North Dakota Fencing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
North Dakota employers buy fencing workers comp from the state fund. The 2026 base rate for class 6400 (Fence Construction) is $1.53 per $100 of payroll, before your experience modifier.
The state fund sets one base rate per class; your experience modifier moves it up or down. Source.
North Dakota class code for fencing
- 6400: Fence Construction
Monopolistic state fund with its own manual of about 140 rate classes; several numbers echo NCCI codes but scopes are broader (for example 5183 covers plumbing, HVAC and sheet metal together, and roofing is 5545 hot process or 5410 cold process).
Fence work carries hand tool injury, post-hole digger / auger risks, lifting, and underground utility strike risks. Chain-link work uses cutting tools with finger injury exposure.
What comp costs per fence installer in North Dakota
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 190 fence erectors on payrolls in North Dakota (May 2025), the 27th largest workforce of the 35 states with published figures. The median wage is $23.71 an hour, 3% above the US median of $23.07.
This trade is a bigger part of the North Dakota job market than it is nationally: fence erectors hold 2.8 times their national share of jobs there.
At the North Dakota state fund's 2026 base rate of $1.53 per $100 of payroll for class 6400, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.36 for every hour worked, or $755 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $2,264 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. North Dakota pay runs from $21.45 an hour at the 10th percentile to $24.01 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.33 an hour on a new hire and $0.37 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in North Dakota
- Coverage required: Any employee (coverage in force before work begins)
- Owners and sole proprietors: Not required to cover self; optional personal coverage through WSI
- State fund: Monopolistic; coverage only from Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI), no private carriers or self-insurance
- Waiting period: 5 days
- Penalty for going without: Up to $10,000 plus $100 per day, cease-and-desist orders, and liability for claim costs during the lapse
North Dakota is one of only four monopolistic states, and it allows neither private carriers nor self-insurance, only WSI.
What moves a fencing comp bill
- Fence erection rates sit above most interior trades because of post-hole augers, heavy material, and power tools. Auger training cuts the most serious claims.
- Fence crews often add decks, gates, or ornamental metal work, and those can rate in different classes. Tell your carrier what share of the work each represents.
- Seasonal crews and day labor are common in fencing. Every worker you pay counts at audit, so keep records for temporary hires.
- If you only sell and subcontract the installs, your own exposure is mostly sales and clerical, but only if every installer carries their own coverage.