Workers’ comp insurance cost for painters in North Carolina

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

Modeled from the 2024 filed manual rate of $5.44 per $100 of payroll: a <5-employee painting business lands around $2.2k–$8.8k 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: North Carolina painting contractors pay a filed workers’-comp manual rate of $5.44 per $100 of payroll (2024 filed rate) — the 24th-highest of 51 US jurisdictions. Modeled on real payrolls, most <5-employee painting contractors land around $2.2k–$8.8k/yr, before experience mods and schedule credits.

79% of NC painting contractors have <5 employees — the chart below prices every size band from its own observed payroll.
North Carolina sits 24th of 51: TX pays more ($5.80), CO less ($4.85).
Workers’ comp is one of several coverages — see everything your painting business needs in North Carolina →

What do North Carolina painting contractors pay for workers’ comp?

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

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

typical · most NC painting contractors

▼

<5 emp

≈$3.5k/yr

5–9 emp

≈$15k/yr

10–19 emp

≈$36k/yr

20–49 emp

≈$100k/yr

SMALLER

MID-SIZE

LARGER

A <5-employee NC painting business: modeled $2.2k–$8.8k/yr in workers’-comp premium (that band’s own average wage, before experience mods and schedule credits). Bar heights show how many of the 1,083 NC painting contractors fall in each size band.

Cohort: size distribution of 1,083 NC painting contractors (Census CBP 2023); premiums modeled from one filed rate ($5.44/$100 payroll, 2024). Bands shown cover 1,080 of 1,083 establishments (99.7%) — 3 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 (NC)

$5.44 / $100 payroll

as of 2024

Typical <5-employee painting business (79% of NC)

$2.2k–$8.8k / 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 North Carolina 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
20	Missouri	$5.73
21	Oklahoma	$5.63
22	Illinois	$5.50
23	Washington	$5.50
24	North Carolina	$5.44
25	Iowa	$5.34
26	Pennsylvania	$5.08
27	Indiana	$4.96
28	Nebraska	$4.92

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 North Carolina?

Modeled from the 2024 filed manual rate of $5.44 per $100 of payroll: a <5-employee painting business lands around $2.2k–$8.8k 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: Iowa ($5.34) · Illinois ($5.50) · Pennsylvania ($5.08) · Indiana ($4.96)

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Illustrative benchmark — not a quote or coverage recommendation. Figures are modeled from public filings and Census data for 1,083 North Carolina painting contractors; your premium depends on your payroll, claims history, and carrier.