Pennsylvania Plumbing Workers Comp Rates (2026)

The published Pennsylvania loss cost for plumbing workers comp, class 0663 (Plumbing: Gas, Steam, Hot Water or Other Pipefitting, Including House Connections - Shop Payroll, If Any, Must Be Included), is $1.650 per $100 of payroll (effective April 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $2.47.

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.

Pennsylvania class code for plumbing

0663: Plumbing: Gas, Steam, Hot Water or Other Pipefitting, Including House Connections - Shop Payroll, If Any, Must Be Included

Pennsylvania uses its own independent classification system of about 330 classes with PCRB code numbers (written as 3-digit codes or with a leading zero, e.g. 659 or 0659) that do not map one-to-one to NCCI codes.

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 Pennsylvania

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 13,620 plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters on payrolls in Pennsylvania (May 2025), the 10th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $32.73 an hour, 7% above the US median of $30.67.

This trade is a smaller part of the Pennsylvania job market than it is nationally: plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters hold 0.75 times their national share of jobs there.

At a typical Pennsylvania premium of about $2.47 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $1.65 for class 0663 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $0.81 for every hour worked, or $1,682 a year full time. A 2-person crew comes to roughly $3,363 a year in premium before any experience mod.

Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Pennsylvania pay runs from $22.49 an hour at the 10th percentile to $64.48 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $0.56 an hour on a new hire and $1.59 on a senior hand.

Workers comp requirements in Pennsylvania

Coverage required: 1 employee
Owners and sole proprietors: A sole proprietor with no employees is exempt; required once any employee is hired
State fund: Competitive state fund (State Workers' Insurance Fund, SWIF)
Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if disability lasts more than 14 days
Penalty for going without: Failure to insure is a misdemeanor per day (up to $2,500); intentional failure is a felony (up to $15,000)

Pennsylvania sets rates through the independent PCRB (not NCCI) and runs its own competitive state fund, SWIF.

Pennsylvania vs neighboring states

Delaware: about $2.50 per $100 of payroll
New Jersey: about $4.46 per $100 of payroll
New York: about $5.28 per $100 of payroll
Ohio: about $1.46 per $100 of payroll
West Virginia: about $0.93 per $100 of payroll

Among its neighbors, West Virginia is the cheapest for plumbing comp at $0.93 and New York the most expensive at $5.28 per $100 of payroll.

Working across the line into Ohio 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 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.