For Sacramento workers comp insurance, the typical local pay in each construction trade with a California wage line sits below that line, so many local crews may report much of their payroll in the lower-wage classifications. The page covers Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo counties, with each city's ZIP codes listed below.
Three things shape the answer for a Sacramento-area business. California requires workers comp once a business has one employee. The no-employee exemption most contractor license classes can still file is scheduled to end on January 1, 2028; a CSLB proposal could still alter that. And for several construction trades, California divides payroll between two classifications according to each worker's regular hourly pay, using lines in force for policies from September 1, 2026. Local pay decides which side of those lines a crew tends to land on, and the table sets the federal median wage for each trade in the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom area beside California's line.
| Trade or Role | Median Hourly Pay | Wage Line for the Classification | Where Typical Pay Sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electricians | $35.98 | $40.00 | Below the line |
| Plumbers and pipefitters | $31.35 | $35.00 | Below the line |
| Carpenters | $35.79 | $46.00 | Below the line |
| Drywall installers | $30.55 | $45.00 | Below the line |
| Painters | $28.61 | $36.00 | Below the line |
| Cement masons | $28.96 | $36.00 | Below the line |
| Equipment operators (excavation) | $44.06 | $45.00 | Below the line |
| Construction laborers | $29.11 | No wage split | — |
| Restaurant cooks | $21.27 | No wage split | — |
| Servers | $16.86 | No wage split | — |
| Bartenders | $17.07 | No wage split | — |
Here every construction median in the table falls under its line. Operating engineers come closest, sitting just under the excavation line. Electricians sit somewhat below the electrical line, and carpenters, drywall installers, painters and cement masons sit well below theirs. A median is the middle of the local market, not your crew: a foreman or journey-level electrician paid above the line can often be reported in the higher-wage classification while apprentices and helpers stay in the lower-wage one. Where each worker's payroll belongs turns on that person's duties, time records and, finally, the carrier's determination; the guide to dual wage workers comp California explains the records to keep.
Restaurant payroll has no wage split. In this area the typical restaurant cook earns more per hour than the typical server or bartender, and tips don't count as California workers comp payroll, so the payroll a restaurant reports for its front of house can run well below what those employees take home. The same goes for meals and lodging an employer provides, apart from exceptions set by a class's own wording or a wage reduction.
The federal Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area is built on Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado counties, with Yolo County as an outlying county. Beyond the city of Sacramento it takes in Elk Grove, Folsom, Rancho Cordova and Citrus Heights in Sacramento County; Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln and Auburn in Placer County; Davis, Woodland and West Sacramento across the river in Yolo County; and El Dorado Hills and Placerville in the foothills. El Dorado Hills is an unincorporated community, so its building permits run through El Dorado County. The ZIP codes below are Census ZIP code areas grouped by county.
Much of the region's large construction sits near downtown and the airport. Sacramento County's SMForward program is adding a parking garage, a terminal walkway and concourse work at Sacramento International Airport; the new Tani Cantil-Sakauye Sacramento County Courthouse recently opened at the edge of the Railyards; and a Kaiser Permanente medical center is under construction in the Railyards. Long jobs like these often run several tiers of concrete, steel, electrical and finish subcontractors, which is why a sub's own workers comp certificate of insurance tends to matter at audit.
For restaurants, Old Sacramento's historic waterfront holds restaurants and the Delta King riverboat, and Visit Sacramento promotes the region as America's Farm-to-Fork Capital. The projects and districts below are listed for local context, with their official sources; we have no connection to them.
Illustrative scenario
A framing contractor in Roseville pays six carpenters. In line with the Sacramento-area median, five of them earn below California's carpentry line, and only the lead carpenter is paid above it. If the payroll records show each person's hourly rate, the lead's payroll may be reported in the higher-wage carpentry classification and the other five in the lower-wage one, subject to the carrier's determination. Put the same crew in the San Jose area, where carpenters' pay runs higher, and more of the payroll could sit near the line; move it to Arizona or Nevada and California's wage split doesn't apply at all.
Each California trade page covers the license, the published classifications that mention the work and what an auditor asks for. For the work the region's projects bring, begin with California GC workers compensation, California electrician workers comp insurance, workers comp for concrete contractors in California or California carpentry workers comp. Kitchens and taprooms can use California restaurant workers compensation and California taproom workers comp.
The statewide rules are on the page for California contractor workers comp rules. Other metro pages in the state: Bay Area contractor workers comp, workers comp in Fresno, Los Angeles workers comp insurance, Orange County contractor workers comp, San Diego restaurant workers comp and Inland Empire restaurant workers comp. We can place through State Fund as well as national carriers, subject to underwriting. When your payroll by trade is ready, get a workers comp quote.
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The federal median for electricians in the Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom area sits below the electrical line, so a typical journeyman here may land on the lower-wage side. The split looks at each person's own regular hourly rate, though, so a well-paid foreman can still be reported above the line. The carrier makes the final determination.
Not in California. Tips are left out of workers comp payroll, so a waterfront restaurant reports its servers' and bartenders' wages without the tips they collect. Keep tips on their own line in your payroll records so the auditor can see what was excluded and why.
California's workers comp rules are set statewide, so a job in Roseville or Lincoln follows the same classification and payroll rules as one in downtown Sacramento. What changes is the permit office you deal with. Premium typically depends on your trade, payroll and claims history rather than on which side of a county line the job sits.
Yes. Yolo County is an outlying county of the federal Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom metro area, so Davis, Woodland and West Sacramento are listed with their ZIP codes alongside the Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado County cities.
5 official sources
Reviewed by David Gleason, Principal, on .
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Sacramento-area workers comp, from local trade wages to the audit.
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