Kentucky prevailing wage
State law, federal determinations, and how to find the rate that applies
- Kentucky has no state prevailing-wage law - only the federal Davis-Bacon Act applies, on federally funded construction over $2,000. (2017 — HB 3 repealed KRS 337.505–337.550 (January 2017).)
- The U.S. Department of Labor has 106 active federal Davis-Bacon wage determinations covering 120 Kentucky counties as of (latest revision date), each setting county rates by trade for federally funded construction.
- Market context: the average private construction worker in Kentucky earned $1,420/week (≈ $35.50/hour) in Q1 2026, rank #41 of 51 states, per the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages - an industry average, not a prevailing-wage rate.
Recent change: 2017 — HB 3 repealed KRS 337.505–337.550 (January 2017).
The repeal also bars local governments from imposing prevailing-wage requirements.
How to find the required rate
- State or locally funded project: no state prevailing-wage requirement - check any local ordinances and the funding source.
- Federally funded project: find the county in the Kentucky determination index and open the official SAM.gov document for your construction type.
- Read the classification line - base rate plus fringe (how to read a determination); compute totals and overtime with the calculator.
Federal determinations at a glance
Building: 44 · Heavy: 42 · Highway: 4 · Residential: 16 - every determination and the counties it covers are listed in the Kentucky wage-determination index, each with its full rate schedule mirrored. Service contracts: 43 active SCA determinations for Kentucky.
Recently revised determinations
- KY20260107 (rev 2) - modified , Highway
What construction actually pays here
Separate from any required rate: BLS data puts the average private construction wage in Kentucky at $1,420/week (+5.0% YoY) in Q1 2026 - details and history on Kentucky construction wages.
Learn the system
What a prevailing wage is · The Davis-Bacon Act · Certified payroll · Fringe calculator
Data on this page is from U.S. government public-domain sources - free to reuse with credit and a link to prevailingwageindex.com.