Hawaii Flooring Workers Comp Rates (2026)

Hawaii 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 Hawaii figure.

No official Hawaii figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.

Hawaii 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 Hawaii

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 210 floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles on payrolls in Hawaii (May 2025), the 27th largest workforce of the 44 states with published figures. The median wage is $37.15 an hour, 37% above the US median of $27.15.

This trade is a bigger part of the Hawaii job market than it is nationally: floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles hold 2.2 times their national share of jobs there.

At the US median of $2.94 per $100 of payroll (Hawaii does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.09 for every hour worked, or $2,272 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $4,544 a year in premium before any experience mod.

Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Hawaii pay runs from $21.60 an hour at the 10th percentile to $57.99 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.64 an hour on a new hire and $1.70 on a senior hand.

Workers comp requirements in Hawaii

Coverage required: 1 employee
Owners and sole proprietors: Owners with 50%+ ownership may opt out of covering themselves
State fund: Private market (no state fund)
Waiting period: 3 days
Penalty for going without: $100 per employee per day ($500 minimum)

Hawaii pairs mandatory workers comp with two other required coverages, Temporary Disability Insurance and the Prepaid Health Care Act, under one division.

Hawaii vs neighboring states

California: about $4.41 per $100 of payroll

Hawaii has no land border, so this compares it with the nearest mainland markets.

Hawaii does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, California is the cheapest for flooring comp at about $4.41 and California the most expensive at about $4.41 per $100 of payroll.

If your crews work across the line, list those states under item 3.A or 3.C of your policy before the job starts. Rates follow the state where the work is done, not where your office is.

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.