Idaho Roofing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
The published Idaho rate for roofing workers comp, class 5551 (Roofing - All Kinds and Drivers), is $11.30 per $100 of payroll (effective January 1, 2026). Your experience modifier and any carrier discounts adjust it.
This is the published manual rate, so it already includes carrier expenses. Source.
Idaho 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 Idaho
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,190 roofers on payrolls in Idaho (May 2025), the 28th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $27.78 an hour, 4% above the US median of $26.65.
This trade is a bigger part of the Idaho job market than it is nationally: roofers hold 1.6 times their national share of jobs there.
At the published Idaho rate of $11.30 per $100 of payroll for class 5551, comp on one worker at that wage costs about $3.14 for every hour worked, or $6,529 a year full time. A 4-person crew comes to roughly $26,118 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Idaho pay runs from $17.20 an hour at the 10th percentile to $34.55 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $1.94 an hour on a new hire and $3.90 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Idaho
- Coverage required: 1 employee; no waivers permitted
- Owners and sole proprietors: A sole proprietor with no employees is exempt; employees must be covered
- State fund: Competitive state fund (Idaho State Insurance Fund)
- Waiting period: 5 days; retroactive if disability exceeds 14 days
Idaho coverage is strictly compulsory with no waivers, so an employee cannot sign away their right to workers comp.
Idaho vs neighboring states
- Oregon: about $8.63 per $100 of payroll
- Washington: about $19.87 per $100 of payroll
- Wyoming: about $2.39 per $100 of payroll
Among its neighbors, Wyoming is the cheapest for roofing comp at $2.39 and Washington the most expensive at $19.87 per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into Washington or 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.