Louisiana Plumbing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Louisiana 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 Louisiana figure.
No official Louisiana figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Louisiana 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 Louisiana
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 8,360 plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters on payrolls in Louisiana (May 2025), the 22nd largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $30.62 an hour, in line with the US median of $30.67.
This trade is a bigger part of the Louisiana job market than it is nationally: plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters hold 1.4 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $2.25 per $100 of payroll (Louisiana does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.69 for every hour worked, or $1,433 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $2,866 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Louisiana pay runs from $18.33 an hour at the 10th percentile to $38.24 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.41 an hour on a new hire and $0.86 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Louisiana
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners with no employees exempt; the general contractor is a statutory employer for an uninsured sub's workers
- State fund: Competitive state fund (Louisiana Workers' Compensation Corporation)
- Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive only if disability extends beyond 6 weeks
- Penalty for going without: $250 first offense up to $10,000, plus up to a year in jail and full benefit liability
Louisiana reimburses the waiting period only if disability lasts more than six weeks, one of the longest triggers in the country.
Louisiana vs neighboring states
- Texas: about $1.14 per $100 of payroll
Louisiana does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, Texas is the cheapest for plumbing comp at about $1.14 and Texas the most expensive at about $1.14 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.