Massachusetts Concrete Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Massachusetts rate for concrete workers comp, class 5213 (Concrete Construction NOC (Concrete Work - All Operations)), is $6.11 per $100 of payroll (effective July 1, 2024). Your experience modifier and any carrier discounts adjust it.
This is the published manual rate, so it already includes carrier expenses. Source.
Massachusetts class codes for concrete
- 5221: Paving or Repaving - Floors, Driveways, Yards or Sidewalks & Drivers
- 5213: Concrete Construction NOC (Concrete Work - All Operations)
- 5215: Concrete Private Residences Construction - Not Monolithic
Massachusetts has its own classification system and manual, with NCCI-style numbers for most trades but its own codes in places (roofing split into 5545 sloped and 5547 flat, no 5537 HVAC class, no 5436), plus a wage-based Massachusetts Construction Classification Premium Adjustment Program (MCCPAP) credit for qualifying construction employers.
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 Massachusetts
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,590 cement masons and concrete finishers on payrolls in Massachusetts (May 2025), the 34th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $30.69 an hour, 12% above the US median of $27.41.
This trade is a smaller part of the Massachusetts job market than it is nationally: cement masons and concrete finishers hold 0.33 times their national share of jobs there.
At the published Massachusetts rate of $6.11 per $100 of payroll for class 5213, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.88 for every hour worked, or $3,900 a year full time. A 4-person crew comes to roughly $15,601 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Massachusetts pay runs from $23.72 an hour at the 10th percentile to $53.81 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $1.45 an hour on a new hire and $3.29 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Massachusetts
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners of an unincorporated business excluded by default; may elect in
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 5 days; 21+ days paid retroactively from day one
- Penalty for going without: Immediate stop-work order plus $100 per day, and criminal exposure for willful failure
Massachusetts is an administered-pricing state, so carriers generally cannot compete on base rates the way they do elsewhere.
Massachusetts vs neighboring states
- Connecticut: about $8.29 per $100 of payroll
- New York: about $24.68 per $100 of payroll
- Vermont: about $8.17 per $100 of payroll
Massachusetts has the lowest concrete comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more per $100 of payroll.
If your crews work across the line, list those states under item 3.A or 3.C of your policy before the job starts. Rates follow the state where the work is done, not where your office is.
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.