Pennsylvania Fencing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Pennsylvania loss cost for fencing workers comp, class 0651 (Carpentry - Commercial Structures), is $2.660 per $100 of payroll (effective April 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $3.99.
A loss cost 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.
Pennsylvania class code for fencing
- 0651: Carpentry - Commercial Structures
Pennsylvania uses its own independent classification system of about 330 classes with PCRB code numbers (written as 3-digit codes or with a leading zero, e.g. 659 or 0659) that do not map one-to-one to NCCI codes.
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 Pennsylvania
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,150 fence erectors on payrolls in Pennsylvania (May 2025), the 5th largest workforce of the 35 states with published figures. The median wage is $28.17 an hour, 22% above the US median of $23.07.
Fence erectors make up about the same share of Pennsylvania jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.20).
At a typical Pennsylvania premium of about $3.99 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $2.66 for class 0651 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.12 for every hour worked, or $2,338 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $7,014 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Pennsylvania pay runs from $19.29 an hour at the 10th percentile to $37.31 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.77 an hour on a new hire and $1.49 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Pennsylvania
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: A sole proprietor with no employees is exempt; required once any employee is hired
- State fund: Competitive state fund (State Workers' Insurance Fund, SWIF)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if disability lasts more than 14 days
- Penalty for going without: Failure to insure is a misdemeanor per day (up to $2,500); intentional failure is a felony (up to $15,000)
Pennsylvania sets rates through the independent PCRB (not NCCI) and runs its own competitive state fund, SWIF.
Pennsylvania vs neighboring states
- Delaware: about $3.60 per $100 of payroll
- New Jersey: about $6.35 per $100 of payroll
- New York: about $5.07 per $100 of payroll
- Ohio: about $1.47 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 New Jersey the most expensive at $6.35 per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Ohio 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 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.