New Jersey Landscaping Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published New Jersey rate for landscaping workers comp, class 0042 (Landscape Gardening & Drivers), is $8.97 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.
New Jersey class code for landscaping
- 0042: Landscape Gardening & Drivers
New Jersey is an independent bureau state that uses NCCI-style 4-digit codes but with its own phraseologies and several state-specific assignments, e.g. HVAC under 3724, concrete flatwork under 5200, and no 5537, 5478 or 5221.
Landscaping carries equipment, lifting, heat and pesticide exposure risks. Tree pruning and trimming is a separate class (0106).
What comp costs per landscaper in New Jersey
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 30,470 landscaping and groundskeeping workers on payrolls in New Jersey (May 2025), the 10th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $19.88 an hour, 6% above the US median of $18.82.
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers make up about the same share of New Jersey jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.16).
At the published New Jersey rate of $8.97 per $100 of payroll for class 0042, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.78 for every hour worked, or $3,709 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $11,127 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. New Jersey pay runs from $17.05 an hour at the 10th percentile to $26.47 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $1.53 an hour on a new hire and $2.37 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in New Jersey
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Automatically excluded on a policy; may elect coverage via a Notice of Election
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if disability extends beyond 7 days
- Penalty for going without: Up to $5,000 per 10-day period; knowing failure is a fourth-degree crime (up to $10,000 and 18 months)
New Jersey sets rates through its own independent bureau (NJCRIB) rather than NCCI, and caps temporary disability at 400 weeks.
New Jersey vs neighboring states
- Delaware: about $2.64 per $100 of payroll
- New York: about $2.80 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $3.73 per $100 of payroll
New Jersey has the highest landscaping comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges less 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.