Workers' comp cost for framing contractors in Jacksonville

Framing businesses in Duval County

The Census Bureau counted 53 framing contractors (NAICS 238130) establishments in Duval County in 2023, with 265 paid employees on their payrolls.

That is 6.5% of the 821 such establishments statewide, and the third highest count among the nine counties that hold the ten cities in this guide series.

Their average annual payroll per employee was about $33,068. Workers' comp is priced on payroll, so this is the starting point for any Jacksonville estimate.

ZIP Code Business Patterns puts 29 framing contractor establishments in ZIP codes whose postal city is Jacksonville.

Framing firms make up 1.7% of the 3,171 construction establishments in Duval County.

For framing contractor firms, Duval County's average pay of $33,068 sits below Palm Beach County ($36,831).

The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 3,100 carpenters in the Jacksonville metro area in May 2024, at a median wage of $23.13 an hour, above the Florida median of $23.12.

At that metro median, one full-time worker earns about $48,110 a year, which adds roughly $3,699 of class 5645 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 framing contractors are classified

Framing payroll is split by the building, not the crew. Framing a detached single-family or duplex home is 5645, the highest of the three carpentry rates at $7.689 per $100. Framing larger residential buildings three stories or less is 5651 at $4.886, and commercial framing goes to 5403 at $4.364. A framer who works across all three must keep job-by-job payroll records, because without them the auditor can put every hour in 5645.

At audit

• Record payroll by job and building type; without that split the auditor can rate every hour at the detached-dwelling rate.
• Truss setting with a crane operator on the payroll can bring in an additional code for the operator.

Permits and licensing in Jacksonville

Framing businesses working in Jacksonville pull framing work under the building permit through the City of Jacksonville Building Inspection Division, and Florida law makes proof of workers' comp coverage or an exemption a condition of getting a building permit.

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 framing contractors in Jacksonville

Jacksonville framers work across new subdivisions in the outer parts of Duval County and the neighboring suburban counties, often driving long distances between sites. Wind-load requirements on coastal homes add strapping and sheathing nailing schedules that keep framers on top plates longer.

• Falls from top plates, trusses and wall openings
• Nail-gun puncture wounds
• Struck-by injuries when walls or trusses are raised
• Strains from carrying sheathing and lumber
• Heat illness on open-deck framing in summer

What to have ready for a Jacksonville framing quote

• Payroll for your Jacksonville framing work, split by class (5645, 5651, 5403) 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 framing 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 framing contractors