What is the SCA wage rate for laborers by state?
Across 1,521 active Service Contract Act wage determinations, the median base rate for a laborer (occupation 23470) is $18.57 per hour nationally; the highest state median is $21.54 in Minnesota and the lowest is $11.87 in PR.
Source: SCA Wage Determination Rankings, BidSparq
Data as of: September 9, 2026 (refreshed weekly)
Sample: 1,032 rate lines across 1,521 active SCA wage determinations, 55 states and territories
License: free to cite with attribution to BidSparq
Essential statistics
- National range across all determinations: $11.33 to $24.42 per hour base wage.
- Top three state medians: Minnesota $21.54, North Dakota $21.45, Alaska $21.44.
- 16 of 55 states and territories have a median base rate of $20 or more per hour for laborers.
- Median fringe (health and welfare) where the top state's determinations list it: $5.92 per hour, paid on top of the base rate.
- 1,032 rate lines for this occupation across the active determinations, refreshed weekly from SAM.gov.
SCA Laborer Wage Rates by State: top 15 state medians
| Rank | State | Median base | Highest base | Median fringe | Rate lines |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | $21.54 | $22.75 | $5.92 | 20 |
| 2 | North Dakota | $21.45 | $23.29 | $5.92 | 14 |
| 3 | Alaska | $21.44 | $24.42 | $5.92 | 8 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $21.30 | $22.53 | $5.92 | 53 |
| 5 | Hawaii | $21.21 | $22.83 | $5.92 | 7 |
| 6 | Nebraska | $21.14 | $21.86 | $5.92 | 20 |
| 7 | Connecticut | $21.02 | $21.84 | $5.92 | 30 |
| 8 | Washington | $21.00 | $22.95 | $5.92 | 28 |
| 9 | Wisconsin | $20.99 | $22.77 | $5.92 | 29 |
| 10 | AS | $20.95 | $21.48 | $5.92 | 5 |
| 11 | Iowa | $20.85 | $22.81 | $5.92 | 25 |
| 12 | New Jersey | $20.81 | $21.48 | $5.92 | 17 |
| 13 | California | $20.71 | $23.27 | $5.92 | 44 |
| 14 | Washington DC | $20.47 | $20.47 | $5.92 | 1 |
| 15 | New York | $20.38 | $23.14 | $5.92 | 29 |
What this means
A Service Contract Act wage determination sets the minimum hourly base wage and fringe benefits a federal service contractor must pay each covered occupation in a locality. Bidders price labor from these floors, so the state medians here are the practical starting point for a laborer line in a federal service bid.
Per-state figures aggregate every active determination that lists the state; multi-state determinations count for each state they cover. Base wage only is ranked, with the median fringe shown separately. Davis-Bacon (construction) determinations are excluded from this series until their coverage is verified complete.
To price a specific solicitation, use the determination number incorporated in that solicitation rather than a state median; the median tells you where your locality sits in the national range.
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