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Ford County · Laborer
Laborer prevailing wage in Ford County, Illinois
$83.79an hour, base + fringes
$47.70 wage + $36.09 fringe benefits · Building
On Illinois public works in Ford County, a laborer must be paid at least $83.79 an hour: a $47.70 base wage plus $36.09 in fringe benefits for health and welfare, pension, vacation, training and other insurance. IDOL lists each part but prints no total, so $83.79 is our sum of its columns. Overtime after 8 hours a day, Monday to Friday, is 1.5 times the base wage. This is IDOL's building rate; it lists separate highway rates for this trade in Ford County.
IDOL's Ford County schedule, posted October 19, 2026, for work performed on or after October 19, 2026. Checked against labor.illinois.gov on October 24, 2026.
IDOL lists 4 laborer rates for Ford County, from $83.79 to $84.77 an hour. See all of them.
Base wage and fringe: $47.70 + $36.09
The base wage is the taxable hourly wage. The other lines are the fringe benefits IDOL lists for each hour: health and welfare, pension, vacation, training, and "other insurance", which IDOL's legend defines as the "employer hourly cost for any other type(s) of insurance".
| Base wage (taxable) | $47.70 |
| Health and welfare | $11.05 |
| Pension | $24.24 |
| Training | $0.80 |
| Base + fringes (our sum; IDOL prints no total) | $83.79 |
Foreman base wage: $48.70 an hour, with the same fringe benefits.
Davis-Bacon laborer rate in Ford County
Federally funded or assisted construction here uses the U.S. Department of Labor's wage determinations. When a contract requires both the state rate and the Davis-Bacon rate, paying the higher of the two meets both. The contract documents say which apply.
We don't put a federal figure next to IDOL'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 + fringe | Base | WD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highway, Heavy | LABORER GROUP 1 MORTAR MIXERS; SCAFFOLDS; SEWER AND TRENCH WORK (GROUND LEVEL DOWN TO 8 FEET); CATCH BASIN AND MANHOLE DIGGERS, MESH HANDLING ON ROAD TO WORK, …LABO0075-003 | $88.34 | $51.40 | IL20260013 Mod 1 |
| Highway, Heavy | LABORER GROUP 2 SEMI-SKILLED - HANDLING OF MATERIALS TREATED WITH OIL, CREOSOTE, ASPHALT AND/OR FORIEGN MATERIAL HARMFUL TO SKIN OR CLOTHING; TRACK LABORERS; …LABO0393-001 | $72.96 | $40.54 | IL20260013 Mod 1 |
| Residential | LABORER, UNSKILLEDSUIL1995-002 | $15.87 | $11.39 | IL20260026 Mod 1 |
Davis-Bacon rates from SAM.gov, read October 25, 2026. Our federal totals are base plus fringe; DOL prints no total. Illinois Davis-Bacon changes
Holidays
IDOL's Ford County schedule: “The following list is considered as those days for which holiday rates of wages for work performed apply: New Years Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and Veterans Day in some classifications/counties. Generally, any of these holidays which fall on a Sunday is celebrated on the following Monday. This then makes work performed on that Monday payable at the appropriate overtime rate for holiday pay. Common practice in a given local may alter certain days of celebration. If in doubt, please check with IDOL.”
Holiday work is paid at the holiday multiple in the overtime table (2.0× the base wage for this row).
When this rate changes
- Illinois rates don't lock at bid. When IDOL revises a rate, “the revised rate shall apply to such contract” from its effective date, including jobs already under way (820 ILCS 130/4(l)).
- A missing notice is no excuse. A public body's failure to send the new rates “does not relieve the contractor of the duty to comply”, or of paying back wages (820 ILCS 130/4(g), (j)).
- IDOL surveys in June and must publish the year's schedule by July 15 (820 ILCS 130/9), then posts revisions through the year. In 2026 its postings took effect on Jan 15, Mar 2, Apr 15, May 21, Jul 15, Aug 15, Sep 21 and Oct 19, 2026. Each posting replaces all 102 county schedules.
- This page uses the posting for work performed on or after October 19, 2026 (IDOL current rates; older postings are on IDOL's historical rates page).
What each class covers
IDOL's explanation of classes for Ford County, copied as printed. The class number on a row decides its rate.
LABORER, SKILLED - BUILDING
The skilled laborer building (BLD) classification shall encompass the following types of work, irrespective of the site of the work: caisson workers plus depth, gunnite nozzle men, lead man on sewer work, welders, cutters, burners and torchmen, chain saw operators, paving breaker, jackhammer and drill operators, layout man and/or drainage tile layer, steel form setters - street and highway, air tamping hammerman, signal man on crane, concrete saw operator, screenman on asphalt pavers, front end man on chip spreader, laborers tending masons with hot materials or where foreign materials are used, multiple concrete duct-leadman, luteman, asphalt raker, curb asphalt machine operator, ready mix scalemen (permanent, portable or temporary plant), laborers handling masterplate or similar materials, laser beam operator, concrete burning machine operator, coring machine operator, plaster tenders, underpinning and shoring of buildings, material selector when working with fire-brick or castable material, fire watch, signaling of all power equipment, and tree topper or trimmer when in connection with construction.
