Virginia Landscaping Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Virginia 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 Virginia figure.
No official Virginia figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Virginia 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 Virginia
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 25,180 landscaping and groundskeeping workers on payrolls in Virginia (May 2025), the 12th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $18.46 an hour, 2% below the US median of $18.82.
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers make up about the same share of Virginia jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.00).
At the US median of $3.30 per $100 of payroll (Virginia does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.61 for every hour worked, or $1,267 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $3,801 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Virginia pay runs from $15.00 an hour at the 10th percentile to $24.03 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.49 an hour on a new hire and $0.79 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Virginia
- Coverage required: 3+ employees (subcontractor employees count toward the total)
- Owners and sole proprietors: No waivers for sole proprietors; officers and working LLC managers count as employees
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if incapacity exceeds 21 days
- Penalty for going without: Up to $250 per day (capped at $50,000), business-closure orders, and possible criminal prosecution
Virginia counts a contractor's subcontractor employees toward the three-employee threshold, so using subs frequently triggers the mandate.
Virginia vs neighboring states
- North Carolina: about $2.42 per $100 of payroll
- West Virginia: about $1.79 per $100 of payroll
Virginia 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 North Carolina the most expensive at about $2.42 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.