Colorado Roofing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Colorado loss cost for roofing workers comp, class 5551 (Roofing - All Kinds & Drivers), is $5.404 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Carriers multiply it by their own filed multiplier, so a typical premium is about $8.11.
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.
Colorado class code for roofing
- 5551: Roofing - All Kinds & Drivers
Falls are the main hazard in roofing. In 2023 roofing contractors accounted for 110 fatal falls, 26 percent of all fatal falls in construction (BLS).
What comp costs per roofer in Colorado
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 3,340 roofers on payrolls in Colorado (May 2025), the 11th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $24.88 an hour, 7% below the US median of $26.65.
This trade is a bigger part of the Colorado job market than it is nationally: roofers hold 1.3 times their national share of jobs there.
At a typical Colorado premium of about $8.11 per $100 of payroll (the published loss cost of $5.40 for class 5551 times a 1.5 carrier multiplier), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $2.02 for every hour worked, or $4,197 a year full time. A 4-person crew comes to roughly $16,788 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Colorado pay runs from $22.03 an hour at the 10th percentile to $35.27 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $1.79 an hour on a new hire and $2.86 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Colorado
- Coverage required: 1 employee
- Owners and sole proprietors: Sole proprietors and partners exempt by default; may elect in
- State fund: Competitive state fund (Pinnacol Assurance), which must insure any Colorado employer
- Waiting period: 3 days; retroactive if disability exceeds 14 days
- Penalty for going without: Fines up to $250-$500 per day, plus a 50% benefit increase paid by an uninsured employer
If you are uninsured when a worker is hurt in Colorado, their benefits are increased 50% out of your own pocket.
Colorado vs neighboring states
- Wyoming: about $2.39 per $100 of payroll
Colorado has the highest roofing comp rate in its region; every neighboring state charges less per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Wyoming 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 roofing comp bill
- Falls drive roofing claims, and one serious fall can push your experience mod well above 1.0 for three policy years. A written fall-protection plan and documented toolbox talks are what carriers ask to see before they offer a safety credit.
- Uninsured subcontractors are the most common audit surprise in roofing. If a sub cannot show you a certificate of insurance, the auditor adds what you paid them to your own payroll at the roofing rate.
- Estimators and salespeople who never go on a roof can often be classed separately at a far lower rate, but only if your payroll records show their hours apart from field work.
- Overtime premium (the extra half in time and a half) is excluded from comp payroll in most states. Record it separately so you are not charged the roofing rate on it.