New Jersey Flooring Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published New Jersey rate for flooring workers comp, class 5437 (Carpentry - Installation of Finished Wooden Flooring), is $8.71 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.
New Jersey class codes for flooring
- 5437: Carpentry - Installation of Finished Wooden Flooring
- 5348: Ceramic Tile, Indoor Stone, Marble or Mosaic Work & Drivers
New Jersey is an independent bureau state that uses NCCI-style 4-digit codes but with its own phraseologies and several state-specific assignments, e.g. HVAC under 3724, concrete flatwork under 5200, and no 5537, 5478 or 5221.
Flooring carries knee injury, back strain, silica dust from cutting tile or concrete, and adhesive vapor risks.
What comp costs per flooring installer in New Jersey
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 700 floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles on payrolls in New Jersey (May 2025), the 10th largest workforce of the 44 states with published figures. The median wage is $28.77 an hour, 6% above the US median of $27.15.
Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles make up about the same share of New Jersey jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.08).
At the published New Jersey rate of $8.71 per $100 of payroll for class 5437, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $2.51 for every hour worked, or $5,212 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $10,424 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. New Jersey pay runs from $21.24 an hour at the 10th percentile to $65.91 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $1.85 an hour on a new hire and $5.74 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in New Jersey
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Automatically excluded on a policy; may elect coverage via a Notice of Election
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if disability extends beyond 7 days
- Penalty for going without: Up to $5,000 per 10-day period; knowing failure is a fourth-degree crime (up to $10,000 and 18 months)
New Jersey sets rates through its own independent bureau (NJCRIB) rather than NCCI, and caps temporary disability at 400 weeks.
New Jersey vs neighboring states
- Delaware: about $4.75 per $100 of payroll
- New York: about $3.04 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $5.09 per $100 of payroll
New Jersey has the highest flooring comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges less 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.