West Virginia Drywall Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published West Virginia loss cost for drywall workers comp, class 5445 (Wallboard Installation within Buildings & Drivers), is $1.184 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $1.78.
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.
West Virginia 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 West Virginia
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 6,620 construction laborers on payrolls in West Virginia (May 2025), the 39th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $20.51 an hour, 9% below the US median of $22.66.
This trade is a bigger part of the West Virginia job market than it is nationally: construction laborers hold 1.3 times their national share of jobs there.
At a typical West Virginia premium of about $1.78 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $1.18 for class 5445 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.37 for every hour worked, or $759 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $2,278 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. West Virginia pay runs from $14.79 an hour at the 10th percentile to $29.11 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.26 an hour on a new hire and $0.52 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in West Virginia
- Coverage required: Any employee (from the first)
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners not required to cover themselves; may elect in
- State fund: Private market (fully privatized in 2008)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive only if lost time exceeds 7 consecutive days
- Penalty for going without: An uninsured employer loses statutory immunity and can be sued in tort
West Virginia is the most recent state to fully privatize, ending a roughly 90-year monopolistic fund in 2008.
West Virginia vs neighboring states
- Ohio: about $2.05 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $4.39 per $100 of payroll
West Virginia has the lowest drywall comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more 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.