GROUNDWORK Public-construction intelligence · Delaware
DELAWARE · BUILDING CONSTRUCTION

Delaware prevailing wage rates for building construction

The rate a state building-construction project of more than $500,000 must pay each trade, by county — read straight from the Department of Labor determination effective March 13, 2026. Every figure is the state’s own published number.

26
trade classifications
3
counties (NCC · Kent · Sussex)
Mar 13 2026
determination effective date
>$500K
project threshold for coverage
TRADE CLASSIFICATION NEW CASTLE KENT SUSSEX

These are the state’s published rates, shown verbatim. The Delaware determination lists one prevailing wage rate per classification per county; that is the number shown here, in dollars per hour. Non-registered apprentices must be paid the mechanic’s rate. The Department of Labor states these rates “are not intended to apply to any specific project” — always confirm against the current determination and the project’s own specifications before you bid.
Filing certified payroll on one of these jobs?
These rates are the total hourly obligation — wages including fringe benefits — that a covered worker must be paid. Delaware also requires sworn payroll every week, and 29 Del. C. §6960(e) sets a civil penalty of $1,000–$5,000 per violation for failing to submit. The state’s own form totals your hours and deductions; it does not tell you whether the rate you paid is legal.

SWORN applies this determination to your weekly hours, flags underpayment, apprentice-registration and apprentice-ratio problems before you sign, and produces the official four-page DIA Payroll Report. Payroll never leaves your browser. $29/month — https://swornpayroll.com

How to read this

What prevailing wage is

Delaware sets a minimum hourly rate, by trade and county, that must be paid to workers on state-funded construction over $500,000. The Department of Labor sets it each year from a survey of what contractors actually pay; if more than half the reported hours in a classification are paid at one rate, that becomes the prevailing rate.

Building is one of three schedules

This page covers the Building Construction determination — the schedule that governs vertical building work like the county’s new library. The state issues separate schedules for Heavy and Highway construction, with their own rates.

Primary source only

Every rate here is transcribed from the Department of Labor’s certified determination, linked below. Nothing is estimated, averaged, or interpolated. Where the record is silent, this page is silent.

Source: Building determination (PDF) → Heavy determination (PDF) → DE Office of Construction Enforcement → Back to the bid board →