Pick a trade and state to see real hourly rates.
Current BLS California employee wages for Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers, SOC 47-2171; excludes premium pay and benefits.
Last updated October 21, 2026. Rates are market estimates, not guarantees.
Pick a trade and state to see real hourly rates.
Current BLS California employee wages for Reinforcing Iron and Rebar Workers, SOC 47-2171; excludes premium pay and benefits.
Last updated October 21, 2026. Rates are market estimates, not guarantees.
Hiring guide · California
Hire for accurate placement, stable cages and safe pour preparation.
Build a crew around the reinforcement drawings, assembly sizes and concrete sequence. This guide helps California employers separate employee hiring from C-50 subcontracting, reach training organizations and assess placement skills. Budget employee wages alongside benefits and supervision, then assign responsibility for reinforcement stability and impalement protection.
Candidate availability moves week to week. What does not move is the screening: the certifications below are what decide whether someone can be badged onto your site at all.
The levels are separated by what the state allows a person to do unsupervised, not by how good they are. Hiring the wrong level is the most common and most expensive mistake on a trade requisition.
Productive under supervision and cheap, but they cannot be left on a task the state licenses, and they need someone qualified with them.
Works unsupervised and can carry a helper. This is the level almost every requisition is actually describing.
Runs crews across sites, owns compliance outcomes, and where the trade allows, pulls permits and qualifies the work.
Budget $30.34 an hour for a qualified rebar worker in California, from $21.27 at entry level to $51.94 at the top. Add a quarter to a third on top for payroll taxes, insurance and equipment, and price overtime at time and a half.
See the full rebar worker salary guide →California contractor licensing starts at $1,000 total labor and materials, or with permits or hired workers. Employers provide training and coverage. Controlling contractors have written notification, access and coordination duties under §1711.
Contact Local 416's office, Orange Coast's Career Center and the district's Tri-Valley Career Center about recruitment.
Certificates get a candidate past the first filter. These are the questions that separate the ones who can do the work from the ones who have the paperwork, and they change by level.
Certifications listed with no issuing body or date
A licence described as 'in progress'
No supervisor anyone can call
Three or four employers inside a year
Long gaps with no explanation offered
Cards that lapsed and were never renewed
A realistic schedule for a certified rebar worker, from writing the requisition to a badged start. The screening steps are where time is actually lost.
Budget reinforcing employees by assignment. These national figures cover relevant construction sectors.
Deck and column placements need coordinated crews. Assess drawing accuracy and arrange handovers with formwork teams before the scheduled concrete pour.
Bridge cages require planned delivery and rigging. Ask candidates about comparable assemblies and organize safe access around the project's traffic arrangements.
Foundation reinforcement demands accurate bar placement. Screen for spacing, supports and tying, then plan staging so bundles reach the crew safely.
Post a role and reach OSHA-certified candidates in your area.
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