Workers’ comp insurance cost for painters in New York

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

Modeled from the 2024 filed manual rate of $13.84 per $100 of payroll: a <5-employee painting business lands around $6k–$24k 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: New York painting contractors pay a filed workers’-comp manual rate of $13.84 per $100 of payroll (2024 filed rate) — the most expensive of 51 US jurisdictions. Modeled on real payrolls, most <5-employee painting contractors land around $6k–$24k/yr, before experience mods and schedule credits.

80% of NY painting contractors have <5 employees — the chart below prices every size band from its own observed payroll.
New York sits 1st of 51: ME pays less ($7.83).
Workers’ comp is one of several coverages — see everything your painting business needs in New York →

What do New York painting contractors pay for workers’ comp?

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

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

typical · most NY painting contractors

▼

<5 emp

≈$9.2k/yr

5–9 emp

≈$44k/yr

10–19 emp

≈$120k/yr

20–49 emp

≈$280k/yr

50–99 emp

≈$600k/yr

SMALLER

MID-SIZE

LARGER

A <5-employee NY painting business: modeled $6k–$24k/yr in workers’-comp premium (that band’s own average wage, before experience mods and schedule credits). Bar heights show how many of the 2,579 NY painting contractors fall in each size band.

Cohort: size distribution of 2,579 NY painting contractors (Census CBP 2023); premiums modeled from one filed rate ($13.84/$100 payroll, 2024). Bands shown cover 2,572 of 2,579 establishments (99.7%) — 7 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 (NY)

$13.84 / $100 payroll

as of 2024

Typical <5-employee painting business (80% of NY)

$6k–$24k / 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 New York 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
1	New York	$13.84
2	New Jersey	$13.83
3	Georgia	$11.37
4	Hawaii	$7.94
5	Ohio	$7.83

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 New York?

Modeled from the 2024 filed manual rate of $13.84 per $100 of payroll: a <5-employee painting business lands around $6k–$24k 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: New Jersey ($13.83) · Georgia ($11.37) · California ($7.41) · Connecticut ($7.34)

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Illustrative benchmark — not a quote or coverage recommendation. Figures are modeled from public filings and Census data for 2,579 New York painting contractors; your premium depends on your payroll, claims history, and carrier.