Insurance
How much does workers’ comp cost for a plumber?
Key takeaways
- Plumbing work is commonly classified as class 5183, but only a carrier or rating bureau can assign your class.
- A labeled Indiana example at $20 an hour and 40 hours a week uses the ICRB advisory rate and lands on the filing’s $451 minimum premium.
- The same payroll in Wisconsin, using the WCRB manual rate effective October 1, 2026, estimates $920.19 before carrier adjustments.
- These are published starting points, not quotes, and must not be copied into a different state.
On this page
A first plumbing hire adds a workers’ compensation premium on top of wages and payroll taxes. The usual formula is payroll divided by 100, multiplied by the class rate. The rate itself comes from the state where the work is done, not from a national average. This page shows only official bureau figures we could retrieve, and it is not a quote or a class determination.
The formula
In most states, estimated premium is (annual payroll ÷ 100) × class rate, then compared with any minimum premium, and then adjusted by an experience modifier and other carrier factors. Washington prices industrial insurance per worker hour instead; that system is not used in the examples below.
For a full-time helper at $20 an hour and 40 hours a week, annual wages are $41,600, or 416 units of $100 of payroll.
Official Indiana advisory example (class 5183)
The Indiana ICRB advisory filing effective January 1, 2026 lists class 5183 (plumbing) at $0.924 per $100 of payroll, with a $0.679 loss cost and a $451 minimum premium. Those are advisory rates, not a binder. 416 × $0.924 equals $384.38, which is below the $451 minimum, so a first-year policy can land on the minimum. The calculator applies that minimum when Indiana and plumbing are selected and the minimum-premium option is on.
Official Wisconsin manual-rate example (class 5183)
The Wisconsin WCRB Class Code Lookup for 5183 (Plumbing NOC and drivers), retrieved November 13, 2026, lists a manual rate of $2.212 per $100 of payroll and a minimum premium of $618, effective October 1, 2026. Using the same $41,600 payroll, 416 × $2.212 equals $920.19, which is above the published minimum, so the estimated premium in the calculator is $920.19 before carrier adjustments. This is still an estimate, not a bound policy.
New York loss cost (not a premium)
The NYCIRB Classification Digest dashboard for class 5183 lists a loss cost of 3.519, effective October 1, 2026, for “Plumbing – NOC – All Operations to Completion & Drivers.” A loss cost is a starting point for losses, not the rate a carrier charges. We do not prefill that number in the calculator as if it were a premium rate. If you work in New York, enter the rate from your quote.
What this page does not do
We do not republish NCCI class or rate data, and we do not invent a national plumber rate. Florida assigned-risk tables, Pennsylvania and Delaware loss-cost filings, and official fund rates for Ohio, North Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming were not loaded into these examples in this update. For those states, get a quote and paste the rate into the calculator. Coverage rules differ by state; see Do I need workers’ comp for my first employee?.
Frequently asked questions
How is a plumber's workers' comp premium estimated?
Usually as payroll divided by 100, multiplied by the class rate, then adjusted for minimum premium, experience modification, and carrier factors. That is an estimate, not a quote.
What official rates can FirstHire show for plumbing?
This page uses the Indiana ICRB advisory rate for class 5183 effective January 1, 2026, and the Wisconsin WCRB manual rate for class 5183 effective October 1, 2026. New York's NYCIRB page publishes a class 5183 loss cost, which is not a final rate. Other states stay on enter-your-quote.
Add your quote Enter a workers’ comp rate in the calculator and see the true hourly cost.
Open the calculatorAfter you have a workers’ compensation quote, you can Run payroll with Gusto so wages and payroll taxes stay in sync. Gusto is a payroll service, not the insurer, and this is not a guarantee of a policy or a rate. In Ohio and North Dakota, use the official state fund rather than a private workers’ compensation policy.
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When you want a private-market workers’ compensation quote in a state where private policies are sold, you can start with this partner form. We do not recommend a specific insurer, and we do not quote or bind coverage.
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To get a quote, talk to a licensed agent or a carrier authorized in the state where the work is done. In Ohio, North Dakota, Washington, or Wyoming, start with the official state fund.
These figures come from the linked official bureau pages or filings, reviewed November 13, 2026. They are planning estimates, not a binder, not a class assignment, and not a recommendation of any insurer. Confirm the current filing and a licensed quote in the state where the work is done before you hire.