Vermont Painting Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Vermont loss cost for painting workers comp, class 5474 (Painting or Paperhanging NOC & Shop Operations, Drivers), is $4.133 per $100 of payroll (effective April 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $6.20.
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.
Vermont 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 Vermont
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 550 painters on payrolls in Vermont (May 2025), the 46th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $25.54 an hour, 8% above the US median of $23.75.
This trade is a bigger part of the Vermont job market than it is nationally: painters hold 1.3 times their national share of jobs there.
At a typical Vermont premium of about $6.20 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $4.13 for class 5474 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.58 for every hour worked, or $3,294 a year full time. A 3-person crew comes to roughly $9,881 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Vermont pay runs from $23.11 an hour at the 10th percentile to $30.77 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $1.43 an hour on a new hire and $1.91 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Vermont
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners not required to cover themselves but may elect in; must cover any employees
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 3 days; eliminated and paid retroactively if disability extends beyond 10 days
- Penalty for going without: Up to $50/day pre-notice, escalating to $150/day, plus stop-work authority
Vermont uses a two-tier escalating daily fine, jumping from $50 to $150 a day if the lapse isn't cured within five days of notice.
Vermont 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.