New Hampshire Drywall Workers Comp Rates (2026)
New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire figure.
No official New Hampshire figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 370 drywall and ceiling tile installers on payrolls in New Hampshire (May 2025), the 34th largest workforce of the 49 states with published figures. The median wage is $29.79 an hour, 5% above the US median of $28.33.
Drywall and ceiling tile installers make up about the same share of New Hampshire jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.02).
At the US median of $4.08 per $100 of payroll (New Hampshire does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.22 for every hour worked, or $2,528 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $7,584 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. New Hampshire pay runs from $21.24 an hour at the 10th percentile to $49.10 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.87 an hour on a new hire and $2.00 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in New Hampshire
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners excluded for self; construction officers doing hands-on site work must be covered
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive if disability exceeds 14 days or the worker returns to light duty within 5 days
- Penalty for going without: Up to $2,500 plus $100 per employee per day; purposeful failure is a Class B felony
New Hampshire waives the waiting period retroactively if the worker returns to temporary alternative work within five days.
New Hampshire vs neighboring states
- Massachusetts: about $3.94 per $100 of payroll
- Vermont: about $6.99 per $100 of payroll
New Hampshire does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, Massachusetts is the cheapest for drywall comp at about $3.94 and Vermont the most expensive at about $6.99 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 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.