New Jersey prevailing wage
State law, federal determinations, and how to find the rate that applies
- New Jersey has its own prevailing-wage law (N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.25 et seq.), applying to public-works contracts over $19,375 municipal / $2,000 other public bodies, administered by NJ Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development, Division of Wage and Hour Compliance.
- The U.S. Department of Labor has 65 active federal Davis-Bacon wage determinations covering 21 New Jersey counties as of (latest revision date), each setting county rates by trade for federally funded construction.
- Market context: the average private construction worker in New Jersey earned $1,731/week (≈ $43.27/hour) in Q1 2026, rank #10 of 51 states, per the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages - an industry average, not a prevailing-wage rate.
Recent change: 2024 — the municipal threshold CPI-adjusted from $16,263 to $19,375, effective July 1, 2024.
Only the municipal threshold is inflation-indexed (every five years); the $2,000 threshold for counties, school boards, authorities and state work does not adjust.
How to find the required rate
- State or locally funded project: use the rate schedules from NJ Dept. of Labor & Workforce Development, Division of Wage and Hour Compliance - official New Jersey prevailing-wage portal.
- Federally funded project: find the county in the New Jersey 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: 21 · Heavy: 22 · Highway: 2 · Residential: 20 - every determination and the counties it covers are listed in the New Jersey wage-determination index, each with its full rate schedule mirrored. Service contracts: 24 active SCA determinations for New Jersey.
Recently revised determinations
- NJ20260059 (rev 2) - modified , Heavy
- NJ20260058 (rev 2) - modified , Heavy
- NJ20260057 (rev 2) - modified , Heavy
What construction actually pays here
Separate from any required rate: BLS data puts the average private construction wage in New Jersey at $1,731/week (+1.9% YoY) in Q1 2026 - details and history on New Jersey 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.