Workers' compensation insurance cost varies more by state than almost any other business insurance line. The same class code, the same payroll, and the same clean loss history can produce premiums that differ by 3x or more depending on where the employees actually work. This guide breaks down the average workers' comp rate per $100 of payroll in every state, the typical minimum premium, and the states where you cannot buy coverage from a private carrier at all.
If you want a number for your specific business, our Workers' Comp Instant Estimate tool on the home page uses your class code, payroll, and state to produce a starting range in under 15 seconds — then we shop it across 20+ A-rated carriers to sharpen the final rate.
How workers' comp premium is calculated
Every workers' comp quote in the United States follows the same formula: (Annual Payroll ÷ 100) × Class Code Rate × Experience Modifier × State Modifier, plus taxes, assessments, and any expense constant. The class code rate is set by NCCI or a state rating bureau; the state modifier reflects how expensive claims tend to be in that state; the experience modifier (ex-mod) reflects your own claim history.
That is why a landscaper in California and a landscaper in Indiana pay wildly different premiums for the exact same payroll. The class code is the same. Everything else is not.
Average workers' comp cost by state (2026)
The table below shows the approximate average premium per $100 of payroll across all class codes in each state, based on NCCI and state bureau filings for 2025–2026 policy years. Individual class codes will be higher or lower — office workers are often under $0.20 per $100, while roofers and logging crews can exceed $20 per $100 in the same state.
California: $1.45 · New York: $1.41 · New Jersey: $1.37 · Alaska: $1.98 · Illinois: $1.19 · Hawaii: $1.35 · Louisiana: $1.16 · Connecticut: $1.10 · Vermont: $1.03 · Rhode Island: $0.98.
Florida: $0.90 · Georgia: $0.88 · Pennsylvania: $0.85 · Nevada: $0.82 · Michigan: $0.80 · Colorado: $0.79 · Arizona: $0.75 · Tennessee: $0.72 · North Carolina: $0.68 · Virginia: $0.66.
Texas: $0.65 · Ohio (state fund): $0.63 · Utah: $0.61 · Kentucky: $0.60 · Oregon: $0.58 · Missouri: $0.57 · Kansas: $0.55 · Iowa: $0.54 · Wisconsin: $0.52 · Indiana: $0.51.
Arkansas: $0.50 · New Mexico: $0.55 · Mississippi: $0.55 · Alabama: $0.62 · South Carolina: $0.63 · Oklahoma: $0.65 · Maine: $0.70 · New Hampshire: $0.72 · Massachusetts: $0.66 · Maryland: $0.71.
Delaware: $0.85 · West Virginia: $0.70 · Minnesota: $0.75 · Nebraska: $0.68 · South Dakota: $0.60 · North Dakota (state fund): $0.55 · Wyoming (state fund): $0.90 · Idaho: $0.62 · Montana: $0.85 · Washington (state fund): $1.10.
These are blended averages. Your rate depends on your class code and ex-mod, not the state average.
Monopolistic state funds: North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, Wyoming
Four states do not allow private carriers to write standard workers' compensation. If you have employees in North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, or Wyoming, you must buy workers' comp directly from that state's fund — Workforce Safety & Insurance (ND), Ohio BWC, L&I (WA), or the Wyoming Workers' Compensation Division.
Private commercial packages in those states can still include employer's liability (Stop Gap) coverage, which fills the gap the state fund does not provide. If your policy is silent on Stop Gap and you have any exposure in those four states, you have a real coverage hole.
Competitive state funds vs. private market
Several states operate a competitive state fund that quotes alongside private carriers — California (State Fund), New York (NYSIF), Pennsylvania (SWIF), Colorado (Pinnacol), Utah (WCF), Kentucky (KEMI), Louisiana (LWCC), Missouri (Missouri Employers Mutual), Oklahoma (CompSource), Oregon (SAIF), Arizona (CopperPoint), Maine (MEMIC), Minnesota (SFM), Montana (Montana State Fund), New Mexico (NMMIC), Rhode Island (Beacon), and Idaho (Idaho State Insurance Fund).
In these states, a competitive shop should include the state fund plus at least three private A-rated carriers. The state fund is often the market of last resort for high-hazard classes but can also be the low bid for clean, hard-to-place risks.
Minimum premium by state
Almost every workers' comp policy has a minimum annual premium — the smallest amount the carrier will charge regardless of payroll. Minimums typically run $500 to $1,500 in low-cost states and $1,200 to $2,500 in California, New York, and New Jersey. Some monopolistic funds set the floor even higher.
For very small employers — a one-person S-corp or a two-employee shop — the minimum premium often drives the entire cost of the policy. If you are quoted $1,800 in California for $40,000 of clerical payroll, you are paying the minimum, not the rate.
What actually moves your rate
Four things move a workers' comp quote more than the state average: the class code assignment (a misclassified employee in a higher hazard code can double the premium), the experience modifier (an ex-mod of 0.85 vs. 1.15 is a 30% swing on the same payroll), the payroll split (segregating clerical payroll from field payroll can drop premium significantly), and the carrier's individual filed rate for that class code (private carriers deviate from bureau loss costs by different percentages).
A good broker fights all four levers. A bad broker quotes the state average and calls it a day.
Get your exact number in 15 seconds
State averages are useful for budgeting but not for buying. Use our Workers' Comp Instant Estimate on the home page to get a starting range for your specific class code, payroll, and state. From there, KTL benchmarks across 20+ A-rated carriers and the applicable state fund to lock in the actual lowest rate — usually well below the state blended average once class-code splits and ex-mod credits are applied.