Minnesota Painting Workers Comp Rates (2026)

Minnesota 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 Minnesota figure.

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

Minnesota 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 Minnesota

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 3,810 painters on payrolls in Minnesota (May 2025), the 19th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $27.54 an hour, 16% above the US median of $23.75.

Painters make up about the same share of Minnesota jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.89).

At the US median of $4.43 per $100 of payroll (Minnesota does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.22 for every hour worked, or $2,538 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $7,613 a year in premium before any experience mod.

Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Minnesota pay runs from $17.53 an hour at the 10th percentile to $42.30 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.78 an hour on a new hire and $1.87 on a senior hand.

Workers comp requirements in Minnesota

Coverage required: 1 employee; no hours or wage floor
Owners and sole proprietors: Sole proprietors, partners, and certain closely-held owners excluded; may elect in
State fund: Private market (no state fund)
Waiting period: 3 days; paid back only if disability continues 10+ days
Penalty for going without: Up to $1,000 per employee per uninsured week; willful failure is a gross misdemeanor

Minnesota's Special Compensation Fund pays injured workers of uninsured employers directly, then recovers from the employer; coverage must also be reported when getting or renewing a state license.

Minnesota vs neighboring states

Iowa: about $4.45 per $100 of payroll
North Dakota: about $3.85 per $100 of payroll
Wisconsin: about $4.71 per $100 of payroll

Minnesota does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, North Dakota is the cheapest for painting comp at about $3.85 and Wisconsin the most expensive at about $4.71 per $100 of payroll.

Working across the line into North Dakota 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.