Mississippi Landscaping Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Mississippi 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 Mississippi figure.
No official Mississippi figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Mississippi 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 Mississippi
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 4,940 landscaping and groundskeeping workers on payrolls in Mississippi (May 2025), the 41st largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $15.21 an hour, 19% below the US median of $18.82.
This trade is a smaller part of the Mississippi job market than it is nationally: landscaping and groundskeeping workers hold 0.69 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $3.30 per $100 of payroll (Mississippi does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.50 for every hour worked, or $1,044 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $3,132 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Mississippi pay runs from $11.72 an hour at the 10th percentile to $21.82 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.39 an hour on a new hire and $0.72 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Mississippi
- Coverage required: 5+ employees; no construction carve-out
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners excluded by default; may elect in at a statutory assumed wage
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 5 days; retroactive if disability lasts more than 14 days
- Penalty for going without: Misdemeanor (up to $1,000 and/or a year), plus civil penalties up to $10,000
Mississippi is one of the few states with no construction carve-out, so a one-to-four-employee construction firm is not required to carry coverage.
Mississippi vs neighboring states
- Alabama: about $2.83 per $100 of payroll
Mississippi does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, Alabama is the cheapest for landscaping comp at about $2.83 and Alabama the most expensive at about $2.83 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.