South Dakota Landscaping Workers Comp Rates (2026)
South Dakota 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 South Dakota figure.
No official South Dakota figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
South Dakota 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 South Dakota
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 2,980 landscaping and groundskeeping workers on payrolls in South Dakota (May 2025), the 46th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $17.01 an hour, 10% below the US median of $18.82.
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers make up about the same share of South Dakota jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.06).
At the US median of $3.30 per $100 of payroll (South Dakota does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.56 for every hour worked, or $1,168 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $3,503 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. South Dakota pay runs from $13.99 an hour at the 10th percentile to $22.45 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.46 an hour on a new hire and $0.74 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in South Dakota
- Coverage required: Not mandatory at any headcount (elective for all employers)
- Owners and sole proprietors: Excluded; may elect coverage
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 consecutive days; benefits then compute from the injury date
- Penalty for going without: No statutory fine, but an uninsured employer loses exclusive remedy and faces unlimited civil liability
South Dakota is one of only two states (with Texas) where workers comp is not legally mandatory.
South Dakota vs neighboring states
- Iowa: about $3.82 per $100 of payroll
- North Dakota: about $1.05 per $100 of payroll
South Dakota does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, North Dakota is the cheapest for landscaping comp at about $1.05 and Iowa the most expensive at about $3.82 per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into North Dakota 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.