Iowa Landscaping Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Iowa rate for landscaping workers comp, class 0042 (Landscape Gardening and Drivers), is $3.82 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 landscaping
- 0042: Landscape Gardening & Drivers
- 0106 (Tree Pruning, Spraying & Repairing)
- 6217 (Excavation NOC)
Landscaping carries equipment, lifting, heat and pesticide exposure risks. Tree pruning and trimming is a separate class (0106).
What comp costs per landscaper in Iowa
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 8,800 landscaping and groundskeeping workers on payrolls in Iowa (May 2025), the 32nd largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $18.71 an hour, in line with the US median of $18.82.
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers make up about the same share of Iowa jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.92).
At the published Iowa rate of $3.82 per $100 of payroll for class 0042, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.71 for every hour worked, or $1,487 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $4,460 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Iowa pay runs from $13.69 an hour at the 10th percentile to $28.09 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.52 an hour on a new hire and $1.07 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 landscaping 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 landscaping comp bill
- Landscape gardening is a high-claim class because of mowers, trimmers, chainsaws, and lifting. Equipment training and guards that stay on the machines lower claims.
- Tree trimming above the ground is usually a separate class with a much higher rate. Keep that payroll apart, or the auditor may rate a whole crew at the tree rate.
- Snow plowing, hardscaping, and irrigation installs can each be classed differently. Tell your carrier what share of payroll goes to each.
- Landscaping payroll swings by season. Report the full-year figure at renewal so the audit does not bring a large bill in the off season.