Kentucky Drywall Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Kentucky does not publish its drywall class figures online. Across the 25 states that do, the median typical premium is about $4.08 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 drywall
- 5445: Wallboard Installation - Within Buildings & Drivers
- 5480 (Plastering NOC & Drivers)
- 5491 (Paperhanging & Drivers)
Drywall work carries lifting injuries from heavy sheets, dust exposure, and ladder and scaffold falls on high walls and ceilings.
What comp costs per drywall installer in Kentucky
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 490 drywall and ceiling tile installers on payrolls in Kentucky (May 2025), the 32nd largest workforce of the 49 states with published figures. The median wage is $23.24 an hour, 18% below the US median of $28.33.
This trade is a smaller part of the Kentucky job market than it is nationally: drywall and ceiling tile installers hold 0.46 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $4.08 per $100 of payroll (Kentucky does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.95 for every hour worked, or $1,972 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $5,917 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Kentucky pay runs from $11.07 an hour at the 10th percentile to $33.06 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.45 an hour on a new hire and $1.35 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 $1.72 per $100 of payroll
- Missouri: about $4.90 per $100 of payroll
- Ohio: about $2.05 per $100 of payroll
- West Virginia: about $1.78 per $100 of payroll
Kentucky does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, Indiana is the cheapest for drywall comp at about $1.72 and Missouri the most expensive at about $4.90 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 drywall comp bill
- Drywall hangers and tapers usually share one class. Stilt and scaffold falls and lifting injuries are the claims to manage.
- Piece-rate pay is common in drywall. Comp is still charged on the full amount paid, so piece-rate crews do not lower premium.
- Drywall subs without their own coverage are the largest audit risk in this trade. Collect certificates before the first board goes up.
- If you also frame or do acoustic ceilings, those can be separate classes. Record payroll for each kind of work.