Iowa Flooring Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Iowa rate for flooring workers comp, class 5478 (Carpet, Linoleum, Vinyl, Asphalt or Rubber Floor Tile Installation), is $2.58 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Your experience modifier and any carrier discounts adjust it.
This is the published manual rate, so it already includes carrier expenses. Source.
Iowa 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 Iowa
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 160 floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles on payrolls in Iowa (May 2025), the 33rd largest workforce of the 44 states with published figures. The median wage is $26.42 an hour, 3% below the US median of $27.15.
This trade is a smaller part of the Iowa job market than it is nationally: floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles hold 0.70 times their national share of jobs there.
At the published Iowa rate of $2.58 per $100 of payroll for class 5478, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.68 for every hour worked, or $1,418 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $2,836 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Iowa pay runs from $12.96 an hour at the 10th percentile to $39.95 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.33 an hour on a new hire and $1.03 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Iowa
- Coverage required: 1 employee; no payroll or headcount floor
- Owners and sole proprietors: A full-time sole proprietor or partner is auto-excluded; may decline in writing or elect in
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive if disability continues more than 14 days
- Penalty for going without: An uninsured employer loses tort immunity and can be sued for uncapped civil damages
Iowa has no small-employer exemption at all, requiring coverage from the first employee with no payroll floor.
Iowa vs neighboring states
Iowa has the lowest flooring comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more 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.