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Cowlitz County · Pile Driver
Pile Driver prevailing wage in Cowlitz County, Washington
$76.07an hour, base wage + fringe benefits
$58.06 base wage + $18.01 fringe benefits
Cowlitz County uses the same pile driver rates as 4 other counties. See all of them on one page.
On Washington public works in Cowlitz County, a pile driver must be paid at least $76.07 an hour in total: $58.06 in wages plus $18.01 in fringe benefits for health, pension, vacation, training and other plans. L&I's rate took effect September 2, 2026.
L&I published this rate on August 3, 2026 and it took effect September 2, 2026. Checked against L&I's wage lookup on October 24, 2026.
Base wage and fringe benefits: $58.06 + $18.01
The wage is the taxable hourly rate. The other lines are what Washington law calls "usual benefits": contributions to health, pension, vacation and holiday, apprenticeship and similar plans. A contractor that doesn't provide a benefit pays its value as wages instead (RCW 39.12.010).
| Base wage (taxable) | $58.06 |
| Health and welfare | $9.56 |
| Pension | $7.45 |
| Training | $0.80 |
| Other benefits | $0.20 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $76.07 |
Set from: collective bargaining agreement, (Southwest WA) - Washington, Oregon and Alaska Cascadia Regional Master Agreement Between the Western States Association Of Union Contractors And the Western States Regional Council Of Carpenters Covering The States Of Alaska, Washington & Oregon. Where a county has a collective bargaining agreement, L&I adopts its wage and benefits; with more than one, the higher rate prevails. Otherwise L&I uses wage surveys (RCW 39.12.015).
When does this rate change?
- Rates lock at the bid date. A project uses “the rates that are in effect on the date when bids by prime contractors are due”, and they stay for the life of the contract. If the contract isn't awarded within six months of the bid date, the award-date rates apply. Contracts without bids use the date they're signed (WAC 296-127-011).
- L&I publishes on the first business day of February and August, and rates take effect 30 days later. Corrections can be published at any time and also take effect 30 days later (WAC 296-127-011(1); L&I publications and corrections). L&I's next set is due February 1, 2027, effective March 3, 2027.
- L&I doesn't republish every rate each period. A rate stays until L&I changes it, so each one has its own date. This one was published August 3, 2026 and took effect September 2, 2026.
Davis-Bacon pile driver rate in Cowlitz 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 L&I's here, because the two schedules' classifications don't line up one to one. The federal rows for this trade are below; match the classification to the work.
| Construction | Federal classification | Base wage | Total rate | WD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highway | CARPENTER: PILEDRIVER: INCLUDES DRIVING, PULLING, CUTTING, PLACING COLLARS, SETTING, WELDING, OR CREOSOTE TREATED MATERIAL, ON ALL PILING (ADAMS, ASOTIN, …CARP0059-021 | $49.76 | $67.04 | WA20260001 Mod 4 |
| Highway | PILEDRIVER (CLARK, COWLITZ, *PACIFIC, SKAMANIA, AND WAHKIAKUM COUNTIES *PORTION OF PACIFIC COUNTY SOUTH OF A STRAIGHT LINE MADE BY EXTENDING THE NORTH BOUNDARY …CARP0196-004 | $56.06 | $72.87 | WA20260001 Mod 4 |
Davis-Bacon rates from SAM.gov, read October 25, 2026. Our federal totals are base plus fringe; DOL prints no total. Washington Davis-Bacon changes
Holidays
L&I holiday code 15J:
Holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day (9). Any holiday which falls on a Sunday shall be observed as a holiday on the following Monday. If any of the listed holidays falls on a Saturday, the preceding Friday shall be a regular work day.
How Cowlitz County compares
The main pile driver 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 Washington
Base wage and fringe benefits, nearby
- Cowlitz Countybase $58.06$76.07
- Clark Countybase $58.06$76.07
- Lewis Countybase $68.65$89.43
- Wahkiakum Countybase $58.06$76.07
Pile Driver rates in nearby counties
Current L&I rates. You pay the rate for the county where the work is done. The statute defines “locality” as “the largest city in the county wherein the physical work is being performed”, and L&I publishes rates county by county (RCW 39.12.010).
L&I's pile driver rates for Cowlitz County are the same as in 4 other counties: Clark, Klickitat, Skamania, Wahkiakum.
| County | Classification | Base wage | Total rate | vs Cowlitz County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lewis County | Journey Level | $68.65 | $89.43 | +$13.36 |
| Thurston County | Journey Level | $68.65 | $89.43 | +$13.36 |
| Pacific County | Journey Level | $68.65 | $89.43 | +$13.36 |
| Cowlitz County | Journey Level | $58.06 | $76.07 | |
| Clark County | Journey Level | $58.06 | $76.07 | same |
| Wahkiakum County | Journey Level | $58.06 | $76.07 | same |
| Skamania County | Journey Level | $58.06 | $76.07 | same |
Washington pile driver prevailing wage by county, with a map
Notes on this rate
L&I's notes, in L&I's words. Some add premiums for hazardous work, special shifts or certifications.
- 9L Workers on hazmat projects receive additional hourly premiums as follows -Level A: $0.75, Level B: $0.50, And Level C: $0.25. Tide Work: When employees are called out between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. to work on tide work (work located in the tide plane) all time worked shall be at one and one-half times the hourly rate of pay. Swinging Stage/Boatswains Chair: Employees working on a swinging stage or boatswains chair or under conditions that require them to be tied off to allow their hands to be free shall receive seventy-five cents ($0.75) per hour above the classification rate.
More from L&I on this rate
- Scope of work, WAC 296-127-01358: which tasks this trade covers. L&I says the right classification “depends upon determinations published by L&I” (L&I).
- L&I's prevailing wage lookup, for any county, trade and bid date
- Apprentices: registered apprentices are paid L&I's apprentice rate for the trade. Anyone without a registered agreement counts as a journey-level worker (RCW 39.12.021).
Are you being paid this rate?
Add your wage to what your employer pays into health, pension and other plans for you, and compare it with $76.07. Each contractor files an L&I-approved Statement of Intent to Pay Prevailing Wages before it's paid, and an Affidavit of Wages Paid when the job is accepted (RCW 39.12.040). On contracts over $10,000 the approved intent and L&I's contact details are posted on the job site (RCW 39.12.020).
Source
Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, prevailing wage lookup, Cowlitz County, Pile Driver (PILE), L&I wage record 149740, published August 3, 2026, effective September 2, 2026: secure.lni.wa.gov/wagelookup/
Each figure comes from L&I's lookup and is checked against L&I's CSV export and a second, separate query. How we check · Download Cowlitz County as CSV · Report an error