Kansas Workers' Compensation Cost Calculator
Key facts: workers' comp in Kansas
- Who must be covered
- Mandatory once annual payroll exceeds $20,000Official agency: KDOL
- Average rate
- $0.91 per $100 of payrollRank #35 of 51 (#1 = most expensive), below the $1.09 national median
- Rating organization
- NCCINational Council on Compensation Insurance · Private insurers
- Verified from official records
- October 3, 2026Rates: Oregon DCBS study, June 2025
Kansas uses payroll, not headcount: the workers' comp act applies unless the employer's gross annual payroll was no more than $20,000 last year and is expected to stay at or under $20,000 this year, with family members' wages left out. Agricultural pursuits are exempt. Covered employers insure with an authorized carrier or qualify to self-insure.
Rates in effect January 1, 2024 · Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, 2024 study (June 2025) · Nothing you enter leaves your browser
2024 study rate for all industries in Kansas. Edit it if your policy shows a different rate.
For the class you're pricing. Insurers rate each class code's payroll separately.
Printed on your experience rating worksheet or renewal. New or small employers that don't qualify for experience rating are rated at 1.00.
Estimated premium
$9,100
per year at an EMR of 1.00
At an average mod
$9,100
per year at an EMR of 1.00
Your EMR's impact
$0
no adjustment
Effective cost: $0.91 per $100 of payroll.
At an EMR of 1.00, your claims history neither raises nor lowers this premium.
Every claim from now on counts toward your next three renewals. IncidentLog makes the first step — a complete, same-day incident report — take about 90 seconds from a job-site QR code.
Create a free accountEstimate before schedule credits or debits, premium discounts, expense constants, state assessments and minimum premiums — your insurer's quote will differ.
Who must carry workers' comp in Kansas?
Mandatory once annual payroll exceeds $20,000
The test is last year's gross payroll and this year's estimate; wages paid to family members don't count. Agricultural pursuits are exempt.
Official agency
Kansas Department of Labor, Division of Workers Compensation (KDOL)
Market: Private insurers · Law: K.S.A. 44-505
Kansas workers' comp rates by business type
Rate per $100 of payroll for common class codes in Kansas, against the median of the 51 jurisdictions in the study.
| Business type (NCCI code) | Kansas | U.S. median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office and clerical staff (8810) | $0.10 | $0.11 | −9% |
| Retail store (8017) | $0.98 | $1.20 | −18% |
| Restaurant (full service) (9082) | $1.04 | $1.09 | −5% |
| Restaurant (fast food) (9083) | $0.90 | $1.09 | −17% |
| Hotel (all other employees) (9052) | $1.32 | $1.79 | −26% |
| Assisted living / retirement center (care staff) (8824) | $1.66 | $2.03 | −18% |
| Hospital (professional staff) (8833) | $0.47 | $0.82 | −43% |
| Electrical contractor (5190) | $1.78 | $2.37 | −25% |
| Plumbing contractor (5183) | $2.22 | $2.70 | −18% |
| Residential carpentry (up to 3 stories) (5645) | $8.51 | $8.71 | −2% |
| Roofing (5551) | $9.67 | $9.64 | 0% |
| Trucking (7219) | $4.70 | $5.72 | −18% |
Kansas uses NCCI class codes. Your insurer applies the rate for your own classes, then your EMR.
What a bad EMR costs in Kansas
Take $500,000 of payroll at Kansas's $0.91 index rate: $4,550 a year at an average mod of 1.00.
- EMR 0.85
- $3,868/yr
- EMR 1.25
- $5,688/yr
- Difference
- +$1,820/yr
A claim year usually stays in the mod for three renewals, so the gap adds up to about $5,460. The mod is built from claims, and the cheapest claim is the injury caught early.
IncidentLog lets crews report an injury or near miss from a job-site QR code in about 90 seconds, so you hear about it the same shift and see patterns on your OSHA 300 log before they become claims.
Create a free accountKansas workers' comp FAQ
Is workers' comp insurance mandatory in Kansas?
Yes, once annual payroll exceeds $20,000, whatever the number of employees (K.S.A. 44-505). The test is last year's gross payroll and this year's estimate; wages paid to family members don't count. Agricultural pursuits are exempt. Source: Kansas Department of Labor, Division of Workers Compensation.
How are workers' comp rates set in Kansas?
Employers buy coverage from private insurance companies. The Oregon DCBS study lists NCCI (the National Council on Compensation Insurance) as Kansas's rating organization. Your own premium then depends on your class codes, your payroll and your experience modification rate (EMR).
What is the average workers' comp rate in Kansas?
The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services's 2024 study puts Kansas's all-industry index rate at $0.91 per $100 of payroll for rates in effect on January 1, 2024, 83% of the study's national median of $1.09. That ranks Kansas #35 of 51 jurisdictions, where #1 is the most expensive (unchanged from the 2022 study). Your own rate depends on your class codes.
Sources
Official texts behind this page (4 quotes)
“(a) Subject to the provisions of K.S.A. 44-506 and amendments thereto, the workers compensation act shall apply to all employments wherein employers employ employees within this state except that such act shall not apply to: (1) Agricultural pursuits and employments incident thereto, other than those employments in which the employer is the state, or any department, agency or authority of the state;”
K.S.A. 44-505, Application of act — Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes (opens in a new tab) · checked October 3, 2026
“(2) any employment, other than those employments in which the employer is the state, or any department, agency or authority of the state, wherein the employer had a total gross annual payroll for the preceding calendar year of not more than $20,000 for all employees and wherein the employer reasonably estimates that such employer will not have a total gross annual payroll for the current calendar year of more than $20,000 for all employees, except that no wages paid to an employee who is a member of the employer's family by marriage or consanguinity shall be included as part of the total gross annual payroll of such employer for purposes of this subsection;”
K.S.A. 44-505, Application of act — Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes (opens in a new tab) · checked October 3, 2026
“(b) Every employer shall secure the payment of compensation to the employer's employees by insuring in one of the following ways: (1) By insuring and keeping insured the payment of such compensation with an insurance carrier authorized to transact the business of workers compensation insurance in the state of Kansas;”
K.S.A. 44-532, Methods of securing payment of compensation — Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes (opens in a new tab) · checked October 3, 2026
“(a) There is hereby established within and as a part of the department of labor a division of workers compensation.”
K.S.A. 75-5708, Division of workers compensation — Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes (opens in a new tab) · checked October 3, 2026
An estimate for planning, not a quote, legal or insurance advice. IncidentLog is not an insurer or broker. Median rate across all industries: $1.09 per $100.