Kentucky Concrete Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Kentucky does not publish its concrete class figures online. Across the 26 states that do, the median typical premium is about $3.84 per $100 of payroll. Ask a carrier or the state's rating bureau for the current Kentucky figure.
No official Kentucky figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Kentucky class code for concrete
- 5213: Concrete Construction NOC
- 5215 (Concrete Work - Incidental to the Construction of Private Residence)
- 5221 (Concrete or Cement Work - Floors, Driveways, Yards or Sidewalks & Drivers)
Concrete work involves heavy lifting, silica dust from cutting and grinding, skin burns from wet cement, and equipment hazards from mixers, vibrators and pumps.
What comp costs per concrete finisher in Kentucky
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,280 cement masons and concrete finishers on payrolls in Kentucky (May 2025), the 36th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $24.14 an hour, 12% below the US median of $27.41.
This trade is a smaller part of the Kentucky job market than it is nationally: cement masons and concrete finishers hold 0.48 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $3.84 per $100 of payroll (Kentucky does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.93 for every hour worked, or $1,928 a year full time. A 4-person crew comes to roughly $7,712 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Kentucky pay runs from $18.02 an hour at the 10th percentile to $32.47 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.69 an hour on a new hire and $1.25 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Kentucky
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Excluded by default; may elect in; officers may elect out
- State fund: Competitive state fund (Kentucky Employers' Mutual, KEMI)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive if disability lasts 14+ days
- Penalty for going without: $100-$1,000 fine per employee, per day without coverage
Kentucky's uninsured-employer fine is assessed per employee, per day, so exposure compounds quickly.
Kentucky vs neighboring states
- Indiana: about $2.16 per $100 of payroll
- Missouri: about $5.19 per $100 of payroll
- Ohio: about $2.18 per $100 of payroll
- West Virginia: about $1.74 per $100 of payroll
Kentucky does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, West Virginia is the cheapest for concrete comp at about $1.74 and Missouri the most expensive at about $5.19 per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Ohio needs separate coverage from that state's fund. A private policy's other-states coverage (item 3.C) does not reach monopolistic states.
What moves a concrete comp bill
- Concrete classes depend on the work: flatwork and driveways often rate differently from foundations and structural pours. Getting the class right is the first saving.
- Back and crush injuries from forms, rebar, and pump hoses drive claims. A short pre-pour safety check on every job helps your mod over three years.
- Concrete crews often hire short-term labor during the pour season. Every worker you pay counts at audit, so keep clean payroll records for temporary hires.
- Owner-operators who pour alone can often exclude themselves; the rules vary by state, so check before you skip coverage.