Hawaii Painting Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Hawaii 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 Hawaii figure.
No official Hawaii figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Hawaii 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 Hawaii
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,900 painters on payrolls in Hawaii (May 2025), the 31st largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $32.80 an hour, 38% above the US median of $23.75.
This trade is a bigger part of the Hawaii job market than it is nationally: painters hold 2.1 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $4.43 per $100 of payroll (Hawaii does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.45 for every hour worked, or $3,022 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $9,067 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Hawaii pay runs from $22.64 an hour at the 10th percentile to $43.67 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $1.00 an hour on a new hire and $1.93 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Hawaii
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners with 50%+ ownership may opt out of covering themselves
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 3 days
- Penalty for going without: $100 per employee per day ($500 minimum)
Hawaii pairs mandatory workers comp with two other required coverages, Temporary Disability Insurance and the Prepaid Health Care Act, under one division.
Hawaii vs neighboring states
- California: about $8.51 per $100 of payroll
Hawaii has no land border, so this compares it with the nearest mainland markets.
Hawaii does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, California is the cheapest for painting comp at about $8.51 and California the most expensive at about $8.51 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.