Jacksonville plumbing contractors: workers' comp rates and a real payroll example

Plumbing businesses in Duval County

According to County Business Patterns, 6,956 people worked at 388 plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors (NAICS 238220, which the Census counts together with HVAC) establishments in Duval County in 2023.

That is 4.1% of the 9,351 such establishments statewide, and the seventh highest count among the nine counties that hold the ten cities in this guide series.

Their average annual payroll per employee was about $68,103. Workers' comp is priced on payroll, so this is the starting point for any Jacksonville estimate.

Within Jacksonville's own postal ZIP codes there were 356 plumbing and HVAC contractor establishments in 2023.

Of all construction businesses in Duval County, 12.2% are plumbing and HVAC contractor firms (388 of 3,171).

For plumbing and HVAC contractor firms, Duval County's average pay of $68,103 sits above Hillsborough County ($67,600).

Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters in the Jacksonville area earned a median $24.26 an hour in May 2024 (BLS), with 2,190 employed; the Florida median was $24.30.

At that metro median, one full-time worker earns about $50,460 a year, which adds roughly $1,381 of class 5183 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 plumbing contractors are classified

Residential and commercial plumbers fall under 5183, Plumbing NOC and Drivers. It covers water supply, drain, waste and vent piping, water heaters and fixture installation. Contractors who also do lawn sprinkler systems or large site utility work may need additional codes for that payroll. Service plumbers who drive between calls stay in 5183; dispatchers and office staff go in 8810.

At audit

• Sewer, water-main and site-utility work deeper than typical building connections can be reclassified, so keep job records that show the scope.
• Service plumbers who drive company vans stay in 5183; separate auto liability is still needed for the vehicles.

Permits and licensing in Jacksonville

Plumbing businesses working in Jacksonville pull plumbing permits 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 plumbing contractors in Jacksonville

Jacksonville plumbers serve both new subdivisions on the edges of the county and older homes with aging cast-iron drains in the urban core. A high water table near the coast means wet trenches and more dewatering on underground work.

• Trench collapses and struck-by injuries on sewer and water-line work
• Back injuries from lifting water heaters and fixtures
• Cuts and puncture wounds from pipe and tools
• Exposure to sewage and mold on repair calls
• Slips on wet floors and in flooded crawl spaces

What to have ready for a Jacksonville plumbing quote

• Payroll for your Jacksonville plumbing work, split by class (5183) 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 plumbing 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 plumbing contractors