What is a wage determination?

The official U.S. Department of Labor schedule listing the minimum base rate and fringe benefits for each job classification in one area - for Davis-Bacon, one county and one construction type. The determination incorporated into a covered contract is binding.

Where can I find Davis-Bacon wage rates?

Official wage determinations are published free at SAM.gov Wage Determinations, organized by state, county, and construction type. This site's per-state pages index every active determination and link each one to its official SAM.gov document.

What determines Davis-Bacon wages?

DOL sets each classification's rate from local evidence: collective-bargaining agreements where union rates prevail, and its own WD-10 wage surveys elsewhere, applying the majority - 30% - weighted-average sequence described in 29 CFR part 1.

What if my trade isn't listed in the wage determination?

Request a conformance: propose a classification and rate via Standard Form 1444 through the contracting agency; DOL approves or sets the rate. Work can't simply be paid at an unlisted rate.

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Wage determinations, explained

What the binding document is, how to read it, and how to find yours

A wage determination (WD) is the official schedule of minimum wage rates and fringe benefits that the U.S. Department of Labor publishes for one area and one category of work. On a covered project, the wage determination incorporated into the contract is the binding document - it lists, classification by classification, the base hourly rate and fringe amount each worker must receive (29 CFR part 1).

The four construction types

Davis-Bacon determinations are issued per county and per construction type - picking the wrong type is the most common lookup error, and the rates differ substantially:

Building - sheltered enclosures with walk-in access (offices, schools, warehouses), including incidental site work.
Residential - single-family houses and apartment buildings of no more than four stories.
Highway - roads, streets, runways, paths, and most paving work not incidental to another category.
Heavy - the catch-all for projects that are none of the above: sewer and water lines, dams, flood control, dredging, pipelines, and similar civil work.

One county therefore typically has up to four active general determinations. Our lookup guide resolves county and type step by step.

How to read a determination

The body of a WD is a list of classification lines like:

ELEC0001-002 06/01/2026

                  Rates          Fringes
ELECTRICIAN.......$ 52.10          28.41

The identifier prefix tells you the rate's source: a union local's collective-bargaining agreement (here an electricians' local, with the agreement's effective date), or SU - a rate from DOL's own wage survey. UAVG marks a union-average rate.
Rates is the minimum base hourly rate for that classification.
Fringes is the additional hourly amount owed as bona fide benefits or cash - see the fringe calculator for how benefit credit is computed.
Zone notes, group definitions, and footnotes below the table modify specific classifications - always read them.

If the work your crew performs has no classification in the determination, you must request a conformance - a new classification and rate approved by DOL via Standard Form 1444 (29 CFR §5.5(a)(1)(iii)).

Revisions

General determinations are revised on a rolling basis - when underlying union agreements change or DOL updates survey rates - and each revision gets a number. The revision in effect when your contract is awarded generally stays with the contract. New DBA revisions publish roughly weekly; see recently updated determinations.