Illinois Landscaping Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Illinois does not publish its landscaping class figures online. Across the 25 states that do, the median typical premium is about $3.30 per $100 of payroll. Ask a carrier or the state's rating bureau for the current Illinois figure.
No official Illinois figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Illinois 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 Illinois
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 34,780 landscaping and groundskeeping workers on payrolls in Illinois (May 2025), the 6th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $21.05 an hour, 12% above the US median of $18.82.
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers make up about the same share of Illinois jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.93).
At the US median of $3.30 per $100 of payroll (Illinois does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.69 for every hour worked, or $1,445 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $4,335 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Illinois pay runs from $15.39 an hour at the 10th percentile to $29.42 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.51 an hour on a new hire and $0.97 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Illinois
- Coverage required: 1 employee; construction is classed as extra-hazardous
- Owners and sole proprietors: In construction, owners and officers cannot opt out and must be covered
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 3 work days; retroactive if off 14+ days
- Penalty for going without: Willful failure: up to $500/day (minimum $10,000) and Class 4 felony exposure
Because construction is classed as extra-hazardous, Illinois removes the owner/officer opt-out that most states allow.
Illinois vs neighboring states
- Indiana: about $2.31 per $100 of payroll
- Iowa: about $3.82 per $100 of payroll
- Missouri: about $6.40 per $100 of payroll
- Wisconsin: about $4.88 per $100 of payroll
Illinois does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, Indiana is the cheapest for landscaping comp at about $2.31 and Missouri the most expensive at about $6.40 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.