What workers' comp costs electrical contractors in Jacksonville, Florida

Electrical businesses in Duval County

Duval County had 247 electrical contractors (NAICS 238210) establishments in 2023, employing 5,647 people, according to the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns.

That is 3.8% of the 6,480 such establishments statewide, and the seventh highest 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 $72,019 per employee, the base your premium is calculated on.

Within Jacksonville's own postal ZIP codes there were 225 electrical contractor establishments in 2023.

Of all construction businesses in Duval County, 7.8% are electrical contractor firms (247 of 3,171).

For electrical contractor firms, Duval County's average pay of $72,019 sits above Broward County ($67,492) and below Palm Beach County ($73,121).

In the Jacksonville metro, 3,940 people worked as electricians in May 2024, earning a median $26.87 an hour against $25.53 for Florida as a whole.

At that metro median, one full-time worker earns about $55,880 a year, which adds roughly $1,659 of class 5190 premium.

2026 Florida class codes and rates

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.

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.

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 Jacksonville

Before a Jacksonville electrical job starts, the contractor pulls electrical permits from the City of Jacksonville Building Inspection Division, and state law requires proof of workers' comp or an exemption as part of that application.

Jacksonville and Duval County have operated as one consolidated government since 1968, so a single Building Inspection Division issues permits and runs inspections across almost the whole county. That makes Jacksonville the largest city in Florida by population and one of the largest in land area in the continental United States, and it means a crew can drive an hour between two jobs without leaving city limits. Drive time between sites is paid time, and it lands in the same class code as the work at the end of the drive.

Jacksonville's construction market spreads across a huge footprint: industrial and distribution buildings along the I-95 and I-295 corridors, port work at JAXPORT's terminals, federal work at the naval stations, new subdivisions in the St. Johns and Nassau county suburbs, and older housing stock in neighborhoods such as Riverside and Springfield. That spread means crews travel, and the payroll for drive time stays in the class code of the work. Many Jacksonville contractors also cross into Georgia, and out-of-state work needs other-states coverage on the policy. JEA, the city-owned utility, provides electric, water and sewer service across most of Duval County, so new services and utility relocations run through a single public utility. Riverfront redevelopment downtown and along the St. Johns River adds marine, park and mixed-use projects to the industrial and suburban work.

• JAXPORT and the naval stations at Mayport and Jacksonville bring port, logistics and federal construction work that often requires higher limits and waiver-of-subrogation endorsements.
• Northeast Florida gets fewer direct hurricane landfalls than South Florida, but nor'easters and tropical storms still drive coastal repair surges at the Beaches.

Common claims for electrical contractors in Jacksonville

Jacksonville electricians do large volumes of warehouse and distribution-center wiring along the interstate corridors, plus port and base work. 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 Jacksonville electrical quote

• Payroll for your Jacksonville electrical work, split by class (5190) and with office staff listed separately
• Certificates or exemptions for every sub on your Jacksonville 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 Jacksonville Building Inspection Division, which show the volume and type of Jacksonville work
• Any jobs planned outside Duval County or outside Florida this year, so the policy covers them

Questions from Jacksonville electrical contractors