Workers' Comp Rates for Amusement Park or Exhibition Operation & Drivers (Class Code 9016)
Last verified: 2026-05-13 · Reviewed against NCCI and state rating-bureau filings — how we verify
Description
Covers fixed-location amusement park or exhibition operations, including premises care, gate and box-office staff, security, musicians, and drivers; ride or device operation and separately classified restaurant, retail, or theater operations may need separate codes.
Common Businesses
Hazard Group
D
National Avg Rate
$4.39
per $100 payroll
Most Expensive States
- New York$5.94
- Alaska$5.82
- California$5.54
Rates by State for Class Code 9016
47 jurisdictions rate this code per $100 of payroll. North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming are not included. Each is a monopolistic state fund that sets premium on its own basis rather than on an NCCI class-code rate per $100 of payroll, so there is no comparable figure to average or rank.
| State | Rate per $100 | vs. National Avg | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | $3.20 | -1.19 | 2026-01-01 |
| Texas | $3.23 | -1.16 | 2026-07-01 |
| Virginia | $3.40 | -0.99 | 2026-04-01 |
| Utah | $3.48 | -0.91 | 2026-02-01 |
| Arkansas | $3.61 | -0.78 | 2026-07-01 |
| Colorado | $3.65 | -0.74 | 2026-01-01 |
| Tennessee | $3.73 | -0.66 | 2026-03-01 |
| Arizona | $3.77 | -0.62 | 2026-01-01 |
| South Dakota | $3.81 | -0.58 | 2026-07-01 |
| Nebraska | $3.85 | -0.54 | 2026-02-01 |
| North Carolina | $3.85 | -0.54 | 2026-04-01 |
| Idaho | $3.89 | -0.50 | 2026-01-01 |
| Kansas | $3.94 | -0.45 | 2026-01-01 |
| Mississippi | $3.98 | -0.41 | 2026-03-01 |
| New Mexico | $4.02 | -0.37 | 2026-01-01 |
| South Carolina | $4.06 | -0.33 | 2026-04-01 |
| Kentucky | $4.10 | -0.29 | 2026-01-01 |
| Iowa | $4.18 | -0.21 | 2026-01-01 |
| Missouri | $4.22 | -0.17 | 2026-01-01 |
| Nevada | $4.26 | -0.13 | 2026-03-01 |
| Georgia | $4.31 | -0.08 | 2026-03-01 |
| Maryland | $4.31 | -0.08 | 2026-01-01 |
| Oregon | $4.35 | -0.04 | 2026-01-01 |
| West Virginia | $4.39 | +0.00 | 2026-01-01 |
| Alabama | $4.43 | +0.04 | 2026-03-01 |
| Minnesota | $4.43 | +0.04 | 2026-01-01 |
| New Hampshire | $4.43 | +0.04 | 2026-01-01 |
| Delaware | $4.51 | +0.12 | 2025-12-01 |
| Maine | $4.51 | +0.12 | 2025-04-01 |
| Wisconsin | $4.51 | +0.12 | 2025-10-01 |
| Michigan | $4.59 | +0.20 | 2026-01-01 |
| Vermont | $4.59 | +0.20 | 2026-04-01 |
| Rhode Island | $4.67 | +0.28 | 2026-08-01 |
| Florida | $4.71 | +0.32 | 2026-01-01 |
| Montana | $4.71 | +0.32 | 2026-07-01 |
| District of Columbia | $4.84 | +0.45 | 2026-01-01 |
| Massachusetts | $4.84 | +0.45 | 2024-07-01 |
| Oklahoma | $4.84 | +0.45 | 2026-01-01 |
| Illinois | $4.92 | +0.53 | 2026-01-01 |
| Connecticut | $5.00 | +0.61 | 2026-01-01 |
| Louisiana | $5.13 | +0.74 | 2026-05-01 |
| Hawaii | $5.25 | +0.86 | 2026-01-01 |
| Pennsylvania | $5.25 | +0.86 | 2026-04-01 |
| New Jersey | $5.33 | +0.94 | 2026-01-01 |
| California | $5.54 | +1.15 | 2025-09-01 |
| Alaska | $5.82 | +1.43 | 2026-01-01 |
| New York | $5.94 | +1.55 | 2025-10-01 |
How Class Code 9016 Rates Are Spread Across the States
Across 47 states, the estimated workers' comp rate for NCCI class code 9016 (Amusement Park or Exhibition Operation & Drivers) ranges from $3.20 to $5.94 per $100 of payroll, with a national average of $4.39 and a median of $4.39. Each bar counts the states whose estimated rate falls in that range — shaded cheaper (green) to pricier (red). The dashed line marks the national average.
