Idaho Painting Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Idaho rate for painting workers comp, class 5474 (Painting or Paperhanging NOC and Shop Operations, Drivers), is $5.35 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.
Idaho 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 Idaho
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 2,040 painters on payrolls in Idaho (May 2025), the 30th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $21.58 an hour, 9% below the US median of $23.75.
This trade is a bigger part of the Idaho job market than it is nationally: painters hold 1.6 times their national share of jobs there.
At the published Idaho rate of $5.35 per $100 of payroll for class 5474, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.15 for every hour worked, or $2,401 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $7,204 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Idaho pay runs from $16.54 an hour at the 10th percentile to $29.28 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.88 an hour on a new hire and $1.57 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Idaho
- Coverage required: 1 employee; no waivers permitted
- Owners and sole proprietors: A sole proprietor with no employees is exempt; employees must be covered
- State fund: Competitive state fund (Idaho State Insurance Fund)
- Waiting period: 5 days; retroactive if disability exceeds 14 days
Idaho coverage is strictly compulsory with no waivers, so an employee cannot sign away their right to workers comp.
Idaho vs neighboring states
- Oregon: about $4.63 per $100 of payroll
- Washington: about $6.61 per $100 of payroll
- Wyoming: about $2.39 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, Wyoming is the cheapest for painting comp at $2.39 and Washington the most expensive at $6.61 per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Washington or Wyoming 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 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.