LABORER, SKILLED - HIGHWAY
The skilled laborer heavy and highway (HWY) classification shall encompass the following types of work, irrespective of the site of the work: handling of materials treated with oil, creosote, asphalt and/or any foreign materials harmful to skin or clothing, track laborers, chloride handlers, the unloading and loading with steel workers and re-bars, concrete workers (wet), tunnel helpers in free air, batch dumpers, mason tenders, kettle and tar men, plastic installers, scaffold workers, motorized buggies or motorized unit used for wet concrete or handling of building materials, laborers with de-watering systems, sewer workers plus depth, rod and chainmen, vibrator operators, mortar mixer operators, cement silica, clay, fly ash, lime and plasters, handlers (bulk or bag), cofferdam workers plus depth, on concrete paving, placing, cutting and tying or reinforcing, deck hand, dredge hand shore laborers, bankmen on floating plant, asphalt workers with machine, and layers, grade checker, power tools, stripping of all concrete forms excluding paving forms, dumpmen and spotters, when necessary, caisson workers plus depth, gunnite nozzle men, welders, cutters, burners and torchmen, chain saw operators, paving breaker, jackhammer and drill operators, layout man and/or drainage tile layer, steel form setters - street and highway, air tamping hammerman, signal man on crane, concrete saw operator, screedman on asphalt pavers, front end man on chip spreader, multiple concrete duct, luteman, asphalt raker, curb asphalt machine operator, ready mix scalemen (portable or temporary plant), laser beam operator, concrete burning machine operator, and coring machine operator.
LANDSCAPING
Landscaping work falls under the existing classifications for laborer, operating engineer and truck driver. The work performed by landscape plantsman and landscape laborer is covered by the existing classification of laborer. The work performed by landscape operators (regardless of equipment used or its size) is covered by the classifications of operating engineer. The work performed by landscape truck drivers (regardless of size of truck driven) is covered by the classifications of truck driver.
Every laborer rate in Ford County
As IDOL lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.
- LaborerHighway$84.77
- Laborer, SkilledHighway$84.77
- LaborerBuilding$83.79
- Laborer, SkilledBuilding$83.79
| Trade and class | Base + fringes | Base | Fringes | OT Mon–Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LaborerBuilding | $83.79 | $47.70 | $36.09 | 1.5× |
| LaborerHighway | $84.77 | $48.68 | $36.09 | 1.5× |
| Laborer, SkilledBuilding | $83.79 | $47.70 | $36.09 | 1.5× |
| Laborer, SkilledHighway | $84.77 | $48.68 | $36.09 | 1.5× |
How Ford County compares
The main 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 Illinois
Wage and fringe benefits, nearby
- Ford Countybase $47.70$83.79
- Iroquois Countybase $47.70$83.79
- Livingston Countybase $40.62$68.21
- Champaign Countybase $35.51$65.15
Laborer rates in nearby counties
Current IDOL rates. You pay the rate for the county where the work is done. The Act defines “locality” as the county of the physical work, with narrow exceptions (820 ILCS 130/2).
| County | Classification | Base + fringes | Base | vs Ford County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford County | Laborer (building) | $83.79 | $47.70 | |
| Iroquois County | Laborer (building) | $83.79 | $47.70 | same |
| Kankakee County | Laborer (building) | $83.79 | $47.70 | same |
| Livingston County | Laborer (building) | $68.21 | $40.62 | −$15.58 |
| McLean County | Laborer (building) | $68.21 | $38.00 | −$15.58 |
| Champaign County | Laborer (building) | $65.15 | $35.51 | −$18.64 |
| Vermilion County | Laborer (building) | $64.02 | $34.38 | −$19.77 |
More from IDOL on this rate
- Ford County schedule (IDOL PDF, page 2)
- Work that no listed trade covers: IDOL names a neighboring county's classification to use. Call 217-782-1710.
- Apprentices: IDOL's county schedules list journeyworker and foreman rates only.
Are you being paid this rate?
Add your base wage to what your employer pays into health, pension and other plans for you, and compare it with $83.79. Your contractor has to post the rates on the job site or give you written notice of them (820 ILCS 130/4(n)), and file a certified payroll with IDOL by the 15th of each month for the month before (820 ILCS 130/5).
A worker paid less than the prevailing rate can sue for the difference (820 ILCS 130/4(g)).
Source
Illinois Department of Labor, prevailing wage rates for Ford County, posted October 19, 2026, page 2: labor.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/idol/laws-rules/conmed/documents/fy27/20261019/Ford.pdf
Each figure is read from IDOL's PDF and checked by a second, separate reader. IDOL prints no total; ours is re-added independently. How we check · Download Ford County as CSV · Report an error