Davis-Bacon Prevailing Wage Calculator
Compliance Status
Non-Compliant
Employer-provided fringe benefits ($0.00/hr) are below the required rate ($16.00/hr). The shortfall of $16.00/hr must be paid in cash.
Fringe shortfall: $16.00/hr must be paid in cash
This Davis-Bacon calculator estimates prevailing wage obligations on federally funded construction by combining a base hourly wage with a required fringe rate for a chosen trade and state. It checks whether the fringe benefits an employer already provides meet the requirement, computes the cash equivalent and overtime rate, and flags compliance status. The bundled wage rates are representative cost-of-living-tier approximations, not the exact published wage determinations.
Formula
Regular pay = (Base + max(0, Fringe − Provided)) × RegHrs; OT pay = (1.5 × Base + max(0, Fringe − Provided)) × OTHrs
- Base
- Prevailing base hourly wage for the trade and state tier
- Fringe
- Required fringe benefit rate per hour
- Provided
- Fringe benefits the employer already provides per hour
- RegHrs / OTHrs
- Regular and overtime hours worked
How it works
- Pick a trade classification (electrician, plumber, carpenter, laborer, ironworker, operator, painter, or mason) and a state. The state maps to a high, mid, or low cost tier that sets the base wage and required fringe rate.
- Enter regular hours, overtime hours, and the dollar value of fringe benefits already provided per hour. The calculator finds any fringe shortfall (required fringe minus provided) that must be paid in cash.
- It computes the cash equivalent (base wage plus shortfall), the overtime rate as 1.5× the base wage plus straight-time fringe, then regular and overtime pay, and reports whether provided fringes meet the requirement.
Worked example
An electrician in California (high-cost tier: $62 base, $28 required fringe) works 40 regular and 8 overtime hours, with $10/hr of fringe benefits already provided.
- Fringe shortfall: 28 − 10 = $18/hr, so the cash equivalent is 62 + 18 = $80/hr.
- Regular pay: 80 × 40 = $3,200.
- Overtime rate uses 1.5 × base plus the cash shortfall: (62 × 1.5 + 18) = $111/hr, so OT pay = 111 × 8 = $888.
- Total gross pay: 3,200 + 888 = $4,088. Provided fringe ($10) is below the required $28, so the status is non-compliant.
Total gross pay is $4,088, with a non-compliant status flagging that the $18/hr fringe shortfall must be paid in cash on top of the base wage.
Frequently asked questions
- How is the Davis-Bacon overtime rate calculated?
- Overtime applies the 1.5× multiplier to the base wage only — the fringe benefit portion is paid at straight time. So the overtime hourly rate is 1.5 times the base wage plus the full required fringe (or the cash shortfall when fringes are paid as wages).
- Can fringe benefits be paid as cash instead of benefits?
- Yes. The required fringe can be satisfied through bona fide benefit plans, as cash added to wages, or a combination. If provided benefits fall short of the required rate, the difference must be paid in cash, which is the shortfall this calculator computes.
- Are these the official wage determination rates?
- No. The bundled rates are representative approximations grouped by state cost-of-living tier for planning and estimating. Actual obligations come from the specific wage determination (WD) attached to your contract, which you must obtain from the published federal source.
- When does Davis-Bacon prevailing wage apply?
- The Davis-Bacon Act applies to laborers and mechanics on federally funded or assisted contracts for construction over $2,000. Many states have their own "little Davis-Bacon" prevailing wage laws that can apply to state-funded work as well.