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Two tools in one: estimate your workers' comp insurance premium as an employer, or estimate a claim settlement value as an injured worker.
Complete the form on the left to see your workers’ compensation estimate.
This free workers’ comp calculator above serves two purposes in one tool. If you’re a business owner, use the Employer tab to estimate your annual workers’ compensation insurance premium using the same formula carriers apply: (Payroll ÷ $100) × Classification Rate × Experience Modification Number. If you’re an injured worker, use the Worker tab as a workers’ comp settlement estimator to get a ballpark claim value based on your wages, injury type, and medical costs.
Understanding how workers’ comp premiums are calculated — and how settlements are valued — puts you in a stronger position whether you’re buying a policy or navigating a claim. Use the tool above as your starting point, then connect with a licensed broker or attorney for precise figures.
Workers' comp rate per $100 of payroll from clerical workers to roofers
Average workers' comp settlement payout nationally
Fraction of average weekly wage most states pay as workers' comp income benefit while unable to work
Average settlement increase when an injured worker retains an attorney vs. going unrepresented
How to calculate workers’ comp premium comes down to three variables multiplied together. Every carrier in the U.S. uses the same core formula:
(Annual Payroll ÷ $100) × Classification Code Rate × Experience Modification Rate (EMR) = Estimated Annual Premium
Here’s what each variable means in practice:
Annual Payroll is your total gross wages paid to employees — including overtime, bonuses, and regular salaries — before any deductions. The reason the formula divides by $100 is that workers’ comp rates are expressed as a cost per $100 of payroll, not as a flat per-employee fee.
Classification Code Rate is the rate assigned to your employees’ job type by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) or your state’s rating bureau. A clerical worker carries a rate of $0.35 per $100 of payroll. A roofer carries $22.00 per $100. A construction worker sits around $7.50. Two businesses with identical payroll but different workforces pay completely different premiums because of this factor.
Experience Modification Rate (EMR or Ex-Mod) adjusts your premium based on your company’s actual claims history compared to other businesses in your industry. An EMR of 1.00 is average. Below 1.00 (say, 0.80) means your safety record is better than your peers and you pay 20% less than the base rate. Above 1.00 (say, 1.30) means more claims than average — and a 30% surcharge on top of the base calculation.
A Florida general contractor with $500,000 in annual payroll, a classification rate of $7.50, and an EMR of 1.10 would calculate:
($500,000 ÷ $100) × $7.50 × 1.10 = $41,250 annual premium
If that same company implemented a full safety program (8% discount) and reduced their EMR to 0.90 through better claims management:
($500,000 ÷ $100) × $7.50 × 0.90 × 0.92 = $31,050 annual premium
Savings: $10,200 per year — from the same workforce, same payroll, zero carrier change.
| Industry | Code | Rate/$100 | $500K Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clerical / Office | 8810 | $0.35 | $1,750 |
| Retail / Sales | 8017 | $1.10 | $5,500 |
| Light Manufacturing | 3632 | $2.20 | $11,000 |
| Healthcare / Medical | 8835 | $1.80 | $9,000 |
| Food Service | 9079 | $2.50 | $12,500 |
| Warehouse / Logistics | 8232 | $3.10 | $15,500 |
| Plumbing / Electrical | 5183 | $4.90 | $24,500 |
| General Construction | 5403 | $7.50 | $37,500 |
| Landscaping / Grounds | 0042 | $6.80 | $34,000 |
| Roofing | 5551 | $22.00 | $110,000 |
Note: Rates are NCCI benchmark mid-range figures before state adjustments and EMR. Actual rates vary by state and carrier.
If you’ve been injured at work and are wondering what your claim is worth, the worker comp calculator above gives you a starting estimate. Understanding how the settlement is calculated helps you evaluate any offer you receive before accepting.
A workers’ comp settlement is not calculated as a single fixed number it’s the result of negotiating five components:
Workers’ comp premiums are calculated using the formula: (Annual Payroll ÷ $100) × Classification Code Rate × Experience Modification Rate (EMR) = Estimated Annual Premium. Your payroll provides the base exposure, the class code rate reflects the risk of the work being performed, and the EMR adjusts the premium up or down based on your company’s actual claims history versus the industry average. The EMR is recalculated annually by NCCI or your state’s rating bureau and typically reflects three years of claims data with a one-year lag. Carriers then apply additional adjustments for safety programs, drug-free workplace status, and optional deductibles before arriving at your final billed premium.
The employer pays 100% of workers’ compensation insurance premiums in every U.S. state without exception. Employers cannot pass any portion of the cost to employees, deduct it from wages, or require employees to contribute. It is entirely the employer’s expense. Employees contribute indirectly by maintaining safe workplaces fewer claims mean a lower EMR and lower premiums at renewal but no direct financial contribution is permitted.
In most states, workers’ comp pays approximately two-thirds (66.7%) of an injured employee’s average weekly wage while they are temporarily unable to work. This is called the Temporary Total Disability (TTD) benefit. Most states cap the maximum weekly benefit at a fixed amount updated annually — Florida’s 2026 cap is $1,216 per week, meaning high earners do not receive full two-thirds replacement above that cap. The benefit continues until the employee returns to work, reaches Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), or exhausts their state’s maximum benefit duration. Partial disability benefits (when the employee can return to light duty at reduced pay) are typically calculated as two-thirds of the difference between their pre-injury and current wages.
The average workers’ comp settlement across the United States is approximately $44,179, according to 2026 data from OnderLaw and WorkCompCalc. However, this average is misleading without context — minor soft-tissue injuries with full recovery settle for a few thousand dollars, while permanent partial or total disability cases involving surgery, lost earning capacity, or long-term care routinely reach six figures. The factors that most influence settlement size are: the severity and permanence of the injury, the injured worker’s average weekly wage, future medical costs, the state where the injury occurred, and whether the worker has legal representation. Claimants with attorneys consistently receive settlements 1.8–2.5 times higher than unrepresented claimants.
