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Thurston County · Painter
Painter prevailing wage in Thurston County, Washington
$58.84an hour, base wage + fringe benefits
$43.14 base wage + $15.70 fringe benefits
On Washington public works in Thurston County, a painter must be paid at least $58.84 an hour in total: $43.14 in wages plus $15.70 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.
L&I also sets a residential painter rate in Thurston County: $22.13 an hour. It applies only to the residential projects L&I defines. Residential rates and when they apply.
Base wage and fringe benefits: $43.14 + $15.70
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) | $43.14 |
| Health and welfare | $8.18 |
| Pension | $6.15 |
| Training | $1.22 |
| Other benefits | $0.15 |
| Total straight-time hourly rate | $58.84 |
Set from: collective bargaining agreement, Western Washington Area Agreement for the Professional Painting Industry between IUPAT District Council 5 and Western Washington Signatory Painting Employers. 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.
Residential painter rates in Thurston County
Residential rates apply only to construction, alteration, repair, improvement or maintenance of single-family homes, duplexes, apartments, condominiums and other residential buildings no more than four stories tall (basement included), and only for affordable housing (including permanent supportive and transitional housing), weatherization or rehabilitation of low-income homes, and homeless and domestic-violence shelters. Utilities, streets and structures unrelated to the housing use commercial rates. (WAC 296-127-010(9))
| Classification | Base wage | Fringe benefits | Total rate | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential Painters: Journey Level | $22.13 | $0.00 | $22.13 | Aug 31, 2025 |
Davis-Bacon painter rate in Thurston 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Building | PAINTERPAIN0300-003 | $41.24 | $55.94 | WA20260116 Mod 1 |
| Highway | PAINTERS: STRIPERS (STATEWIDE EXCEPT CLARK, COWLITZ, KLICKITAT, PACIFIC, SKAMANIA, AND WAHKIAKUM COUNTIES)PAIN0005-002 | $41.80 | $62.65 | WA20260001 Mod 4 |
| Highway | PAINTER (CLALLAM, GRAYS HARBOR, ISLAND, JEFFERSON, KING, KITSAP, LEWIS, MASON, PIERCE, SAN JUAN, SKAGIT, SNOHOMISH, THURSTON, AND WHATCOM COUNTIES)PAIN0300-007 | $41.24 | $55.94 | WA20260001 Mod 4 |
| Highway | PAINTER (APPLICATION OF COLD TAR PRODUCTS, EPOXIES, POLYURETHANES, ACIDS, RADIATION RESISTANT MATERIAL, WATER, SANDBLASTING, OVER 30'/SWING STAGE WORK, BRUSH, …PAIN0427-005 | $36.26 | $53.27 | WA20260001 Mod 4 |
| Heavy | PAINTERPAIN0300-002 | $41.24 | $55.94 | WA20260132 Mod 1 |
| Residential | PAINTER (SPRAY ONLY)PAIN0300-001 | $22.76 | $28.66 | WA20260096 Mod 1 |
| Residential | PAINTER (BRUSH AND ROLLER)SUWA2011-016 | $23.25 | $30.41 | WA20260096 Mod 1 |
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 6Z:
Holidays: New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day (7). Any holiday which falls on a Sunday shall be observed as a holiday on the following Monday. Any holiday which falls on a Saturday shall be observed as a holiday on the preceding Friday.
How Thurston County compares
The main painter 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
- Thurston Countybase $43.14$58.84
- Lewis Countybase $43.14$58.84
- Mason Countybase $43.14$58.84
- Pacific Countybase $38.12$55.64
Painter 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).
| County | Classification | Base wage | Total rate | vs Thurston County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurston County | Journey Level | $43.14 | $58.84 | |
| Lewis County | Journey Level | $43.14 | $58.84 | same |
| Mason County | Journey Level | $43.14 | $58.84 | same |
| Pierce County | Journey Level | $43.14 | $58.84 | same |
| Grays Harbor County | Journey Level | $43.14 | $58.84 | same |
| Kitsap County | Journey Level | $43.14 | $58.84 | same |
| Pacific County | Commercial Painter | $38.12 | $55.64 | −$3.20 |
More from L&I on this rate
- Scope of work, WAC 296-127-01356: 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 $58.84. 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, Thurston County, Painters (PAIN), L&I wage record 149796, 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 Thurston County as CSV · Report an error