Arkansas Painting Workers Comp Rates (2026)

Arkansas does not publish its painting class figures online. Across the 26 states that do, the median typical premium is about $4.43 per $100 of payroll. Ask a carrier or the state's rating bureau for the current Arkansas figure.

No official Arkansas figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.

Arkansas class code for painting

5474: Painting NOC & Shop Operations, Drivers
5037 (Painting: Metal Structures - Over Two Stories in Height & Drivers)
5491 (Paperhanging & Drivers)

Painting carries ladder fall risk, solvent exposure and lead paint hazards in buildings built before 1978.

What comp costs per painter in Arkansas

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 890 painters on payrolls in Arkansas (May 2025), the 43rd largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $19.28 an hour, 19% below the US median of $23.75.

This trade is a smaller part of the Arkansas job market than it is nationally: painters hold 0.47 times their national share of jobs there.

At the US median of $4.43 per $100 of payroll (Arkansas does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.85 for every hour worked, or $1,777 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $5,330 a year in premium before any experience mod.

Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Arkansas pay runs from $14.97 an hour at the 10th percentile to $26.26 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.66 an hour on a new hire and $1.16 on a senior hand.

Workers comp requirements in Arkansas

Coverage required: 3+ employees; 2 for construction, 1 if the contractor subcontracts work out
Owners and sole proprietors: Excluded by default; owners file a Certificate of Non-Coverage to stay exempt
State fund: Private market (no state fund)
Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive if disability exceeds 14 days
Penalty for going without: Civil penalties, stop-work orders, and criminal exposure for knowing failure

Arkansas steps the construction threshold down to two employees, or one for any contractor who subcontracts work out.

Arkansas vs neighboring states

Missouri: about $5.51 per $100 of payroll
Texas: about $1.03 per $100 of payroll

Arkansas does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, Texas is the cheapest for painting comp at about $1.03 and Missouri the most expensive at about $5.51 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 painting comp bill

Painting rates are set by height and surface: interior repaint work and exterior or industrial painting can fall into different classes in many states. Describe your mix accurately at quote time.
Ladder and scaffold falls are the costly claims. Scaffold training and inspection logs help when you ask a carrier for safety credits.
Painting crews lean on 1099 labor. Without a certificate of insurance on file, the auditor will add those payments to your payroll.
Seasonal exterior work makes payroll hard to forecast. Estimate the year, not your busiest month, so the deposit and the audit stay close.