---
pretty_name: "State prevailing wage law applicability thresholds"
license: other
license_name: source-terms-cited
license_link: https://referencesource.org/state-prevailing-wage-thresholds/
language:
- en
tags:
- reference-data
- provenance
- referencesource-org
configs:
- config_name: default
  data_files:
  - split: train
    path: data/records.jsonl
---
# State prevailing wage law applicability thresholds

**Canonical, always-current version: https://referencesource.org/state-prevailing-wage-thresholds/**
Machine-readable: https://referencesource.org/state-prevailing-wage-thresholds/data.json — this mirror is a point-in-time copy.

- **Last verified:** 2026-08-13
- **Stale after:** 2027-08-13 (past this date, prefer the canonical copy —
  it re-verifies on a cadence this snapshot does not)
- **Records:** 11

At what project dollar amount does the prevailing wage apply in each state? About 28 US states have their own prevailing wage laws ('Little Davis-Bacon Acts') covering state- and locally-funded construction. The threshold ranges from $0 (New York, Illinois — all public works) to $1,000 (California) to $500,000 (Colorado) to $1,000,000 (Connecticut new construction). The remaining ~22 states have no prevailing wage law. The federal Davis-Bacon Act applies to all federally-funded construction over $2,000 regardless of state. One record per state, sourced from that state's department of labor. Answers 'does prevailing wage apply to my project in Texas', 'what is the prevailing wage threshold in California', 'which states have prevailing wage laws', and 'do I have to pay prevailing wage on a $50,000 state project'. The DOL published the definitive comparison at dol.gov but it returns 403 to non-browser fetchers, so agents and assistants are locked out of the federal reference.

## Provenance — what every record carries

Every record carries `source` (the URL the value was read from) and
`source_quote` (a verbatim quote from that page stating it). A value you
cannot check against its page is indistinguishable from an invented one;
these can all be checked. Each record is also individually addressable on
the canonical site at its `url`.

## Licence position

Facts extracted from state department of labor pages, with attributed quote and link back. Prevailing wage thresholds are public regulatory facts published by state agencies. No source carries a restrictive notice.

Facts are not copyrightable; what this dataset takes from each source is a
fact plus a short attributed quote linking back to the page that states it.

## Sources

- https://www.dir.ca.gov/public-works/prevailing-wage.html
- https://osa.colorado.gov/state-buildings/prevailing-wage-and-apprenticeship
- https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol02_Ch0046-0115/HRS0104/HRS_0104-0002.htm
- https://www.labor.maryland.gov/labor/prev/
- https://www.dli.mn.gov/business/employment-practices/prevailing-wage-contracting-agencies
- https://labor.mo.gov/dls/prevailing-wage
- https://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/NRS-338.html
- https://www.oregon.gov/boli/employers/Pages/which-prevailing-wage-rate-applies-to-this-project.aspx
- https://dlt.ri.gov/regulation-and-safety/prevailing-wage
- https://doli.virginia.gov/programs/labor-law/prevailing-wage-law/
- https://lni.wa.gov/licensing-permits/public-works-projects/

## Fields

See any record in `data/records.jsonl` — field names are self-describing,
and the canonical page for each record renders them with labels:
https://referencesource.org/state-prevailing-wage-thresholds/