Kentucky Landscaping Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Kentucky 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 Kentucky figure.
No official Kentucky figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Kentucky 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 Kentucky
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 8,920 landscaping and groundskeeping workers on payrolls in Kentucky (May 2025), the 31st largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $17.63 an hour, 6% below the US median of $18.82.
This trade is a smaller part of the Kentucky job market than it is nationally: landscaping and groundskeeping workers hold 0.73 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $3.30 per $100 of payroll (Kentucky does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.58 for every hour worked, or $1,210 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $3,630 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Kentucky pay runs from $13.43 an hour at the 10th percentile to $23.68 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.44 an hour on a new hire and $0.78 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Kentucky
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Excluded by default; may elect in; officers may elect out
- State fund: Competitive state fund (Kentucky Employers' Mutual, KEMI)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive if disability lasts 14+ days
- Penalty for going without: $100-$1,000 fine per employee, per day without coverage
Kentucky's uninsured-employer fine is assessed per employee, per day, so exposure compounds quickly.
Kentucky vs neighboring states
- Indiana: about $2.31 per $100 of payroll
- Missouri: about $6.40 per $100 of payroll
- Ohio: about $2.70 per $100 of payroll
- West Virginia: about $1.79 per $100 of payroll
Kentucky does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, West Virginia is the cheapest for landscaping comp at about $1.79 and Missouri the most expensive at about $6.40 per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Ohio 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.