New York Flooring Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published New York loss cost for flooring workers comp, class 9521 (House Furnishings Installation & Upholstering - NOC - All Operations to Completion), is $2.026 per $100 of payroll (effective October 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $3.04.
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.
New York class codes for flooring
- 9521: House Furnishings Installation & Upholstering - NOC - All Operations to Completion
- 5348: Marble or Stone Setting - Inside - All Operations to Completion
New York is an independent bureau state: it uses 4-digit codes that look like NCCI codes, but several NCCI classes do not exist in New York (no 5551, 5537, 5478 or 5436), roofing is split by roof pitch, and carpentry is split by building type and height.
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 York
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 880 floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles on payrolls in New York (May 2025), the 6th largest workforce of the 44 states with published figures. The median wage is $29.50 an hour, 9% above the US median of $27.15.
This trade is a smaller part of the New York job market than it is nationally: floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles hold 0.60 times their national share of jobs there.
At a typical New York premium of about $3.04 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $2.03 for class 9521 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.90 for every hour worked, or $1,865 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $3,731 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. New York pay runs from $22.65 an hour at the 10th percentile to $52.31 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.69 an hour on a new hire and $1.59 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in New York
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: A sole proprietor with no employees is exempt; adding one employee triggers the full requirement
- State fund: Competitive state fund (New York State Insurance Fund)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if disability extends beyond 14 days
- Penalty for going without: $2,000 per 10-day period (under 10 employees), $5,000 for larger, plus criminal exposure
New York uses the independent NYCIRB (not NCCI) and separately mandates statutory Disability Benefits Law coverage alongside workers comp.
New York vs neighboring states
- Connecticut: about $3.63 per $100 of payroll
- Massachusetts: about $2.95 per $100 of payroll
- New Jersey: about $8.71 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $5.09 per $100 of payroll
- Vermont: about $3.61 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, Massachusetts is the cheapest for flooring comp at $2.95 and New Jersey the most expensive at $8.71 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.