Workers Comp Rate Changes by State

None of the numbers in the table is a rate that a business pays. California's WCIRB calls its figure a pure premium rate, and NCCI states such as Arizona and Nevada call theirs loss costs. Both are advisory: they estimate the part of premium that goes to expected claims for each hundred dollars of payroll in a classification. Each carrier then files its own rates, which typically add its expenses and other costs on top of the advisory starting point.

The Insurance Commissioner adopted an average advisory pure premium rate of $1.65 per $100 of payroll effective September 1, 2026, which is 6.6% above the prior year's approved average. The WCIRB had asked for a larger increase. The adopted figure is the one that counts, and it is still advisory: carriers decide whether and how to follow it in their own rate filings.

The average hides wide differences between trades, and some construction classifications are split by hourly wage, which changes the advisory figure that applies to each person's payroll. The California workers comp class codes page lists the published classifications by trade, and the California workers comp for contractors and restaurants page covers the rest of the state's requirements.

NCCI filed a proposed loss cost change for Arizona on July 28, 2026: a decrease of 0.2% for both the voluntary market and the assigned risk market, for policies from January 1, 2027. This site found no decision on it from Arizona's Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions, so it is shown as proposed. A change that small typically matters less to a renewal than payroll, classifications and claims do. The Arizona workers comp for contractors and restaurants page explains the state's other rules.

Nevada's advisory loss costs rose 21.6% on March 1, 2026, after the filing was amended before approval. Then, on October 1, 2026, they fell 32.8% in a law-only filing. That drop doesn't mean industrial insurance got cheaper. The new law counts each private employee's pay up to a much higher per-employee limit, replacing the old $36,000 cap, so more payroll is counted and the loss cost per dollar came down to balance it.

NCCI expected the filing to leave total premium across Nevada roughly unchanged, but a statewide balance can still shift costs between employers. A business with many high earners may see more premium; one with mostly hourly staff under the old cap may see less. The next approved change, up 8.6%, takes effect March 1, 2027. Restaurant owners can see how this plays out with tips on Nevada restaurant industrial insurance, and contractors on the Nevada industrial insurance for contractors page.