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How to read a Davis-Bacon wage determination

Prevailing wage

By the Public Works Desk Team · Last verified · How we check every number · Corrections

Source: Wage determination TX20260271, modification 1 (general notes) (SAM.gov, retrieved 2026-11-13)

A wage determination (WD) is the list of minimum hourly base rates and fringe benefits for each trade,

for one type of construction in one area.

Read it in this order: WD number and modification, construction type and counties, then the line for your trade.

The code at the left of each block (for example ELEC0520-005) tells you where the rate came from.

A project manager and a carpentry foreman in hard hats and safety vests compare a printed wage determination with a crew list at a pickup tailgate on a Texas highway job.

What the rule says

“A four-letter identifier beginning with characters other than "SU", "UAVG", "SA", or "SC"

denotes that a union rate was prevailing for that classification in the survey.”

Wage determination TX20260271, modification 1 (general notes) · SAM.gov, retrieved 2026-11-13

“The UAVG identifier indicates that no single rate prevailed for those classifications,

but that 100% of the data reported for the classifications reflected union rates.”

Wage determination TX20260271, modification 1 (general notes) · SAM.gov, retrieved 2026-11-13

Step by step

  1. Check the headerConfirm the WD number, the modification number and its publication date. Each modification replaces the rates of the previous one.
  2. Check construction type and areaA WD covers one construction type (Building, Heavy, Highway or Residential) and a list of counties. If your project type or county is not listed, it is the wrong WD.
  3. Find your tradeSearch the classification name. Some trades are split (for example, an electrician line that excludes sound and communication work, and a separate installer line for it).
  4. Read base and fringeBase is the minimum hourly cash wage. Fringe is the hourly amount owed for benefits, paid into a bona fide plan or in cash. You owe both.
  5. Read the identifier and footnotesA union identifier (like ELEC0520-005) means a union rate prevailed; SU means survey rates; UAVG a union average. Footnotes can add paid holidays or premiums.

Worked example: Electrician, Travis County TX (TX20260271 mod 1)

Wage determinationTX20260271, modification 1 (published 2026-05-18)
Construction type / areaBuilding · Texas Counties of Travis
ClassificationElectrician (excludes Installation of Sound and Communication Systems)
Rate identifierELEC0520-005 (union rate prevailed; effective 2025-06-02)
Base hourly$36.50
Fringe hourly$10.69
Total package per hour$47.19

See all 48 classifications in this WD on SAM.gov

Common mistakes
  • Using the Building WD on a road or utility job (Heavy/Highway WDs have different rates).
  • Using the latest modification instead of the one in your contract (see which WD applies).
  • Paying the base rate only and forgetting the fringe column.
On state-funded jobs. The federal WD may not be the schedule that binds you. In California the Director of Industrial Relations issues the state determinations; in New York the rates are set under Labor Law § 220; in Texas each public body adopts its own rates under Government Code ch. 2258. See California, New York and Texas.
Limits. This guide — How to read a Davis-Bacon wage determination — quotes the federal rule from the sources below. It is not a substitute for the wage determination or the clause in your contract. State law can be stricter; see the note on state-funded jobs. Worked examples and calculator defaults use the wage determination named on the page, as of the date shown there.

Related

Sources