile setter 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
- Tulare Countybase $51.09$79.38
- Kings Countybase $51.09$79.38
- Kern Countybase $56.52$79.13
- Fresno Countybase $51.09$79.38
Tile Setter 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 tile setter rates for Tulare County are the same as in 5 other counties: Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced.
| County | Classification | Base wage | Total rate | vs Tulare County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulare County | Tile Setter | $51.09 | $79.38 | |
| Kings County | Tile Setter | $51.09 | $79.38 | same |
| Fresno County | Tile Setter | $51.09 | $79.38 | same |
| Madera County | Tile Setter | $51.09 | $79.38 | same |
| Kern County | Tile Layer | $56.52 | $79.13 | −$0.25 |
| Inyo County | Tile Layer | $56.52 | $79.13 | −$0.25 |
| San Luis Obispo County | Tile Layer | $56.52 | $79.13 | −$0.25 |
California tile setter 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.
- AW Includes amount withheld for dues check off, which is factored in the overtime rates. Any employee working underground shall receive $1.00 per hour in addition to regular wages.
- AA Saturdays in the same work week may be worked at straight-time if job is shut down during the normal workweek due to inclement weather.
- AX Rate applies to the first 8 hours worked on Saturday. All other hours are paid at the Sunday/holiday 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 $79.38. 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 018-3-7: www.dir.ca.gov/oprl/2026-2/PWD/Determinations/Subtrades/TUL.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 Tulare County as CSV · Report an error