Michigan Drywall Workers Comp Rates (2026)

The published Michigan pure premium for drywall workers comp, class 5445 (Wallboard Installation Within Buildings; Steel Frame Erection: Light Gauge Steel: Interior: By Contractors Engaged in Wallboard Installation), is $1.539 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $2.31.

A pure premium covers expected claims only. Each carrier files its own multiplier for expenses; in the states that publish the full list, the median is about 1.5, which is what the typical premium here uses. Your quote can be lower or higher. Source.

Michigan class code for drywall

5445: Wallboard Installation Within Buildings; Steel Frame Erection: Light Gauge Steel: Interior: By Contractors Engaged in Wallboard Installation

Michigan is an independent bureau state that uses NCCI-style four-digit codes (the manual contains NCCI copyrighted material) but has Michigan-specific classes for several trades, e.g. 5476 painting instead of 5474, 5550 HVAC instead of 5537, a 5551 pitched vs 5552 flat roofing split, and 9521 for carpet and resilient flooring instead of 5478.

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 Michigan

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,050 drywall and ceiling tile installers on payrolls in Michigan (May 2025), the 19th largest workforce of the 49 states with published figures. The median wage is $28.10 an hour, in line with the US median of $28.33.

This trade is a smaller part of the Michigan job market than it is nationally: drywall and ceiling tile installers hold 0.45 times their national share of jobs there.

At a typical Michigan premium of about $2.31 per $100 of payroll (the published pure premium of $1.54 for class 5445 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.65 for every hour worked, or $1,350 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $4,050 a year in premium before any experience mod.

Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Michigan pay runs from $20.50 an hour at the 10th percentile to $37.00 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.47 an hour on a new hire and $0.85 on a senior hand.

Workers comp requirements in Michigan

Coverage required: 3+ employees, or 1 employee working 35+ hours/week for 13+ weeks
Owners and sole proprietors: Owners excluded for themselves; officers may exclude themselves if they own 10%+
State fund: Private market (no state fund)
Waiting period: 7 days; first week also retroactive if disability continues 14+ days
Penalty for going without: Misdemeanor: up to $1,000 and/or 6 months jail, each day a separate offense

Michigan pays wage loss at 80% of after-tax average weekly wage, not the roughly two-thirds of gross most states use.

Michigan vs neighboring states

Indiana: about $1.72 per $100 of payroll
Ohio: about $2.05 per $100 of payroll
Wisconsin: about $4.34 per $100 of payroll

Among its neighbors, Indiana is the cheapest for drywall comp at $1.72 and Wisconsin the most expensive at $4.34 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.