West Virginia Landscaping Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published West Virginia loss cost for landscaping workers comp, class 0042 (Landscape Gardening & Drivers), is $1.193 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $1.79.
A loss cost covers expected claims only. Each carrier files its own multiplier for expenses; in the states that publish the full list, the median is about 1.5, which is what the typical premium here uses. Your quote can be lower or higher. Source.
West 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 West Virginia
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 3,340 landscaping and groundskeeping workers on payrolls in West Virginia (May 2025), the 45th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $15.50 an hour, 18% below the US median of $18.82.
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers make up about the same share of West Virginia jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.78).
At a typical West Virginia premium of about $1.79 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $1.19 for class 0042 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.28 for every hour worked, or $577 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $1,731 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. West Virginia pay runs from $12.18 an hour at the 10th percentile to $20.49 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.22 an hour on a new hire and $0.37 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in West Virginia
- Coverage required: Any employee (from the first)
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners not required to cover themselves; may elect in
- State fund: Private market (fully privatized in 2008)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive only if lost time exceeds 7 consecutive days
- Penalty for going without: An uninsured employer loses statutory immunity and can be sued in tort
West Virginia is the most recent state to fully privatize, ending a roughly 90-year monopolistic fund in 2008.
West Virginia vs neighboring states
- Ohio: about $2.70 per $100 of payroll
- Pennsylvania: about $3.73 per $100 of payroll
West Virginia has the lowest landscaping comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more 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.