Home / Washington / Whatcom County / Pile Driver

Whatcom County · Pile Driver

Pile Driver prevailing wage in Whatcom County, Washington

$89.43an hour, total

$68.65 wage + $20.78 fringe benefits

Whatcom County uses the same pile driver rates as 19 other counties. See all of them on one page.

On Washington public works in Whatcom County, a pile driver must be paid at least $89.43 an hour in total: $68.65 in wages plus $20.78 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 lists 2 commercial pile driver rates for Whatcom County, from $80.50 to $89.43 an hour. See all of them.

Base wage and fringe: $68.65 + $20.78

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)	$68.65
Health and welfare	$9.75
Pension	$10.11
Training	$0.77
Other benefits	$0.15
Total straight-time hourly rate	$89.43

Set from: collective bargaining agreement, (Western/Central 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).

Overtime

L&I overtime code 11U:

Overtime Calculations are based on the hourly rate actually paid to the worker. On public works projects, the hourly rate must be not less than the prevailing rate of wage minus the hourly rate of the cost of fringe benefits actually provided for the worker.

ALL HOURS WORKED IN EXCESS OF EIGHT (8) HOURS PER DAY OR FORTY (40) HOURS PER WEEK SHALL BE PAID AT ONE AND ONE-HALF TIMES THE HOURLY RATE OF WAGE.

On Monday through Friday, the first four (4) hours of overtime after eight (8) hours of straight time work shall be paid at one and one half (1-1/2) times the straight time rate of pay, unless a four (4) day ten (10) hour workweek has been established. On a four (4) day ten (10) hour workweek scheduled Monday through Thursday, or Tuesday through Friday, the first two (2) hours of overtime after ten (10) hours of straight time work shall be paid at one and one half (1-1/2) times the straight time rate of pay.

On Saturday, the first twelve (12) hours of work shall be paid at one and one half (1-1/2) times the straight time rate of pay, except that if the job is down on Monday through Friday due to weather conditions or other conditions outside the control of the employer, the first ten (10) hours on Saturday may be worked at the straight time rate of pay.

All hours worked over twelve (12) hours in a day and all hours worked on Sunday and Holidays shall be paid at two (2) times the straight time rate of pay.

If, due to conditions beyond the control of the Employer or when contract specifications require that work can only be performed outside the regular day shift, then a Special Shift may be worked, Monday through Friday, at the straight-time rate. The starting time of work for the Special Shift will be arranged to fit such conditions of work. Such Special Shift shall consist of eight (8) hours of work for eight (8) hours of pay or ten (10) hours of work for ten(10) hours of pay on a four-ten workday schedule.

Washington has no single overtime rule for prevailing wage. Each rate carries its own L&I code, copied here as published.

Pricing a bid?

Put this rate on one printable sheet with the other trades on the job.

Add this rate to a rate sheet

Need the cost of a crew? Open the labor cost calculator.

Davis-Bacon pile driver rate in Whatcom 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 + fringe	Base	WD
Highway	CARPENTER: PILEDRIVER: INCLUDES DRIVING, PULLING, CUTTING, PLACING COLLARS, SETTING, WELDING, OR CREOSOTE TREATED MATERIAL, ON ALL PILING (ADAMS, ASOTIN, …CARP0059-021	$67.04	$49.76	WA20260001 Mod 4
Highway	PILEDRIVER (CLALLAM, GRAYS HARBOR, ISLAND, JEFFERSON, KING, KITSAP, LEWIS, MASON, *PACIFIC, PIERCE, SAN JUAN, SKAGIT, SNOHOMISH, THURSTON AND WHATCOM COUNTIES …CARP0196-006	$84.66	$65.53	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.

When this rate changes

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.

Every pile driver rate in Whatcom County

As L&I lists them. The highlighted row is the one this page leads with.

Classification	Total	Base	Fringes	Effective
Crew Tender	$80.50	$80.50	$0.00	Aug 31, 2025
Journey Level	$89.43	$68.65	$20.78	Sep 2, 2026

How Whatcom 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

Whatcom $89.43145

$71.63Adams$89.43Chelan

WhatcomNearby: Skagit $89.43, Snohomish $89.43, Ferry $71.63Each column is a group of counties with about the same main rate; its height is how many. 0 counties pay more than Whatcom, 19 the same, 19 less.

Wage and fringe benefits, nearby

Whatcom Countybase $68.65$89.43
Skagit Countybase $68.65$89.43
Snohomish Countybase $68.65$89.43
Ferry Countybase $53.80$71.63

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 Whatcom County are the same as in 19 other counties: Chelan, Clallam, Douglas, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap and 11 more. The closest county with a different rate is Ferry County, at $71.63.

County	Classification	Total	Base	vs Whatcom County
Whatcom County	Journey Level	$89.43	$68.65
Skagit County	Journey Level	$89.43	$68.65	same
Snohomish County	Journey Level	$89.43	$68.65	same
San Juan County	Journey Level	$89.43	$68.65	same
Island County	Journey Level	$89.43	$68.65	same
Chelan County	Journey Level	$89.43	$68.65	same
Okanogan County	Journey Level	$89.43	$68.65	same

Washington pile driver prevailing wage by county, with a map

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 $89.43. 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, Whatcom County, Pile Driver (PILE), L&I wage record 149604, 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 Whatcom County as CSV · Report an error