Workers’ comp insurance cost for painters in Minnesota

Q: What does workers' comp cost painting contractors in Minnesota?

Modeled from the 2024 filed manual rate of $6.86 per $100 of payroll: a <5-employee painting business lands around $3.4k–$14k per year before experience mods and schedule credits.

Q: What drives the rate up or down?

Three levers: payroll (the exposure base), claims history (the experience modifier), and schedule credits/debits the insurer applies. Painting work is NCCI class 5474 (Painting NOC, ‘not otherwise classified’) — the general classification for interior and exterior building painting that isn’t assigned a more specific painting class.

Published 2026-06-11 · by Brokly

Direct answer: Minnesota painting contractors pay a filed workers’-comp manual rate of $6.86 per $100 of payroll (2024 filed rate) — the 10th-highest of 51 US jurisdictions. Modeled on real payrolls, most <5-employee painting contractors land around $3.4k–$14k/yr, before experience mods and schedule credits.

77% of MN painting contractors have <5 employees — the chart below prices every size band from its own observed payroll.
Minnesota sits 10th of 51: OH pays more ($7.83), VT less ($6.23).
Workers’ comp is one of several coverages — see everything your painting business needs in Minnesota →

What do Minnesota painting contractors pay for workers’ comp?

Modeled annual premium across the real size distribution of MN painting contractors

bar height = how many painting contractors are that size · figures = modeled annual cost

typical · most MN painting contractors

▼

<5 emp

≈$5.1k/yr

5–9 emp

≈$23k/yr

10–19 emp

≈$49k/yr

20–49 emp

≈$160k/yr

SMALLER

MID-SIZE

LARGER

A <5-employee MN painting business: modeled $3.4k–$14k/yr in workers’-comp premium (that band’s own average wage, before experience mods and schedule credits). Bar heights show how many of the 783 MN painting contractors fall in each size band.

Cohort: size distribution of 783 MN painting contractors (Census CBP 2023); premiums modeled from one filed rate ($6.86/$100 payroll, 2024). Bands shown cover 774 of 783 establishments (98.9%) — 9 establishments in larger, very small-count, or data-suppressed size bands are not shown. 2023 payroll dollars, not inflation-adjusted. Illustrative benchmark — not a quote or coverage recommendation.

Filed manual rate (MN)

$6.86 / $100 payroll

as of 2024

Typical <5-employee painting business (77% of MN)

$3.4k–$14k / yr modeled

as of 2024 · CBP 2023

Sources: Oregon DCBS workers' compensation premium rate ranking study, June 2025 (calendar-year 2024 rates) (as of calendar year 2024, retrieved 2026-06-04) · US Census County Business Patterns 2023, state file (Painting and wall covering contractors (NAICS 238320)) (as of 2023, retrieved 2026-06-05)

How does Minnesota compare to nearby ranks?

Calculated manual rates, $ per $100 payroll, NCCI class 5474 (Painting NOC), 2024. See all 51 jurisdictions →

Rank	State	Rate / $100 payroll
6	Maine	$7.83
7	California	$7.41
8	Connecticut	$7.34
9	South Carolina	$7.06
10	Minnesota	$6.86
11	Montana	$6.76
12	Florida	$6.68
13	New Hampshire	$6.65
14	Rhode Island	$6.47

Sources: Oregon DCBS workers' compensation premium rate ranking study, June 2025 (calendar-year 2024 rates) (as of calendar year 2024, retrieved 2026-06-04)

Frequently asked questions

What does workers' comp cost painting contractors in Minnesota?

Modeled from the 2024 filed manual rate of $6.86 per $100 of payroll: a <5-employee painting business lands around $3.4k–$14k per year before experience mods and schedule credits.

What drives the rate up or down?

Three levers: payroll (the exposure base), claims history (the experience modifier), and schedule credits/debits the insurer applies. Painting work is NCCI class 5474 (Painting NOC, ‘not otherwise classified’) — the general classification for interior and exterior building painting that isn’t assigned a more specific painting class.

Painters in nearby-ranked states: Connecticut ($7.34) · Florida ($6.68) · California ($7.41) · Georgia ($11.37)

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Illustrative benchmark — not a quote or coverage recommendation. Figures are modeled from public filings and Census data for 783 Minnesota painting contractors; your premium depends on your payroll, claims history, and carrier.