South Dakota Electrical Workers Comp Rates (2026)
South Dakota does not publish its electrical class figures online. Across the 26 states that do, the median typical premium is about $1.90 per $100 of payroll. Ask a carrier or the state's rating bureau for the current South Dakota figure.
No official South Dakota figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
South Dakota 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 South Dakota
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 2,980 electricians on payrolls in South Dakota (May 2025), the 44th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $29.51 an hour, 3% below the US median of $30.38.
This trade is a bigger part of the South Dakota job market than it is nationally: electricians hold 1.3 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $1.90 per $100 of payroll (South Dakota does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.56 for every hour worked, or $1,166 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $2,332 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. South Dakota pay runs from $21.31 an hour at the 10th percentile to $38.49 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.40 an hour on a new hire and $0.73 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in South Dakota
- Coverage required: Not mandatory at any headcount (elective for all employers)
- Owners and sole proprietors: Excluded; may elect coverage
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 consecutive days; benefits then compute from the injury date
- Penalty for going without: No statutory fine, but an uninsured employer loses exclusive remedy and faces unlimited civil liability
South Dakota is one of only two states (with Texas) where workers comp is not legally mandatory.
South Dakota vs neighboring states
- Iowa: about $1.73 per $100 of payroll
- North Dakota: about $1.50 per $100 of payroll
- Wyoming: about $2.39 per $100 of payroll
South Dakota does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, North Dakota is the cheapest for electrical comp at about $1.50 and Wyoming the most expensive at about $2.39 per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into North Dakota or Wyoming 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.