Pennsylvania Drywall Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Pennsylvania loss cost for drywall workers comp, class 0645 (Wallboard Installation - Within Buildings), is $2.929 per $100 of payroll (effective April 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $4.39.
A loss cost 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.
Pennsylvania class code for drywall
- 0645: Wallboard Installation - Within Buildings
Pennsylvania uses its own independent classification system of about 330 classes with PCRB code numbers (written as 3-digit codes or with a leading zero, e.g. 659 or 0659) that do not map one-to-one to NCCI codes.
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 Pennsylvania
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,690 drywall and ceiling tile installers on payrolls in Pennsylvania (May 2025), the 10th largest workforce of the 49 states with published figures. The median wage is $29.40 an hour, 4% above the US median of $28.33.
This trade is a smaller part of the Pennsylvania job market than it is nationally: drywall and ceiling tile installers hold 0.52 times their national share of jobs there.
At a typical Pennsylvania premium of about $4.39 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $2.93 for class 0645 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.29 for every hour worked, or $2,685 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $8,054 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Pennsylvania pay runs from $18.95 an hour at the 10th percentile to $37.49 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.83 an hour on a new hire and $1.65 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Pennsylvania
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: A sole proprietor with no employees is exempt; required once any employee is hired
- State fund: Competitive state fund (State Workers' Insurance Fund, SWIF)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if disability lasts more than 14 days
- Penalty for going without: Failure to insure is a misdemeanor per day (up to $2,500); intentional failure is a felony (up to $15,000)
Pennsylvania sets rates through the independent PCRB (not NCCI) and runs its own competitive state fund, SWIF.
Pennsylvania vs neighboring states
- Delaware: about $3.79 per $100 of payroll
- New Jersey: about $6.91 per $100 of payroll
- New York: about $9.59 per $100 of payroll
- Ohio: about $2.05 per $100 of payroll
- West Virginia: about $1.78 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, West Virginia is the cheapest for drywall comp at $1.78 and New York the most expensive at $9.59 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.