Iowa Painting Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Iowa rate for painting workers comp, class 5474 (Painting or Paperhanging NOC and Shop Operations, Drivers), is $4.45 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Your experience modifier and any carrier discounts adjust it.
This is the published manual rate, so it already includes carrier expenses. Source.
Iowa 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 Iowa
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,770 painters on payrolls in Iowa (May 2025), the 33rd largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $23.90 an hour, in line with the US median of $23.75.
Painters make up about the same share of Iowa jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.78).
At the published Iowa rate of $4.45 per $100 of payroll for class 5474, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.06 for every hour worked, or $2,212 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $6,637 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Iowa pay runs from $17.83 an hour at the 10th percentile to $32.22 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.79 an hour on a new hire and $1.43 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Iowa
- Coverage required: 1 employee; no payroll or headcount floor
- Owners and sole proprietors: A full-time sole proprietor or partner is auto-excluded; may decline in writing or elect in
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive if disability continues more than 14 days
- Penalty for going without: An uninsured employer loses tort immunity and can be sued for uncapped civil damages
Iowa has no small-employer exemption at all, requiring coverage from the first employee with no payroll floor.
Iowa vs neighboring states
Iowa has the lowest painting comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more 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.