How We Source Our Prevailing Wage Rates

Every rate comes from official Davis-Bacon determinations on SAM.gov and state prevailing-wage schedules. Each page shows its WD number, effective date, and source link, re-synced weekly.

Every rate on this site comes from official public records: federal Davis-Bacon wage determinations published on SAM.gov, and, in states with their own prevailing-wage law, the state labor department's schedule. Each rate page shows its wage determination number, its modification, its effective date, and a link straight to the official source. We re-pull those records against SAM.gov every week. This page explains where each number comes from and how to check it yourself.

Where the numbers come from

Federal rates come from Davis-Bacon wage determinations on SAM.gov, which are U.S. government works in the public domain. State rates come from the labor department of each prevailing-wage-law state, such as the California DIR. We publish a readable, dated copy of that official data; we do not issue our own determinations.

The federal source is the general wage determination system published on SAM.gov; the determinations themselves are issued by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (DOL WHD). These determinations are federal government works. They carry no copyright (17 U.S.C. § 105), so anyone may republish them. We never add or estimate a rate. We copy what the determination says. If a number sits on one of our pages, it was on an official determination first. Every figure in our prevailing wage rate tables traces back to one of these two official sources.

About half the states, commonly counted between 26 and 30, keep their own prevailing-wage law. A state schedule there can set a higher rate than the federal one. Those numbers come from the state's department of labor or industrial relations, such as the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). Which source applies to a given job depends on who funds it, covered in Davis-Bacon vs state prevailing wage.

What the provenance line on every rate page means

Every rate table carries a provenance line: the WD number, the modification, the effective date, the date we last synced it, and a link to the official record. Those five fields let you trace any number back to its source and confirm it is current.

A typical line reads: WD# TX20250012, Mod 5, effective 3 January 2025 — synced 8 July 2026 · official source (illustrative). Here is what each field means and how to re-verify it.

The five provenance fields, each traceable back to the official record on SAM.gov.

Flowchart tracing a rate page's provenance line through five fields: WD number, modification, effective date, synced date, and source link

Field	What it means	How to re-verify
WD number (e.g. TX20250012)	The specific general determination, keyed by state and year plus a sequence number	Search the number on SAM.gov
Modification	Which revision of that determination; WDs are amended in place	The SAM.gov record lists every modification and its date
Effective date	The date the rate takes effect for a covered job	Shown on the official determination header
Synced	When we last re-read the official record	Compare against the current modification date on SAM.gov
Source link	A direct route to the official determination	Open it and match the number

If any field on our page disagrees with the official record, the official record wins. Tell us and we correct it, as described in our editorial process.

Why some pages show one rate and others show two

On a job in a state with no prevailing-wage law, the federal Davis-Bacon rate is the only prevailing wage, so the page shows one number. In a prevailing-wage-law state, the page shows the federal rate next to the state rate, plus a note on which one applies. When both cover a job, you owe the higher of the two.

The rule that drives the layout is short. Federal money triggers the federal Davis-Bacon rate. State or local money triggers the state rate. When both fund the same project, you pay the higher of the two for each classification. So a Texas page shows the federal number alone, because Texas has no prevailing-wage law. A California page shows federal and state side by side, with a note on which applies. We build the page to match the law rather than force the law into one layout. The full logic sits in Davis-Bacon vs state prevailing wage.

How often we refresh the rates

We re-sync against SAM.gov modifications every week. When a determination is amended, we update the rate and its modification, refresh the effective date, then stamp a new sync date. We do not bump the date without a real change.

Freshness is the point of this site. SAM.gov amends determinations throughout the year. A rate can move between one week and the next. Our weekly pull catches those changes and rewrites the affected tables with the new numbers. The synced date on a page reflects an actual re-read of the official record, not a cosmetic timestamp. A page whose determination has not changed keeps its real effective date instead of a fake "updated today" stamp.

This is a readable copy, not the official determination

Our pages are a readable, dated presentation of official data, not a substitute for the official determination. SAM.gov is the system of record. Before you bid a job or pay a worker, verify the current wage determination on SAM.gov or with the Wage and Hour Division.

We built these tables because the official source is hard to read fast. SAM.gov serves determinations as a search app and downloadable PDFs, not a clean per-classification table. We render the same numbers in a format you can scan. That convenience does not change what governs the job. The determination on SAM.gov is the legal record. It can be modified after our last sync. Getting a rate wrong on a covered job is expensive. You can owe back wages, and in serious cases face debarment from federal contracting. So the standing rule holds.

Verify the current wage determination on SAM.gov or with the DOL Wage and Hour Division before bidding or paying. The official determination governs; this page is a readable copy.

Frequently asked questions

Are these rates official?

The numbers are copied from official determinations, but this page is not the official record itself. Federal rates come from Davis-Bacon wage determinations on SAM.gov; state rates come from the state schedule. We publish a readable, dated copy and link the source on every page. The determination on SAM.gov governs the job.

How current are the rates?

We re-sync against SAM.gov every week and stamp each page with the date we last pulled it. When a determination is modified, we update the rate and its effective date. Because SAM.gov can amend a determination at any time, always confirm the current version before you rely on a number.

Can I set my bid or payroll straight from this page?

Use it to plan, then verify before you commit. A rate can change between our weekly sync and your bid, and the official determination, not our copy, is what an auditor checks. Confirm the current WD on SAM.gov, and for a prevailing-wage-law state, the state schedule too.

Where do the state rates come from?

They come from each state labor or industrial-relations agency, such as the California DIR, for the roughly two dozen states that run their own prevailing-wage law. On a job those agencies cover, the state rate can be higher than the federal one, and you owe the higher figure.

Reviewed against primary DOL, 29 CFR and SAM.gov sources per our editorial process. For individualized advice on a specific project, consult a licensed professional or the DOL Wage and Hour Division.