Florida Plumbing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Florida does not publish its plumbing class figures online. Across the 26 states that do, the median typical premium is about $2.25 per $100 of payroll. Ask a carrier or the state's rating bureau for the current Florida figure.
No official Florida figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Florida class code for plumbing
- 5183: Plumbing NOC & Drivers
- 5188 (Sprinkler Installation & Drivers)
Plumbing work involves back strain, cuts, burns from soldering and hot water, and work in crawl spaces and other confined spaces.
What comp costs per plumber in Florida
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 29,260 plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters on payrolls in Florida (May 2025), the 3rd largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $25.44 an hour, 17% below the US median of $30.67.
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters make up about the same share of Florida jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 0.98).
At the US median of $2.25 per $100 of payroll (Florida does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.57 for every hour worked, or $1,191 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $2,381 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Florida pay runs from $18.72 an hour at the 10th percentile to $35.39 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.42 an hour on a new hire and $0.80 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Florida
- Coverage required: 4+ employees; 1 for the construction industry
- Owners and sole proprietors: Construction owners are automatically employees and cannot exempt out; officers may exempt up to three
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive if disability exceeds 21 days
- Penalty for going without: Stop-work orders plus a penalty of twice the premium avoided over three years (minimum $1,000)
Florida's construction carve-out drops the threshold from four employees to one, and construction owners cannot exempt themselves the way corporate officers can.
Florida vs neighboring states
Florida does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, Georgia is the cheapest for plumbing comp at about $1.88 and Alabama the most expensive at about $1.99 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 plumbing comp bill
- Plumbing rates sit in the middle of the construction classes; the swing comes from your experience mod. Trench and excavation injuries are the costly claims, so trench-safety training pays back quickly.
- Some states split residential and commercial plumbing into different classes. If you do both, make sure the payroll for each is recorded so the cheaper work is not rated at the higher class.
- Apprentices carry the same class rate as journeymen, but their lower wages mean less premium per hour. Your payroll mix matters as much as the rate.
- Uninsured subs (excavators, drywall patchers) get added to your payroll at audit unless you collect certificates before they start.