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Salary Guides / California
Scaffold Worker Salary in California
Read California carpenter wage ranges alongside scaffold duties, paid hours, training responsibilities and the costs attached to each offer.
What Scaffold Workers Earn in California
California employee wages for Carpenters span $22.83–$57.67/hr, or $47,490–$119,950 a year. This broader occupation includes scaffold builders, so the figures cover more than scaffold erection. Premium pay and benefits are excluded. Match an offer to its scaffold systems, erection duties and paid hours, then compare health coverage, retirement contributions and travel arrangements separately. Ask who directs assembly and how required instruction fits your paid workday.
Hourly rates by level in California
What each rung of the trade is paid, before overtime and per diem.
Where do you stand?
Enter your hourly rate to see how it compares to other scaffold workers in California.
What are you making?
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Use your base rate, not what you take home after overtime.
You're right around the middle
$28.00 is above roughly 46% of this market. The top quarter starts at $36.00, and the median sits at $29.00.
Calculate pay with extra credentials
Pick your level, add certifications, select shift — the estimate updates live.
1Your level
2Certifications you hold
3Shift & work type
4Overtime & per diem
An estimate, not an offer. Overtime is paid at time and a half past forty hours.
Who pays the most in California
These national carpenter figures cover three different construction employment settings. For California scaffold offers, ask how each employer pays staging, alterations and dismantling.
Nonresidential Building Construction
Commercial building crews need scaffold access coordinated with following trades. Ask California employers how repeated platform alterations fit the paid schedule. Include required component sorting and movement when discussing the start and finish of shifts.
Residential Building Construction
Housebuilding and remodeling involve access around changing elevations. Discuss paid component handling and moves between California housing sites with the employer. Ask where the paid day starts when crews report to a yard for materials.
Which states pay scaffold workers the most
Median hourly across every state with a published guide for this trade. Cost of living is not netted out — compare take-home, not just the rate.
What each certification is worth
Sorted by payback speed.
| Certification | Rate bump | Extra / year | Cost | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western States Carpenters Training Fund Scaffold Erector Apprenticeship (journeyperson) | +$5.44 | $11,315 | $0 | 0 weeks |
| OSHA 30-Hour Construction | +$2.52 | $5,242 | $159 | 2 weeks |
| OSHA 10-Hour Construction | +$0.84 | $1,747 | $59 | 2 weeks |
| Fall Protection Competent Person | +$0.67 | $1,394 |
What overtime actually adds
Past forty hours the rate is time and a half. Built from the rate above. At $36.50/hr.
Questions workers ask
Do these bands set my apprenticeship increases?▾
Does dismantling count toward overtime?▾
What should I ask about public works pay?▾
See Open Scaffold Worker Jobs in California
Verified positions matching this trade and location.
Current BLS California employee wages for Carpenters, SOC 47-2031; a broader benchmark that includes scaffold builders, excluding premium pay and benefits.
Last updated October 21, 2026. Rates are market estimates, not guarantees.
