Oregon Electrical Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Oregon pure premium for electrical workers comp, class 5190 (Electrical Wiring - Within Buildings and Drivers), is $0.871 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $1.31.
A pure premium 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.
Oregon class code for electrical
- 5190: Electrical Wiring - Within Buildings
- 7538 (Electric Light or Power Line Construction & Drivers)
Electrical work carries shock, arc flash and fall hazards. Outside power line construction is a separate class, 7538.
What comp costs per electrician in Oregon
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 10,590 electricians on payrolls in Oregon (May 2025), the 26th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $48.71 an hour, 60% above the US median of $30.38.
Electricians make up about the same share of Oregon jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.11).
At a typical Oregon premium of about $1.31 per $100 of payroll (the published pure premium of $0.87 for class 5190 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.64 for every hour worked, or $1,327 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $2,655 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Oregon pay runs from $28.63 an hour at the 10th percentile to $63.24 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.38 an hour on a new hire and $0.83 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Oregon
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners and 10%+ officers excluded by default; personal coverage only if the insurer accepts a written election
- State fund: Competitive state fund (SAIF Corporation)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive if off 14 consecutive days or hospitalized overnight within 14 days
- Penalty for going without: $1,000 or twice the premium owed, plus $250 per day and personal liability for benefits
Oregon restores the waiting period retroactively if a worker is hospitalized overnight within the first 14 days, not only through the standard consecutive-day trigger.
Oregon vs neighboring states
- California: about $3.73 per $100 of payroll
- Idaho: about $1.92 per $100 of payroll
- Washington: about $3.14 per $100 of payroll
Oregon has the lowest electrical comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Washington 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 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.