Cape Coral electrical contractors: workers' comp rates and a real payroll example
Lee County has 318 electrical contractor businesses. Class 5190 is $2.969 per $100 of payroll in 2026; a 4-person Cape Coral crew runs about $6,651 a year.
Electrical businesses in Lee County
The Census Bureau counted 318 electrical contractors (NAICS 238210) establishments in Lee County in 2023, with 2,833 paid employees on their payrolls.
That is 4.9% of the 6,480 such establishments statewide, and the sixth highest count among the nine counties that hold the ten cities in this guide series.
Their average annual payroll per employee was about $55,971. Workers' comp is priced on payroll, so this is the starting point for any Cape Coral estimate.
Narrowing to ZIP codes with a Cape Coral postal address, the same Census program lists 105 electrical contractor establishments in 2023.
Electrical firms make up 8.2% of the 3,887 construction establishments in Lee County.
For electrical contractor firms, Lee County's average pay of $55,971 sits above Alachua County ($55,492) and below Miami-Dade County ($57,693).
In the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro, 1,950 people worked as electricians in May 2024, earning a median $24.21 an hour against $25.53 for Florida as a whole.
At that metro median, one full-time worker earns about $50,360 a year, which adds roughly $1,495 of class 5190 premium.
2026 Florida class codes and rates
| Class | What it covers | Rate per $100 payroll | FWCJUA minimum premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5190 | ELECTRICAL WIRING W/IN BUILDING AND DRIVERS | $2.969 | $2,831 |
Rates are the 2026 Florida manual rates published by the FWCJUA, matching the standard filing approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation for policies effective on or after January 1, 2026.
Worked example for a Cape Coral crew
Take a 4-person Cape Coral crew paid the county average: $224,000 of annual payroll in class 5190.
At $2.969 per $100, the manual premium is about $6,651 a year, or about $1,663 per employee, before your experience modifier, credits and fees.
If the business were placed in the FWCJUA instead, the 2026 surcharges of 93% (Tier 1) and 183% (Tiers 2 and 3) would put the same payroll at about $12,836 or $18,821.
The experience modifier then moves that number: at a 0.85 mod the Cape Coral crew would pay about $5,653, and at a 1.25 mod about $8,314.
This is an illustration built from public averages, not a quote.
Class 5190 manual premium by headcount at Lee County average pay
| Employees | Annual payroll | Manual premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $56,000 | $1,663 |
| 3 | $168,000 | $4,988 |
| 4 | $224,000 | $6,651 |
| 10 | $560,000 | $16,626 |
| 20 | $1,119,000 | $33,223 |
How electrical contractors are classified
Electricians wiring inside buildings are classed 5190, Electrical Wiring Within Buildings and Drivers. Outdoor line work, such as utility poles and overhead distribution, is classified separately (for example 7538 for power-line construction), so a contractor that does both must keep separate payroll records for each or the carrier can assign unrecorded payroll to the higher-rated class. Generator installs and post-storm service calls stay in 5190 when the work is on the building side of the meter.
Usually included
- Wiring, panels and fixtures inside buildings
- Service calls and generator connections on the building side
- Low-voltage and data cabling installed by electricians
- Drivers of company vehicles
Rated separately
- Utility line and pole construction
- Clerical staff (8810)
- Outside salespeople
At audit
- Separate any line or pole work from inside wiring in the payroll records; mixed records let the auditor pick the higher-rated class.
- Apprentices and helpers are rated in 5190 the same as licensed journeymen.
Permits and licensing in Cape Coral
Electrical businesses working in Cape Coral pull electrical permits through the City of Cape Coral Permitting Services Division, and Florida law makes proof of workers' comp coverage or an exemption a condition of getting a building permit.
Every building permit in Cape Coral is submitted through the city's EnerGov self-service portal, and the Permitting Services Division registers contractors with the city before they can pull a permit. Cape Coral is laced with canals, so docks, seawalls and boat lifts are a regular part of local construction alongside new single-family homes. Hurricane Ian made landfall in Lee County on September 28, 2022, and the rebuild that followed reshaped the local labor market for roofers, framers and drywall crews for years.
Cape Coral's construction is dominated by single-family homes on a grid of canals and dry lots, with pools, docks, seawalls and boat lifts built alongside many of them. After Hurricane Ian, roof replacement and full rebuilds created a long backlog, and the city's contractor registration and permit portal became the gatekeeper for out-of-area crews. A contractor working here benefits from having certificates on file with the city and the builders it subs for before each job starts. Much of the city still relies on septic systems, and Cape Coral's long-running Utilities Extension Project brings water and sewer lines to those neighborhoods, which keeps underground and plumbing crews busy. Large areas in the northern part of the city remain vacant lots, so new-home construction continues to spread north.
