District of Columbia Flooring Workers Comp Rates (2026)
District of Columbia does not publish its flooring class figures online. Across the 26 states that do, the median typical premium is about $2.94 per $100 of payroll. Ask a carrier or the state's rating bureau for the current District of Columbia figure.
No official District of Columbia figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
District of Columbia class code for flooring
- 5478: Floor Covering Installation - Resilient Flooring, Carpet and Laminate Flooring
- 5437 (Carpentry - Installation of Cabinet Work or Interior Trim, includes wood floor installation and sanding)
- 5348 (Tile, Stone, Mosaic or Terrazzo Work - Inside)
Flooring carries knee injury, back strain, silica dust from cutting tile or concrete, and adhesive vapor risks.
What comp costs per flooring installer in District of Columbia
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 2,090 construction laborers on payrolls in District of Columbia (May 2025), the 49th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $24.05 an hour, 6% above the US median of $22.66.
This trade is a smaller part of the District of Columbia job market than it is nationally: construction laborers hold 0.42 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $2.94 per $100 of payroll (District of Columbia does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.71 for every hour worked, or $1,471 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $2,941 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. District of Columbia pay runs from $17.88 an hour at the 10th percentile to $34.77 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.53 an hour on a new hire and $1.02 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in District of Columbia
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Excluded by default; may elect in
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive only if disability continues more than 14 days
The District has an unusually long 14-day threshold before the waiting period becomes retroactively payable.
What moves a flooring comp bill
- Floor installers file knee, back, and repetitive-strain claims more than falls. Kneepads and lifting aids are cheap ways to keep the experience mod down.
- Tile, hardwood, and carpet installation can be separate classes in some states. If your crews do several, record payroll by type of work.
- Many flooring shops pay installers by the square foot as 1099 subs. If they cannot show their own coverage, the auditor counts what you pay them as your payroll.
- Showroom and sales staff who do not install can usually be rated as sales or clerical when their duties are documented.