Ohio Fencing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Ohio employers buy fencing workers comp from the state fund. The 2026 base rate for class 6400 (Fence Erection - Metal or Wood) is $1.47 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.
Ohio class code for fencing
- 6400: Fence Erection - Metal or Wood
Monopolistic state fund that uses NCCI manual classification numbers but sets its own base rates (about 500 classes) and does not use NCCI loss costs; some NCCI or state-specific codes (e.g. 5436, 5651) are not in Ohio's table.
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 Ohio
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 950 fence erectors on payrolls in Ohio (May 2025), the 7th largest workforce of the 35 states with published figures. The median wage is $23.02 an hour, in line with the US median of $23.07.
Fence erectors make up about the same share of Ohio jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.08).
At the Ohio state fund's 2026 base rate of $1.47 per $100 of payroll for class 6400, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.34 for every hour worked, or $703 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $2,108 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Ohio pay runs from $20.98 an hour at the 10th percentile to $30.00 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.31 an hour on a new hire and $0.44 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Ohio
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners with no employees may elect self-coverage; mandatory once any employee is hired
- State fund: Monopolistic; coverage only from the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation (BWC)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if disability exceeds 14 days
- Penalty for going without: Liable for all claim costs during a lapse, BWC penalties, and personal officer liability
Ohio is one of four monopolistic states and offers state-run group-rating and rebate programs unavailable in private-market states.
Ohio vs neighboring states
- Indiana: about $1.72 per $100 of payroll
- Michigan: about $2.75 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $3.99 per $100 of payroll
- West Virginia: about $1.41 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, West Virginia is the cheapest for fencing comp at $1.41 and Pennsylvania the most expensive at $3.99 per $100 of payroll.
If your crews cross into Indiana or Kentucky or Michigan or Pennsylvania or West Virginia, your Ohio state-fund coverage does not follow them. Buy a private policy for the out-of-state work, with Ohio excluded from it.
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.