Massachusetts Plumbing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Massachusetts rate for plumbing workers comp, class 5183 (Plumbing NOC & Drivers), is $2.22 per $100 of payroll (effective July 1, 2024). Your experience modifier and any carrier discounts adjust it.
This is the published manual rate, so it already includes carrier expenses. Source.
Massachusetts class code for plumbing
- 5183: Plumbing NOC & Drivers
Massachusetts has its own classification system and manual, with NCCI-style numbers for most trades but its own codes in places (roofing split into 5545 sloped and 5547 flat, no 5537 HVAC class, no 5436), plus a wage-based Massachusetts Construction Classification Premium Adjustment Program (MCCPAP) credit for qualifying construction employers.
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 Massachusetts
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 13,460 plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters on payrolls in Massachusetts (May 2025), the 11th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $45.14 an hour, 47% above the US median of $30.67.
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters make up about the same share of Massachusetts jobs as they do nationally (location quotient 1.24).
At the published Massachusetts rate of $2.22 per $100 of payroll for class 5183, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $1.00 for every hour worked, or $2,084 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $4,169 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Massachusetts pay runs from $25.01 an hour at the 10th percentile to $64.94 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.56 an hour on a new hire and $1.44 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Massachusetts
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Owners of an unincorporated business excluded by default; may elect in
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 5 days; 21+ days paid retroactively from day one
- Penalty for going without: Immediate stop-work order plus $100 per day, and criminal exposure for willful failure
Massachusetts is an administered-pricing state, so carriers generally cannot compete on base rates the way they do elsewhere.
Massachusetts vs neighboring states
- Connecticut: about $3.81 per $100 of payroll
- New York: about $5.28 per $100 of payroll
- Vermont: about $4.28 per $100 of payroll
Massachusetts has the lowest plumbing comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges more 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.