Maine Drywall Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Maine 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 Maine figure.
No official Maine figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Maine 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 Maine
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 150 drywall and ceiling tile installers on payrolls in Maine (May 2025), the 44th largest workforce of the 49 states with published figures. The median wage is $28.89 an hour, 2% above the US median of $28.33.
This trade is a smaller part of the Maine job market than it is nationally: drywall and ceiling tile installers hold 0.43 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $4.08 per $100 of payroll (Maine does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.18 for every hour worked, or $2,452 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $7,355 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Maine pay runs from $23.59 an hour at the 10th percentile to $34.24 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.96 an hour on a new hire and $1.40 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Maine
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners of 20%+ may waive in writing; LLC members opt out without a written waiver
- State fund: Private market; MEMIC (employer-owned mutual) is the residual carrier
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive if incapacity exceeds 14 days
- Penalty for going without: Knowing failure is a Class D crime; civil penalty up to $10,000 or 108% of the avoided premium
Maine's entire residual market runs through one employer-owned mutual, MEMIC, created after the state's early-1990s coverage crisis.
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.