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Washington carpenter prevailing wage, county by county

A carpenter's prevailing wage on Washington public works runs from $65.89 an hour in Whitman County to $87.71 in Chelan County, wages and fringe benefits together. The median county is $87.71.

Main carpenter classification in each county (General carpenter), L&I period 2026-2, commercial rates. Checked October 24, 2026.

Pierce County carpenter: $87.71 per hourAdams County carpenter: $65.89 per hourPend Oreille County carpenter: $65.89 per hourKing County carpenter: $87.71 per hourChelan County carpenter: $87.71 per hourKittitas County carpenter: $87.71 per hourGarfield County carpenter: $65.89 per hourGrant County carpenter: $65.89 per hourOkanogan County carpenter: $87.71 per hourFranklin County carpenter: $65.89 per hourKlickitat County carpenter: $74.70 per hourClark County carpenter: $74.70 per hourSkagit County carpenter: $87.71 per hourWalla Walla County carpenter: $65.89 per hourPacific County carpenter: $87.71 per hourCowlitz County carpenter: $74.70 per hourWahkiakum County carpenter: $74.70 per hourLewis County carpenter: $87.71 per hourClallam County carpenter: $87.71 per hourGrays Harbor County carpenter: $87.71 per hourJefferson County carpenter: $87.71 per hourLincoln County carpenter: $65.89 per hourMason County carpenter: $87.71 per hourSan Juan County carpenter: $87.71 per hourStevens County carpenter: $65.89 per hourWhatcom County carpenter: $87.71 per hourDouglas County carpenter: $87.71 per hourSnohomish County carpenter: $87.71 per hourThurston County carpenter: $87.71 per hourColumbia County carpenter: $65.89 per hourYakima County carpenter: $87.71 per hourBenton County carpenter: $65.89 per hourIsland County carpenter: $87.71 per hourSpokane County carpenter: $65.89 per hourWhitman County carpenter: $65.89 per hourFerry County carpenter: $65.89 per hourSkamania County carpenter: $74.70 per hourAsotin County carpenter: $65.89 per hourKitsap County carpenter: $87.71 per hour
$65$65$74$87$87$87Carpenter, main rate, total per hour. Each shade holds about a fifth of the counties.

How much does a carpenter make on prevailing wage in Washington?

1 group of counties with identical rates and 37 counties with rates of their own, highest main rate first, each split into wage and fringe benefits on one scale. The table below lists which counties are in each group.

  1. Chelan County1 county$87.71
  2. Clallam County1 county$87.71
  3. Douglas County1 county$87.71
  4. Grays Harbor County1 county$87.71
  5. Island County1 county$87.71
  6. Jefferson County1 county$87.71
  7. King County1 county$87.71
  8. Kitsap County1 county$87.71
  9. Kittitas County1 county$87.71
  10. Lewis County1 county$87.71
  11. Mason County1 county$87.71
  12. Okanogan County1 county$87.71
  13. Pacific County1 county$87.71
  14. Pierce County1 county$87.71
  15. San Juan County1 county$87.71
  16. Skagit County1 county$87.71
  17. Snohomish County1 county$87.71
  18. Thurston County1 county$87.71
  19. Whatcom County1 county$87.71
  20. Yakima County1 county$87.71
  21. Clark County1 county$74.70
  22. Cowlitz County1 county$74.70
  23. Klickitat County1 county$74.70
  24. Skamania County1 county$74.70
  25. Wahkiakum County1 county$74.70
  26. Pend Oreille County group2 counties$65.89
  27. Adams County1 county$65.89
  28. Asotin County1 county$65.89
  29. Benton County1 county$65.89
  30. Columbia County1 county$65.89
  31. Franklin County1 county$65.89
  32. Garfield County1 county$65.89
  33. Grant County1 county$65.89
  34. Lincoln County1 county$65.89
  35. Spokane County1 county$65.89
  36. Stevens County1 county$65.89
  37. Walla Walla County1 county$65.89
  38. Whitman County1 county$65.89

Which counties pay which rate

CountiesMain classificationTotalBase
Chelan CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Clallam CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Douglas CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Grays Harbor CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Island CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Jefferson CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
King CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Kitsap CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Kittitas CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Lewis CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Mason CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Okanogan CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Pacific CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Pierce CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
San Juan CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Skagit CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Snohomish CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Thurston CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Whatcom CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Yakima CountyGeneral Carpenter$87.71 $66.98 
Clark CountyGeneral Carpenter$74.70 $56.69 
Cowlitz CountyGeneral Carpenter$74.70 $56.69 
Klickitat CountyGeneral Carpenter$74.70 $56.69 
Skamania CountyGeneral Carpenter$74.70 $56.69 
Wahkiakum CountyGeneral Carpenter$74.70 $56.69 
Pend Oreille County group, 2 counties: Ferry, Pend OreilleGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Adams CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Asotin CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Benton CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Columbia CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Franklin CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Garfield CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Grant CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Lincoln CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Spokane CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Stevens CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Walla Walla CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 
Whitman CountyGeneral Carpenter$65.89 $48.11 

1 group of counties with identical L&I rates, and 37 counties with rates of their own.

These are journey-level rates. Registered apprentices are paid L&I's apprentice rate for the trade (RCW 39.12.021), which L&I publishes in its wage lookup.

L&I also sets residential carpenter rates for 39 county listings. They apply only to the residential projects defined in WAC 296-127-010(9), and each county page shows them separately.

Questions about Washington carpenter pay

What is the carpenter prevailing wage in King County?

$87.71 an hour: a $66.98 base wage plus $20.73 in fringe benefits, under L&I period 2026-2. Overtime and every carpenter classification in King County.

Does carpenter prevailing wage include fringe benefits?

Yes. In King County the $87.71 total is a $66.98 base wage plus $20.73 in fringe benefits, about 24% of the total. The employer owes the full amount for every hour worked.

Do apprentice carpenters get this rate?

Registered apprentices get L&I's apprentice rate for the trade (RCW 39.12.021), which L&I publishes in its wage lookup. Anyone else on the job is paid as a journey-level worker.

Why do some counties have the same carpenter rate?

L&I often publishes the same carpenter rates for several counties. Across Washington, the 39 counties with a carpenter rate fall into 38 distinct sets of rates, and 1 of those sets are shared by more than one county; the largest covers 2 counties (the Pend Oreille County group).

Which county pays carpenters the most in Washington?

Chelan County, at $87.71 an hour for the main classification. The lowest is Whitman County at $65.89, and the median county is $87.71.