Wisconsin prevailing wage
State law, federal determinations, and how to find the rate that applies
- Wisconsin has no state prevailing-wage law - only the federal Davis-Bacon Act applies, on federally funded construction over $2,000. (Repealed in two steps: for local-government projects effective Jan 1, 2017 (2015 Act 55), and for state projects effective Sept 23, 2017 (2017 Act 59).)
- The U.S. Department of Labor has 38 active federal Davis-Bacon wage determinations covering 72 Wisconsin counties as of (latest revision date), each setting county rates by trade for federally funded construction.
- Market context: the average private construction worker in Wisconsin earned $1,571/week (≈ $39.27/hour) in Q1 2026, rank #30 of 51 states, per the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages - an industry average, not a prevailing-wage rate.
Recent change: Repealed in two steps: for local-government projects effective Jan 1, 2017 (2015 Act 55), and for state projects effective Sept 23, 2017 (2017 Act 59).
No state prevailing-wage law since Sept 2017; local governments are barred from enacting their own.
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 Wisconsin 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: 13 · Heavy: 2 · Highway: 1 · Residential: 22 - every determination and the counties it covers are listed in the Wisconsin wage-determination index, each with its full rate schedule mirrored. Service contracts: 38 active SCA determinations for Wisconsin.
What construction actually pays here
Separate from any required rate: BLS data puts the average private construction wage in Wisconsin at $1,571/week (0.0% YoY) in Q1 2026 - details and history on Wisconsin 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.