South Carolina Workers' Compensation Cost Calculator
Key facts: workers' comp in South Carolina
- Who must be covered
- Mandatory starting at 4 employeesOfficial agency: WCC
- Average rate
- $1.03 per $100 of payrollRank #29 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
South Carolina presumes every employer is bound by its workers' comp law, except those that regularly employ fewer than four people in the state or had under $3,000 of payroll in the previous year. Covered employers insure with an authorized insurer or prove to the commission they can pay benefits themselves.
Rates in effect April 1, 2023 · Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, 2024 study (June 2025) · Nothing you enter leaves your browser
2024 study rate for all industries in South Carolina. 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
$10,300
per year at an EMR of 1.00
At an average mod
$10,300
per year at an EMR of 1.00
Your EMR's impact
$0
no adjustment
Effective cost: $1.03 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 South Carolina?
Mandatory starting at 4 employees
Employers whose total payroll in the previous calendar year was under $3,000 are exempt whatever their headcount, as are casual and agricultural employees.
Official agency
South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission (WCC)
Market: Private insurers · Law: S.C. Code §§ 42-1-310 and 42-1-360
South Carolina workers' comp rates by business type
Rate per $100 of payroll for common class codes in South Carolina, against the median of the 51 jurisdictions in the study.
| Business type (NCCI code) | South Carolina | U.S. median | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office and clerical staff (8810) | $0.16 | $0.11 | +45% |
| Retail store (8017) | $1.37 | $1.20 | +14% |
| Restaurant (full service) (9082) | $1.24 | $1.09 | +14% |
| Restaurant (fast food) (9083) | $1.14 | $1.09 | +5% |
| Hotel (all other employees) (9052) | $1.43 | $1.79 | −20% |
| Assisted living / retirement center (care staff) (8824) | $2.00 | $2.03 | −1% |
| Hospital (professional staff) (8833) | $1.08 | $0.82 | +32% |
| Electrical contractor (5190) | $3.09 | $2.37 | +30% |
| Plumbing contractor (5183) | $2.58 | $2.70 | −4% |
| Residential carpentry (up to 3 stories) (5645) | $15.78 | $8.71 | +81% |
| Roofing (5551) | $17.19 | $9.64 | +78% |
| Trucking (7219) | $7.27 | $5.72 | +27% |
South Carolina uses NCCI class codes. Your insurer applies the rate for your own classes, then your EMR.
What a bad EMR costs in South Carolina
Take $500,000 of payroll at South Carolina's $1.03 index rate: $5,150 a year at an average mod of 1.00.
- EMR 0.85
- $4,378/yr
- EMR 1.25
- $6,438/yr
- Difference
- +$2,060/yr
A claim year usually stays in the mod for three renewals, so the gap adds up to about $6,180. 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 accountSouth Carolina workers' comp FAQ
Is workers' comp insurance mandatory in South Carolina?
Yes, once a business has 4 employees or more (S.C. Code §§ 42-1-310 and 42-1-360). Employers whose total payroll in the previous calendar year was under $3,000 are exempt whatever their headcount, as are casual and agricultural employees. Source: South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission.
How are workers' comp rates set in South Carolina?
Employers buy coverage from private insurance companies. The Oregon DCBS study lists NCCI (the National Council on Compensation Insurance) as South Carolina'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 South Carolina?
The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services's 2024 study puts South Carolina's all-industry index rate at $1.03 per $100 of payroll for rates in effect on April 1, 2023, 94% of the study's national median of $1.09. That ranks South Carolina #29 of 51 jurisdictions, where #1 is the most expensive (#22 in the 2022 study). Your own rate depends on your class codes.
Sources
Official texts behind this page (4 quotes)
“Every employer and employee, except as stated in this chapter, shall be presumed to have accepted the provisions of this title respectively to pay and accept compensation for personal injury or death by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment and shall be bound thereby.”
S.C. Code Title 42, Chapter 1 — South Carolina Legislature (opens in a new tab) · checked October 3, 2026
“SECTION 42-1-360. Exemption of casual employees and certain other employments. This title does not apply to: (1) a casual employee, as defined in Section 42-1-130; (2) any person who has regularly employed in service less than four employees in the same business within the State or who had a total annual payroll during the previous calendar year of less than three thousand dollars regardless of the number of persons employed during that period;”
S.C. Code Title 42, Chapter 1 — South Carolina Legislature (opens in a new tab) · checked October 3, 2026
“(A)(1) Every employer who accepts the provisions of this title relative to the payment of compensation shall insure and keep insured his liability thereunder in any authorized corporation, association, organization, or mutual insurance association formed by a group of employers so authorized or shall furnish to the commission satisfactory proof of his financial ability to pay directly the compensation”
S.C. Code Title 42, Chapter 5 — South Carolina Legislature (opens in a new tab) · checked October 3, 2026
“There is created the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission, hereinafter referred to as the commission, composed of a judicial and administrative department”
S.C. Code Title 42, Chapter 3 — South Carolina Legislature (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.