Wisconsin Prevailing Wage

Wisconsin no longer has a state prevailing wage law. It was repealed in 2017 as part of the 2017-2019 state budget, making Wisconsin one of the last Midwest states to eliminate its statute. There is no state-published wage schedule, no state certified-payroll requirement, and no state agency setting rates for state, county, or municipal construction. For a contractor bidding non-federal public work in Wisconsin, this means you build labor cost from your own crews, market rates, and prevailing local conditions rather than from a mandated rate determination.

The repeal does not touch federal law. Any project that is federally funded or federally assisted in Wisconsin remains subject to the Davis-Bacon Act for contracts over $2,000. On those jobs you must pay the published Davis-Bacon wage determination for each trade classification, include the required fringe benefits, and file weekly certified payrolls. The biggest estimating risk in a repeal state is assuming all public work is now rate-free; federal pass-through funding on highway, transit, housing, or other assisted projects quietly re-imposes the full Davis-Bacon obligation, and underpricing that labor exposes you to back wages and debarment.

Practically, scrub each solicitation for its funding source before you set your labor line. For purely state- or locally-funded work, you have room to compete on your real cost basis, but watch for any wage language an owner inserts contractually even absent a statute. For federally funded work, load the correct Davis-Bacon rates, fringes, and the administrative hours needed to run compliant certified payroll. Because prevailing wage remains a recurring legislative topic, verify the current status near bid time so your assumptions stay accurate.