Pennsylvania prevailing wage rates

What is the prevailing wage rate in Pennsylvania?

It depends on the trade and on the county where the work is done. Taking each trade's main rate in each county, L&I's figures run from $27.63 an hour (window film installer, Allegheny County) to $123.24 (electrician, Bucks County). Each figure is the base wage plus fringe benefits. Pick a county or a trade below for the exact rate.

Rates by trade

Each trade page maps that trade's main rate in every county. Carpenter rates, for example, range from $58.81 to $88.11 an hour.

• Boilermaker$53.96–$94.57
• Bricklayer$62.00–$86.07
• Carpenter$58.81–$88.11
• Carpet & Soft Floor Layer$59.20–$91.40
• Cement Mason$49.50–$81.16
• Diver & Tender$88.17–$108.28
• Drywall Finisher$56.09–$78.71
• Drywall Installer / Lather$60.40–$64.97
• Electrical Utility Lineman$86.46–$104.10
• Electrician$68.13–$123.24
• Elevator Constructor$104.60–$121.72
• Field Surveyor$53.72–$96.77
• Flagger$52.30–$55.35
• Glazier$39.08–$90.67
• Insulator (Heat & Frost / Asbestos Worker)$62.29–$114.77
• Ironworker$58.40–$98.21
• Laborer$42.40–$65.02
• Landscape & Irrigation Laborer$34.08–$56.45
• Marble Finisher$35.34–$73.92
• Marble Mason$58.39–$79.15
• Millwright$62.00–$96.01
• Operating Engineer$69.33–$91.01
• Painter$43.32–$80.93
• Pile Driver$58.10–$94.97
• Plasterer$52.91–$76.87
• Plumber / Pipefitter$71.37–$114.09
• Roofer$52.95–$82.75
• Sheet Metal Worker$68.46–$119.54
• Sign Installer$61.39
• Striping & Traffic Control Worker$74.53
• Teamster (Truck Driver)$41.87–$62.44
• Terrazzo Finisher$58.00–$77.39
• Terrazzo Worker$60.60–$85.97
• Tile Finisher$53.80–$73.92
• Tile Setter$58.39–$85.97
• Tuckpointer$64.00–$85.65
• Window Film & Tinting Installer$27.63–$43.95

How Pennsylvania's prevailing wage rules work

• Which projects. Construction, reconstruction, demolition, alteration or repair other than maintenance, paid for in whole or part by a public body, where the total project cost is over $25,000. The whole cost counts, so a private project with any public financing is covered (Act § 2; § 9.101; L&I FAQ).
• Locally funded highway and bridge work. Locally funded highway and bridge projects contracted after January 1, 2014 are covered only over $100,000 (L&I FAQ).
• Not covered. Maintenance work, projects where federal Davis-Bacon applies, off-site work, material suppliers and public employees. In-kind sidewalk or roof replacement, milling and repaving and real painting are not maintenance (§ 9.101; L&I FAQ).
• No county schedule: one determination per project. L&I issues the rates for each project through PPWS, on the public body's request. Each county page here copies the schedule printed in that county's newest determination and names it; the project's own determination is what binds (§ 9.104).
• Rates are locked, with scheduled steps. A signed contract keeps its determination's rates. The determination already lists dated steps, some years ahead, and contractors post them with their effective dates (Act § 4, § 9; § 9.103).
• Building or Heavy/Highway. Each determination has a Building grid and a Heavy/Highway grid, and the project's classification says which applies. Residential rates exist only inside a residential project's own determination (L&I FAQ).
• Overtime. The Prevailing Wage Act sets none. Pennsylvania's Minimum Wage Act requires 1½ times the regular rate over 40 hours a week; cash paid in place of fringes counts toward the regular rate, bona fide plan contributions don't (L&I FAQ).
• Classes and notes. Laborers, operators, painters and truck drivers are split into numbered classes; L&I's notes PDFs say which tasks or equipment fall in each, and they differ by county group (L&I prevailing wage page).
• Payroll and penalties. Contractors post the rates on site, file weekly certified statements with the public body and keep records two years. An intentional violation means three years' debarment (§ 9.108; Act § 11).