How much do prevailing wage electricians make in California?

The four Bay Area tables (Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo and Alameda) sit far above the rest of the state. The fifth-highest rate, Inyo and Mono at $111.15, is $20.52 below Alameda. Below those four, every county except Modoc and Siskiyou falls between $80.44 and $111.15. One determination, 061-340-7, covers 18 counties (Sacramento, Placer, Yolo and 15 more) at $96.77, and that single block is why the statewide median lands on $96.77.

The bars show the main classification in each county. In Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa and other counties DIR prints it as "Inside Wireman, Technician"; in Inyo, Mono and San Bernardino it is split into zones within one determination.

The basic hourly rate is the taxable wage on the check. The rest, DIR's "employer payments," goes to health and welfare, pension, vacation and holiday, training and other funds on the worker's behalf. For inside wiremen the employer payments run from 26.7% of the total in San Diego and Imperial to 44.5% in the 18-county 061-340-7 block, where the "Other" column alone is $8.90.

Kern County pays a higher base wage than the 18-county block ($58.65 against $53.70) but a lower total ($82.01 against $96.77). A worker comparing paychecks and a contractor comparing labor cost will rank the two counties differently.

Some totals are more than the columns add up to. Santa Clara's footnote R reads: "In addition, an amount equal to 3% of the basic hourly rate is added to the total hourly rate and overtime hourly rates." Its columns sum to $144.86, and 3% of the $95.53 base brings it to $147.73. Alameda's footnote Q works the same way. The published total is what the contractor owes, whatever the columns add to.

Across the 58 counties the median inside wireman total rose $9.20 (10.5%) between 2024-2 and 2026-2. Santa Clara County rose most, $127.87 to $147.73. Siskiyou and Modoc did not move at all: their determination, 061-659-1, still carries an expiration date of December 31, 2023 with a single asterisk, which DIR's FAQ (Q7) treats as in effect until a new determination replaces it.

Rates move in both of DIR's yearly releases, February and August. Counting the main rate in each county, 37 counties changed in 2025-1, 48 in 2025-2, 33 in 2026-1 and 48 in 2026-2. 23 counties changed in all four, including Sacramento County, Orange County and Fresno County. Some determinations schedule two raises a year: Orange County's next two fall on Dec 28, 2026 and May 31, 2027.

The schedule that runs furthest out is in the 18-county 061-340-7 block: four raises from February 2027 to February 2030 that add $16.50 an hour. An estimator bidding a multi-year job there needs the whole list, because each raise applies to work done after its date. The amounts are DIR's; how each one splits between wage and payments is set out in the county's increase file, linked from every county rate page.

Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Siskiyou and Modoc show expiration dates that have already passed with a single asterisk. Those rates stay in force until DIR issues a replacement, and the next scheduled release is February 22, 2027.

Saturday rates differ most from county to county. Alameda's Saturday rate equals its Sunday and holiday rate, $214.13, while Sacramento's Saturday rate is the same as its daily overtime, $124.86. Alameda's footnote S limits the daily overtime column to "the first 2 hours of daily overtime for non-shift work"; after that, non-shift work "is paid at the Saturday, Sunday and holiday rate." Los Angeles uses its daily rate for the first 2 overtime hours and the first 10 hours on Saturday (footnote D), and everything else at $170.07.

At straight time, a 40-hour week at the median rate costs $3,870.80 in wages and payments, of which $2,148.00 is taxable wages. The same week in Santa Clara County is $5,909.20; in Siskiyou County, $2,543.20. These are the hourly rates multiplied out, before payroll taxes, insurance and any travel and subsistence payments the determination's travel provision calls for.

Inside wireman is the standard rate for building electrical work, but a county table can hold several more. Alameda lists a cable splicer-welder at $144.04 and communication and system installer and technician rates at $89.88 and $98.94. Santa Clara's cable splicer is the highest electrician rate in the state at $162.56. Los Angeles has separate rates for tunnel wiremen ($109.81), transportation systems electricians ($105.54) and sound installers ($73.27). Electrical utility linemen are a separate trade with their own rate page.

Each county electrician page lists every classification DIR prints for that county, with overtime and footnotes.