New Jersey Drywall Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published New Jersey rate for drywall workers comp, class 5445 (Wallboard Installation Within Building & Drivers), is $6.91 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Your experience modifier and any carrier discounts adjust it.
This is the published manual rate, so it already includes carrier expenses. Source.
New Jersey class code for drywall
- 5445: Wallboard Installation Within Building & Drivers
New Jersey is an independent bureau state that uses NCCI-style 4-digit codes but with its own phraseologies and several state-specific assignments, e.g. HVAC under 3724, concrete flatwork under 5200, and no 5537, 5478 or 5221.
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 Jersey
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,340 drywall and ceiling tile installers on payrolls in New Jersey (May 2025), the 16th largest workforce of the 49 states with published figures. The median wage is $36.09 an hour, 27% above the US median of $28.33.
This trade is a smaller part of the New Jersey job market than it is nationally: drywall and ceiling tile installers hold 0.58 times their national share of jobs there.
At the published New Jersey rate of $6.91 per $100 of payroll for class 5445, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $2.49 for every hour worked, or $5,187 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $15,561 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. New Jersey pay runs from $18.26 an hour at the 10th percentile to $56.83 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $1.26 an hour on a new hire and $3.93 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in New Jersey
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Automatically excluded on a policy; may elect coverage via a Notice of Election
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if disability extends beyond 7 days
- Penalty for going without: Up to $5,000 per 10-day period; knowing failure is a fourth-degree crime (up to $10,000 and 18 months)
New Jersey sets rates through its own independent bureau (NJCRIB) rather than NCCI, and caps temporary disability at 400 weeks.
New Jersey vs neighboring states
- Delaware: about $3.79 per $100 of payroll
- New York: about $9.59 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $4.39 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, Delaware is the cheapest for drywall comp at $3.79 and New York the most expensive at $9.59 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.