Minnesota Roofing Workers Comp Rates (2026)
Minnesota does not publish its roofing class figures online. Across the 26 states that do, the median typical premium is about $11.21 per $100 of payroll. Ask a carrier or the state's rating bureau for the current Minnesota figure.
No official Minnesota figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.
Minnesota 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 Minnesota
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 1,890 roofers on payrolls in Minnesota (May 2025), the 24th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $35.81 an hour, 34% above the US median of $26.65.
This trade is a smaller part of the Minnesota job market than it is nationally: roofers hold 0.73 times their national share of jobs there.
At the US median of $11.21 per $100 of payroll (Minnesota does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $4.01 for every hour worked, or $8,350 a year full time. A 4-person crew comes to roughly $33,399 a year in premium before any experience mod.
Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Minnesota pay runs from $22.13 an hour at the 10th percentile to $47.68 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $2.48 an hour on a new hire and $5.34 on a senior hand.
Workers comp requirements in Minnesota
- Coverage required: 1 employee; no hours or wage floor
- Owners and sole proprietors: Sole proprietors, partners, and certain closely-held owners excluded; may elect in
- State fund: Private market (no state fund)
- Waiting period: 3 days; paid back only if disability continues 10+ days
- Penalty for going without: Up to $1,000 per employee per uninsured week; willful failure is a gross misdemeanor
Minnesota's Special Compensation Fund pays injured workers of uninsured employers directly, then recovers from the employer; coverage must also be reported when getting or renewing a state license.
Minnesota vs neighboring states
- Iowa: about $10.14 per $100 of payroll
- North Dakota: about $3.39 per $100 of payroll
- Wisconsin: about $12.79 per $100 of payroll
Minnesota does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, North Dakota is the cheapest for roofing comp at about $3.39 and Wisconsin the most expensive at about $12.79 per $100 of payroll.
Working across the line into North Dakota 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.