Workers' comp cost for masonry contractors in Cape Coral

Masonry businesses in Lee County

Lee County had 90 masonry contractors (NAICS 238140) establishments in 2023, employing 1,065 people, according to the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns.

That is 6.5% of the 1,392 such establishments statewide, and the fourth highest count among the nine counties that hold the ten cities in this guide series.

Their average annual payroll per employee was about $42,983. Workers' comp is priced on payroll, so this is the starting point for any Cape Coral estimate.

Of all construction businesses in Lee County, 2.3% are masonry contractor firms (90 of 3,887).

For masonry contractor firms, Lee County's average pay of $42,983 sits above Miami-Dade County ($42,928) and below Orange County ($51,104).

In the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro, 330 people worked as brickmasons and blockmasons in May 2024, earning a median $23.83 an hour against $24.03 for Florida as a whole.

At that metro median, one full-time worker earns about $49,570 a year, which adds roughly $2,588 of class 5022 premium.

2026 Florida class codes and rates

Rates are the 2026 Florida manual rates published by the FWCJUA, matching the NCCI filing approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation for policies effective on or after January 1, 2026.

How masonry contractors are classified

Block, brick and stone work is 5022, Masonry NOC, at $5.220 per $100. Concrete block is the dominant exterior wall system in Florida homes, so masons here spend more time on structural CMU walls and tie-beams than on decorative veneer. Stucco and plastering use a separate class, so a mason that also applies stucco should record that payroll apart. Two rules shape masonry claims in Florida. OSHA's respirable crystalline silica standard for construction (29 CFR 1926.1153) applies whenever block or stone is cut or ground, so wet saws, vacuum shrouds and respirators are part of the job. And because most Florida exterior walls are reinforced concrete block, masons spend long stretches setting rebar, grouting cells and forming tie-beams at the top of the wall, which is where scaffold falls and overhead strains happen.

At audit

• Stucco and plastering payroll belongs in a separate class, so masons who also stucco should record those hours apart.
• Laborers who mix mortar and stock block for the masons are rated in 5022 with the crew.

Permits and licensing in Cape Coral

Masonry businesses working in Cape Coral pull masonry work under the building permit 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 masonry contractors in Cape Coral

Cape Coral masons build block homes on the city's grid of lots, and some also build seawalls and canal-front walls. Coastal block walls carry more reinforcement and storm-hardening scopes, with more time on scaffolds.

• Falls from scaffolds while laying upper courses
• Back injuries from lifting block, which Florida builders use heavily for exterior walls
• Silica dust exposure from cutting block and stone
• Struck-by injuries from dropped block and mortar buckets
• Hand injuries from saws and trowels

What to have ready for a Cape Coral masonry quote

• Payroll for your Cape Coral masonry work, split by class (5022) 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 masonry 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

Questions from Cape Coral masonry contractors