New Jersey Electrical Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published New Jersey rate for electrical workers comp, class 5190 (Electrical Wiring - Within Buildings & Drivers), is $3.84 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 electrical
- 5190: Electrical Wiring - Within Buildings & 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.
Electrical work carries shock, arc flash and fall hazards. Outside power line construction is a separate class, 7538.
What comp costs per electrician in New Jersey
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 13,520 electricians on payrolls in New Jersey (May 2025), the 21st largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $37.14 an hour, 22% above the US median of $30.38.
This trade is a smaller part of the New Jersey job market than it is nationally: electricians hold 0.65 times their national share of jobs there.
At the published New Jersey rate of $3.84 per $100 of payroll for class 5190, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.43 for every hour worked, or $2,966 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $5,933 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 $23.35 an hour at the 10th percentile to $62.91 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.90 an hour on a new hire and $2.42 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 $1.86 per $100 of payroll
- New York: about $4.27 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $2.04 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, Delaware is the cheapest for electrical comp at $1.86 and New York the most expensive at $4.27 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.