Massachusetts Electrical Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Massachusetts rate for electrical workers comp, class 5190 (Electrical Wiring - Within Buildings & Drivers (phraseology includes Cable Installation, Thermostat Installation - Electric)), is $1.47 per $100 of payroll (effective July 1, 2024). Your experience modifier and any carrier discounts adjust it.
This is the published manual rate, so it already includes carrier expenses. Source.
Massachusetts class code for electrical
- 5190: Electrical Wiring - Within Buildings & Drivers (phraseology includes Cable Installation, Thermostat Installation - Electric)
Massachusetts has its own classification system and manual, with NCCI-style numbers for most trades but its own codes in places (roofing split into 5545 sloped and 5547 flat, no 5537 HVAC class, no 5436), plus a wage-based Massachusetts Construction Classification Premium Adjustment Program (MCCPAP) credit for qualifying construction employers.
Electrical work carries shock, arc flash and fall hazards. Outside power line construction is a separate class, 7538.
What comp costs per electrician in Massachusetts
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 17,810 electricians on payrolls in Massachusetts (May 2025), the 15th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $38.18 an hour, 26% above the US median of $30.38.
Electricians make up about the same share of Massachusetts jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.01).
At the published Massachusetts rate of $1.47 per $100 of payroll for class 5190, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.56 for every hour worked, or $1,167 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $2,335 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Massachusetts pay runs from $22.59 an hour at the 10th percentile to $61.64 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.33 an hour on a new hire and $0.91 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Massachusetts
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners of an unincorporated business excluded by default; may elect in
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 5 days; 21+ days paid retroactively from day one
- Penalty for going without: Immediate stop-work order plus $100 per day, and criminal exposure for willful failure
Massachusetts is an administered-pricing state, so carriers generally cannot compete on base rates the way they do elsewhere.
Massachusetts vs neighboring states
- Connecticut: about $2.75 per $100 of payroll
- New York: about $4.27 per $100 of payroll
- Vermont: about $2.86 per $100 of payroll
Massachusetts has the lowest electrical comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more 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 electrical comp bill
- Electrical is one of the cheaper construction classes, so overstated payroll often costs more than the rate itself. Estimate payroll honestly at renewal and true it up at audit.
- Ladder falls and shocks are the typical claims. Lockout and tagout procedures that are actually followed are what keep the experience mod under 1.0.
- Low-voltage, alarm, and solar work can carry different class codes in some states. Ask your agent before you add those lines to the business.
- Office staff and estimators who stay out of the field can usually be rated as clerical. Keep their hours off the field timesheets.