South Dakota HVAC Workers Comp Rates (2026)
South Dakota does not publish its HVAC class figures online. Across the 26 states that do, the median typical premium is about $2.74 per $100 of payroll. Ask a carrier or the state's rating bureau for the current South Dakota figure.
No official South Dakota figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
South Dakota class code for HVAC
- 5537: Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Systems - Installation, Service and Repair & Drivers
- 5535 (Sheet Metal Work - Installation & Drivers)
- 5183 (Plumbing NOC & Drivers)
HVAC technicians work in attics and on roofs and handle electrical circuits and refrigerants.
What comp costs per hvac technician in South Dakota
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,610 heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers on payrolls in South Dakota (May 2025), the 43rd largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $29.51 an hour, in line with the US median of $29.33.
This trade is a bigger part of the South Dakota job market than it is nationally: heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers hold 1.3 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $2.74 per $100 of payroll (South Dakota does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.81 for every hour worked, or $1,682 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $3,364 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. South Dakota pay runs from $23.28 an hour at the 10th percentile to $36.15 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.64 an hour on a new hire and $0.99 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in South Dakota
- Coverage required: Not mandatory at any headcount (elective for all employers)
- Owners and sole proprietors: Excluded; may elect coverage
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 consecutive days; benefits then compute from the injury date
- Penalty for going without: No statutory fine, but an uninsured employer loses exclusive remedy and faces unlimited civil liability
South Dakota is one of only two states (with Texas) where workers comp is not legally mandatory.
South Dakota vs neighboring states
- Iowa: about $3.28 per $100 of payroll
- North Dakota: about $2.00 per $100 of payroll
- Wyoming: about $2.39 per $100 of payroll
South Dakota does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, North Dakota is the cheapest for HVAC comp at about $2.00 and Iowa the most expensive at about $3.28 per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into North Dakota or Wyoming needs separate coverage from that state's fund. A private policy's other-states coverage (item 3.C) does not reach monopolistic states.
What moves a HVAC comp bill
- Service techs and install crews usually share one class, so the rate is driven by your claim history: back strains from lifting condensers and falls from ladders and roofs are the typical losses.
- If you also do sheet-metal fabrication or duct work outside buildings, ask how your bureau classifies it. Some of that work rates differently from installation and service.
- Dispatchers, office staff, and outside salespeople can be rated as clerical or sales when their duties keep them out of the field. Keep their timesheets separate.
- Company vehicles put a lot of miles on service crews. A driving policy and clean MVRs help on the auto side and with comp, because vehicle accidents on the job are comp claims.