Gainesville masonry contractors: workers' comp rates and a real payroll example

Masonry businesses in Alachua County

According to County Business Patterns, 61 people worked at 7 masonry contractors (NAICS 238140) establishments in Alachua County in 2023.

That is 0.5% of the 1,392 such establishments statewide, and the lowest count among the nine counties that hold the ten cities in this guide series.

Divide their reported annual payroll by headcount and the average is about $35,393 per employee, the base your premium is calculated on.

The Census flags this county figure as having high noise, so treat it as approximate.

Out of 555 construction establishments in Alachua County, 1.3% are masonry contractor firms.

For masonry contractor firms, Alachua County's average pay of $35,393 sits above Leon County ($34,595) and below Duval County ($37,690).

In the Gainesville metro, 30 people worked as brickmasons and blockmasons in May 2024, earning a median $21.71 an hour against $24.03 for Florida as a whole.

At that metro median, one full-time worker earns about $45,170 a year, which adds roughly $2,358 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 Gainesville

Before a Gainesville masonry job starts, the contractor pulls masonry work under the building permit from the City of Gainesville Building Division, and state law requires proof of workers' comp or an exemption as part of that application.

Gainesville's Building Division handles permits and inspection requests inside city limits, with inspections requested online through PermitGNV; work in unincorporated Alachua County goes through the county instead. The University of Florida and UF Health are the region's largest construction owners, so campus, medical and student-housing projects make up a big share of commercial work. Being inland in North Central Florida, Gainesville sees fewer direct hurricane hits, but summer heat and afternoon storms shape every outdoor schedule.

Gainesville's construction is anchored by the University of Florida and UF Health, which drive campus buildings, research labs, hospital expansions and a steady supply of student-housing projects near the campus. Outside the university, the market is mostly single-family housing and light commercial work spread across Alachua County. University and hospital owners have formal contractor safety and insurance requirements, and they check certificates before a sub can badge onto the site. Two local details shape day-to-day work here. Gainesville Regional Utilities is owned by the city, so electrical, water and sewer connections are coordinated with a municipal utility rather than an investor-owned one. And growth along the Archer Road corridor and at Celebration Pointe near I-75 has added retail, hotel and mixed-use projects to a market that used to be mostly campus and housing work. Santa Fe College's construction programs also feed a local pipeline of entry-level workers, and new hires carry the highest injury risk in their first year.

• University and hospital projects usually require subcontractors to carry and prove workers' comp before mobilizing, with certificates checked against the state database.
• Student-housing projects add mid-rise wood framing and multi-family work.

Common claims for masonry contractors in Gainesville

Gainesville masons work on campus and institutional buildings, where the University of Florida's historic red-brick Collegiate Gothic style carries into many new buildings, and on residential block construction across Alachua County. Inland masons work mostly on new single-family block homes, where repetitive lifting is the main injury source.

• 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 Gainesville masonry quote

• Payroll for your Gainesville masonry work, split by class (5022) and with office staff listed separately
• Certificates or exemptions for every sub on your Gainesville 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 Gainesville Building Division, which show the volume and type of Gainesville work
• Any jobs planned outside Alachua County or outside Florida this year, so the policy covers them

Questions from Gainesville masonry contractors