Rhode Island operating engineer prevailing wage, county by county

An operating engineer's prevailing wage on Rhode Island public works is $80.52 an hour in every county that has one (5), for the main classification.

Main operating engineer classification in each county (Power equipment operator: building construction: group 1: cranes, lighters, boom trucks and derricks. (boom lenths, including jibs: 150 ft. and over: + $ 2.00; 180 ft. and over: + $ 3.00; 210 ft. and over: + $ 4.00; 240 ft. and over: + $ 5.00; 270 ft. and over: + $ 7.00; 300 ft. and over: + $ 8.00; 350 ft. and over: + $ 9.00; 400 ft. and over: + $10.00) (paid holidays: new year's day, president's day, memorial day, july fourth, victory day, labor day, columbus day, veterans day, thanksgiving day & christmas day. a: any employee who works 3 days in the week in which a holiday falls shall be paid for the holiday.) (hazmat work: $2.00 per hour additional. tunnel/shaft work: $5.00 per hour additional.)), Davis-Bacon RI20260001 Mod 5 (Oct 1, 2026) and related decisions. Rates are set at award, then adjusted every July 1 for the life of the contract (RIGL 37-13-8). Checked October 25, 2026.

$80$80$80$80$80$80Operating Engineer, main rate, base + fringe per hour. Each shade holds about a fifth of the counties.

How much does an operating engineer make on prevailing wage in Rhode Island?

1 group of counties with identical rates and 1 with rates of their own, highest main rate first. The table below lists which counties are in each group.

Providence County group4 counties · POWER EQUIPMENT OPERATOR: BUILDING CONSTRUCT$80.52
Newport County1 county · POWER EQUIPMENT OPERATOR: BUILDING CONSTRUCT$80.52

Which counties pay which rate

Counties	Main classification	Base + fringe	Base
Providence County group, 4 localities: Bristol, Kent, Providence, Washington	POWER EQUIPMENT OPERATOR: BUILDING CONSTRUCTION: GROUP 1: CRANES, LIGHTERS, BOOM TRUCKS AND DERRICKS. (BOOM LENTHS, INCLUDING JIBS: 150 FT. AND OVER: + $ 2.00; 180 FT. AND OVER: + $ 3.00; 210 FT. AND OVER: + $ 4.00; 240 FT. AND OVER: + $ 5.00; 270 FT. AND OVER: + $ 7.00; 300 FT. AND OVER: + $ 8.00; 350 FT. AND OVER: + $ 9.00; 400 FT. AND OVER: + $10.00) (PAID HOLIDAYS: NEW YEAR'S DAY, PRESIDENT'S DAY, MEMORIAL DAY, JULY FOURTH, VICTORY DAY, LABOR DAY, COLUMBUS DAY, VETERANS DAY, THANKSGIVING DAY & CHRISTMAS DAY. A: ANY EMPLOYEE WHO WORKS 3 DAYS IN THE WEEK IN WHICH A HOLIDAY FALLS SHALL BE PAID FOR THE HOLIDAY.) (HAZMAT WORK: $2.00 PER HOUR ADDITIONAL. TUNNEL/SHAFT WORK: $5.00 PER HOUR ADDITIONAL.)	$80.52	$50.57
Newport County	POWER EQUIPMENT OPERATOR: BUILDING CONSTRUCTION: GROUP 1: CRANES, LIGHTERS, BOOM TRUCKS AND DERRICKS. (BOOM LENTHS, INCLUDING JIBS: 150 FT. AND OVER: + $ 2.00; 180 FT. AND OVER: + $ 3.00; 210 FT. AND OVER: + $ 4.00; 240 FT. AND OVER: + $ 5.00; 270 FT. AND OVER: + $ 7.00; 300 FT. AND OVER: + $ 8.00; 350 FT. AND OVER: + $ 9.00; 400 FT. AND OVER: + $10.00) (PAID HOLIDAYS: NEW YEAR'S DAY, PRESIDENT'S DAY, MEMORIAL DAY, JULY FOURTH, VICTORY DAY, LABOR DAY, COLUMBUS DAY, VETERANS DAY, THANKSGIVING DAY & CHRISTMAS DAY. A: ANY EMPLOYEE WHO WORKS 3 DAYS IN THE WEEK IN WHICH A HOLIDAY FALLS SHALL BE PAID FOR THE HOLIDAY.) (HAZMAT WORK: $2.00 PER HOUR ADDITIONAL. TUNNEL/SHAFT WORK: $5.00 PER HOUR ADDITIONAL.)	$80.52	$50.57

1 group of counties with identical DLT rates, and 1 county with rates of its own.

Davis-Bacon schedules list journeyworker rates only. Registered apprentices (RIGL 28-45) may be paid a percentage of the base rate per their apprenticeship agreement, but the fringe may not be reduced (DLT FAQ); unregistered or out-of-ratio apprentices get the full journeyworker rate (260-RICR-30-15-3.4(E)).

Questions about Rhode Island operating engineer pay

What is the operating engineer prevailing wage in Providence County?

$80.52 an hour: a $50.57 base wage plus $29.95 in fringe benefits, under Davis-Bacon RI20260001 Mod 5 (Oct 1, 2026) and related decisions. Overtime and every operating engineer classification in Providence County.

Does operating engineer prevailing wage include fringe benefits?

Yes. In Providence County the $80.52 total is a $50.57 base wage plus $29.95 in fringe benefits, about 37% of the total. The employer owes the full amount for every hour worked.

Does operating engineer prevailing wage pay overtime in Rhode Island?

Over 8 hours in a day or 40 in a week is overtime, "calculated on the base rate only and then the fringe benefit rate is added" (DLT FAQ; RIGL 37-13-10). Rhode Island sets no Saturday, Sunday or holiday premium.

Do apprentice operating engineers get this rate?

Why do some counties have the same operating engineer rate?

DLT often publishes the same operating engineer rates for several counties. Across Rhode Island, the 5 counties with an operating engineer rate fall into 2 distinct sets of rates, and 1 of those sets are shared by more than one county; the largest covers 4 counties (the Providence County group).