Workers' Comp Insurance Cost Calculator
Estimate your annual workers' compensation premium from payroll, industry, state, and claims history. Estimates only, not a quote.
Your business
Full service, fast food, catering, bars
Estimated annual premium
- Estimated rate per $100 of payroll
- $1.19 - $3.04
- State cost index (median = 100)
- 132
- Experience modifier applied
- 1.00
- Midpoint estimate
- $10,810
Estimate only, not an insurance quote and not a filed rate. Your carrier sets the final premium from your exact class codes, payroll audit, and claims history.
The formula behind the estimate
Workers' comp premium is (annual payroll / 100) x class code rate x experience modifier, plus carrier credits or debits and a policy expense constant. This calculator uses an approximate national rate range for the industry you select instead of a single filed class code rate, then scales it by a relative state cost index. That is why the output is a range: two carriers in the same state can quote meaningfully different rates for identical payroll.
Run it once per employee group
Policies almost always carry several class codes. If you employ office staff, drivers, and field crews, estimate each payroll group separately with its own industry selection and add the results. Assigning all payroll to your highest-hazard class overstates cost badly, and assigning it all to clerical understates it, which is also the most common audit finding.
Related tools
Compare your estimate against the industry and state cost tables. For the benefit side that premium funds, see 2026 weekly benefit rates by state and the TTD benefit calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How does this workers' comp insurance cost calculator work?+
It applies the standard premium formula: payroll divided by 100, multiplied by an industry rate per $100 of payroll, adjusted by a relative state cost index and your experience modifier, plus a typical policy expense constant. Because filed class code rates vary by carrier and state, the result is shown as a range rather than a single number.
Is the result a real insurance quote?+
No. It is an educational estimate built from published national rate ranges and a relative state cost index. It is not an NCCI class code rate, not a filed carrier rate, and not binding on any insurer. Only a licensed agent or carrier can issue a quote for your business.
What payroll figure should I enter?+
Use annual gross payroll for the employees who fall under the class you selected. In most states that includes overtime counted at straight time, bonuses, and commissions. If you have both office staff and field crews, run the calculator once per group and add the results, because each group carries its own rate.
What if I do not know my experience modifier?+
Leave it at 1.00. Small employers below their state's premium eligibility threshold are not experience rated at all and effectively carry a 1.00 mod. If you do have a mod on your declarations page, entering it materially improves the estimate.
Why is my actual premium different from this estimate?+
The most common reasons are class codes that differ from the broad industry group used here, scheduled rating credits or debits from your carrier, package and premium discounts, dividend plans in some states, minimum premium rules for very small payrolls, and payroll audit adjustments at the end of the policy term.
Which states do not use private-market rates?+
North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, and Wyoming require coverage through a state fund, so private carrier pricing does not apply and results for those states are directional only. Texas allows employers to opt out of workers' comp entirely, with significant liability consequences.
Sources: state workers' compensation rate and loss-cost filings, the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services biennial premium rate ranking (national median = 100), and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employer cost data. Last reviewed May 2026.