Connecticut Painting Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Connecticut loss cost for painting workers comp, class 5474 (Painting or Paperhanging NOC & Shop Operations, Drivers), is $3.877 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $5.82.
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.
Connecticut 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 Connecticut
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 2,230 painters on payrolls in Connecticut (May 2025), the 27th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $28.12 an hour, 18% above the US median of $23.75.
Painters make up about the same share of Connecticut jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.91).
At a typical Connecticut premium of about $5.82 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $3.88 for class 5474 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.64 for every hour worked, or $3,404 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $10,212 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Connecticut pay runs from $19.29 an hour at the 10th percentile to $44.42 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $1.12 an hour on a new hire and $2.59 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Connecticut
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Excluded by default; a sole proprietor must affirmatively accept the Act to be covered
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive to the injury date if incapacity reaches 7 days
- Penalty for going without: Operating uninsured is a Class D felony with per-employee civil penalties
In Connecticut, non-coverage or knowingly misclassifying employees as independent contractors is a Class D felony.
Connecticut vs neighboring states
- Massachusetts: about $3.21 per $100 of payroll
- New York: about $12.09 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, Massachusetts is the cheapest for painting comp at $3.21 and New York the most expensive at $12.09 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.