Idaho Landscaping Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Idaho rate for landscaping workers comp, class 0042 (Landscape Gardening and Drivers), is $4.22 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.
Idaho 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 Idaho
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 7,980 landscaping and groundskeeping workers on payrolls in Idaho (May 2025), the 34th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $20.00 an hour, 6% above the US median of $18.82.
This trade is a bigger part of the Idaho job market than it is nationally: landscaping and groundskeeping workers hold 1.5 times their national share of jobs there.
At the published Idaho rate of $4.21 per $100 of payroll for class 0042, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.84 for every hour worked, or $1,751 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $5,254 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Idaho pay runs from $14.89 an hour at the 10th percentile to $27.94 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.63 an hour on a new hire and $1.18 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Idaho
- Coverage required: 1 employee; no waivers permitted
- Owners and sole proprietors: A sole proprietor with no employees is exempt; employees must be covered
- State fund: Competitive state fund (Idaho State Insurance Fund)
- Waiting period: 5 days; retroactive if disability exceeds 14 days
Idaho coverage is strictly compulsory with no waivers, so an employee cannot sign away their right to workers comp.
Idaho vs neighboring states
- Oregon: about $3.30 per $100 of payroll
- Washington: about $9.66 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, Oregon is the cheapest for landscaping comp at $3.30 and Washington the most expensive at $9.66 per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Washington 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 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.