Workers' comp cost for masonry contractors in West Palm Beach

Masonry businesses in Palm Beach County

Palm Beach County had 113 masonry contractors (NAICS 238140) establishments in 2023, employing 706 people, according to the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns.

That is 8.1% of the 1,392 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 $51,377. Workers' comp is priced on payroll, so this is the starting point for any West Palm Beach estimate.

ZIP Code Business Patterns puts 40 masonry contractor establishments in ZIP codes whose postal city is West Palm Beach.

Of all construction businesses in Palm Beach County, 2.1% are masonry contractor firms (113 of 5,449).

For masonry contractor firms, Palm Beach County's average pay of $51,377 sits above Orange County ($51,104) and below Broward County ($59,121).

BLS wage data for May 2024 puts the median for brickmasons and blockmasons in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro at $24.13 an hour across 670 jobs; statewide the median is $24.03.

At that metro median, one full-time worker earns about $50,190 a year, which adds roughly $2,620 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 West Palm Beach

Masonry businesses working in West Palm Beach pull masonry work under the building permit through the City of West Palm Beach Building Division, and Florida law makes proof of workers' comp coverage or an exemption a condition of getting a building permit.

The West Palm Beach Building Division takes permit applications, payments and inspection requests online, and county contractors are certified and insured through Palm Beach County's Contractor Regulations section. The county notes that as of July 1, 2025, several county construction trade scopes were preempted by state law and no longer need a county certificate of competency, so it is worth confirming which license a given trade needs before bidding. West Palm Beach is the county seat, and downtown office and residential towers sit next to older neighborhoods with steady renovation work.

West Palm Beach combines downtown office and residential towers, a large renovation market in historic neighborhoods such as El Cid and Flamingo Park, and high-end residential work across the bridges on Palm Beach island. Estate and luxury jobs are labor-intensive and often long, so payroll can grow quickly on a single project. Many contractors here work across several Palm Beach County cities, each with its own permit office, while county contractor certification is handled centrally on Jog Road. Downtown, the Brightline station has drawn new office and residential towers to the blocks around it, while the city's own water utility and its projects at the water treatment plant bring public work. Across the Intracoastal, work on Palm Beach island follows the town's own seasonal construction restrictions, which compress schedules into the off-season.

• Palm Beach County sits just outside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone but inside the wind-borne debris region, so impact-rated openings are common on exterior jobs.
• Luxury residential and estate work on the island and in the suburbs is labor-heavy, which shows up directly in payroll.

Common claims for masonry contractors in West Palm Beach

West Palm Beach masons build block shells for custom homes and do decorative stone and masonry on luxury properties. 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 West Palm Beach masonry quote

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

Questions from West Palm Beach masonry contractors