- Canal-front and seawall work adds drowning and marine-construction exposures that can call for USL&H coverage on top of state workers' comp.
- Single-family residential construction dominates, so framing and roofing payroll here tends to land in the residential carpentry and roofing codes.
Common claims for electrical contractors in Cape Coral
Cape Coral electricians wire new single-family homes and pools, and handle dock and boat-lift power on canal-front lots. Salt air corrodes panels and connections on coastal buildings, so service calls often involve damaged, energized equipment.
- Shock and arc-flash burns
- Falls from ladders and lifts while pulling wire overhead
- Knee and back injuries from crawl-space and attic work
- Cuts from conduit and cable
- Heat illness on outdoor service and generator installs after storms
What to have ready for a Cape Coral electrical quote
- Payroll for your Cape Coral electrical work, split by class (5190) and with office staff listed separately
- Certificates or exemptions for every sub on your Cape Coral jobs, checked in the Proof of Coverage database
- Three years of loss runs for the electrical business, plus your current experience modifier if you have one
- Recent permits pulled with the City of Cape Coral Permitting Services Division, which show the volume and type of Cape Coral work
- Any jobs planned outside Lee County or outside Florida this year, so the policy covers them
Get a workers' comp quote for your Cape Coral electrical business
Send your payroll by class and your loss runs, and a licensed Bright Coast agent will shop the carriers writing electrical contractors in Lee County. Certificates can be issued the same day for qualified accounts.
Questions from Cape Coral electrical contractors
What does workers' comp cost electrical contractors in Cape Coral, FL?
Start from payroll. Lee County electrical contractor firms paid about $55,971 per employee in 2023, and class 5190 costs $2.969 per $100 of it, so each Cape Coral worker carries roughly $1,663 of manual premium a year. Your experience modifier, credits and the carrier's pricing move the final figure from there.
How many electrical contractor businesses operate in Cape Coral?
The Census Bureau's 2023 ZIP Code Business Patterns lists 105 electrical contractor establishments in ZIP codes with a Cape Coral postal address, out of 318 across Lee County and 6,480 statewide. Any of those Cape Coral firms with employees must insure them, which is why owners and GCs ask for a certificate before work starts.
Where do electrical contractors in Cape Coral get permits, and is proof of coverage required?
Permits inside Cape Coral come from the City of Cape Coral Permitting Services Division. Electrical contractors in Cape Coral work under a state certified or registered license from the Florida DBPR. Because electrical is construction work, coverage is required from the first employee, and the Cape Coral permit staff can look your policy up in the state database.
Does solar panel installation stay in 5190?
Wiring inside the building and the electrical tie-in are 5190 work. Racking and panel mounting on the roof can be classified differently by the carrier, so solar contractors should confirm the split before binding.
Does seawall or dock work in Cape Coral need more than state workers' comp?
It can. Work on or over navigable water may fall under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act, which state workers' comp does not cover unless the policy carries a USL&H endorsement. Ask for that endorsement if your crews build or repair seawalls, docks or boat lifts.
Does hurricane season change workers' comp costs for electrical contractors in Cape Coral?
The rate does not change with the season, but the bill can. Premium is calculated on audited payroll, so the storm-repair work that follows a hurricane in Cape Coral raises payroll and, with it, the final audited premium. Updating your payroll estimate mid-term avoids a large audit bill.
Sources
- Florida DBPR, Construction Industry Licensing Board
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2024 (metropolitan areas and Florida)
- U.S. Census Bureau, ZIP Code Business Patterns 2023 (establishments by size class, ZIPs grouped by postal city)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.103 — Building permits; proof of workers' compensation coverage
- Florida Workers' Compensation Joint Underwriting Association, 2026 rates and minimum premiums by class
- Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Commissioner approves 6.9% workers' compensation rate decrease effective January 1, 2026
- FWCJUA, Bulletin 25-9: 2026 Tier 1, 2 and 3 surcharges
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 (establishments, employment and annual payroll by county and NAICS)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.02 — Definitions (employer, construction industry, corporate officers)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.05 — Election of exemption
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.10 — Liability for compensation (contractors and subcontractors)
- Florida Statutes, Section 440.107 — Compliance, stop-work orders and penalties
- Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, Proof of Coverage database
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census population, QuickFacts
- City of Cape Coral, Permitting Services Division
- NOAA National Hurricane Center, Tropical cyclone climatology (Atlantic season June 1 – November 30)
Reviewed 2026-10-13. Rates and figures are for illustration; a quote depends on your payroll, classifications, experience modifier and carrier.