Virginia Roofing Workers Comp Rates (2026)

Virginia 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 Virginia figure.

No official Virginia figure is available online, so the numbers below use the US median of the states that publish one.

Virginia 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 Virginia

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counts 2,070 roofers on payrolls in Virginia (May 2025), the 20th largest workforce among the 50 states and DC. The median wage is $23.28 an hour, 13% below the US median of $26.65.

This trade is a smaller part of the Virginia job market than it is nationally: roofers hold 0.58 times their national share of jobs there.

At the US median of $11.21 per $100 of payroll (Virginia does not publish its figure online), comp on one worker at that wage costs about $2.61 for every hour worked, or $5,428 a year full time. A 4-person crew comes to roughly $21,713 a year in premium before any experience mod.

Because premium is charged on payroll, who you hire moves the bill. Virginia pay runs from $18.37 an hour at the 10th percentile to $31.93 at the 90th, so the same rate costs $2.06 an hour on a new hire and $3.58 on a senior hand.

Workers comp requirements in Virginia

Coverage required: 3+ employees (subcontractor employees count toward the total)
Owners and sole proprietors: No waivers for sole proprietors; officers and working LLC managers count as employees
State fund: Private market (no state fund)
Waiting period: 7 days; retroactive to day one if incapacity exceeds 21 days
Penalty for going without: Up to $250 per day (capped at $50,000), business-closure orders, and possible criminal prosecution

Virginia counts a contractor's subcontractor employees toward the three-employee threshold, so using subs frequently triggers the mandate.

Virginia vs neighboring states

North Carolina: about $10.25 per $100 of payroll
West Virginia: about $3.33 per $100 of payroll

Virginia does not publish its figure, so the first row is the US median. Among neighbors that publish, West Virginia is the cheapest for roofing comp at about $3.33 and North Carolina the most expensive at about $10.25 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 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.