Distribution across 47 states. Rates are a modeled benchmark (NCCI base-rate catalogue × state rate multiplier, catalogue retrieved 2026-05-13) and are not reconciled to filed state loss costs — see the calibration measurement and our rate disclaimer.
View the rate distribution as a data table
| Rate range / $100 | States | Which states |
|---|---|---|
| $3.20–$3.54 | 4 | Indiana, Texas, Virginia, Utah |
| $3.54–$3.89 | 7 | Arkansas, Colorado, Tennessee, Arizona, South Dakota, Nebraska, North Carolina |
| $3.89–$4.23 | 8 | Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, New Mexico, South Carolina, Kentucky, Iowa, Missouri |
| $4.23–$4.57 | 11 | Nevada, Georgia, Maryland, Oregon, West Virginia, Alabama, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maine, Wisconsin |
| $4.57–$4.91 | 8 | Michigan, Vermont, Rhode Island, Florida, Montana, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Oklahoma |
| $4.91–$5.26 | 5 | Illinois, Connecticut, Louisiana, Hawaii, Pennsylvania |
| $5.26–$5.60 | 2 | New Jersey, California |
| $5.60–$5.94 | 2 | Alaska, New York |
| Summary | 47 | Min $3.20 · Median $4.39 · Avg $4.39 · Max $5.94 |
The rates above are manual rates — step 1 of the eight-step rating-bureau premium algorithm. See what your carrier applies after that, or estimate premium for code 9016 with your own payroll and experience mod.
Related Class Codes
9058
Hotel - Restaurant Employees
Hazard Group: C
9052
Hotel NOC - All Other Employees & Drivers
Hazard Group: C
9061
Club NOC - All Employees
Hazard Group: C
9071
Bowling Alley - All Employees
Hazard Group: C
7520
Amusement Ride Operation
Hazard Group: D
About Class Code 9016: Scope, Inclusions, and Common Misclassifications
NCCI Class Code 9016 — "Amusement Park or Exhibition Operation & Drivers" — is the fixed-location amusement park and exhibition operation code. It is meant for the employer running the park or exhibition premises: gate and box-office staff, security, musicians, premises maintenance, drivers connected with the operation, and employees caring for the facility's heating, lighting, power, or elevator equipment.
The old site label for this page treated 9016 as a broad carnival and ride-operator code. Bureau manuals draw a narrower line. Traveling carnival, circus, and amusement-device operations are handled separately, and many operations inside the park — ride/device operation, restaurants, retail stores, theaters, boat liveries, or other separately classified concessions — may need their own class code when the payroll is distinct.
What's Included Under Class Code 9016
NYCIRB describes 9016 as applying to employers engaged in operating amusement parks or exhibitions at a fixed location. The included work is the care, custody, and maintenance of the premises; operation of elevators or heating, lighting, and power apparatus; security people; musicians; box-office employees; gate attendants; and drivers tied to the park or exhibition operation.
NCRB's NCCI-derived manual text also points to smaller fixed-location attractions that can fall under the 9016 family, including archery ranges, ball or dart throwing at targets, baseball batting ranges, golf driving ranges, miniature golf courses, public tennis courts, air-rifle shooting galleries, and maintenance of pony tracks. That makes 9016 broader than a theme-park gate crew, but still tied to fixed-location amusement or exhibition operations rather than traveling carnivals.
Trade shows, fairs, outdoor flea markets, ski-tow equipment operations, and bungee-jumping operations are examples NYCIRB lists by analogy. The practical test is whether the employer is operating the fixed venue or exhibition experience itself, not merely selling a product or running a separate restaurant, retail, theater, or ride-device business on the grounds.
9016 vs Ride Operators, Traveling Carnivals, and Concessions
The biggest 9016 audit dispute is ride operation. NYCIRB and NCRB both separate the operation or maintenance of amusement devices from the fixed park or exhibition operation. A park's box-office, gate, security, and premises employees may be 9016, while employees whose primary work is operating, maintaining, dismantling, or transporting rides may belong in a ride/device classification instead. Do not assume that every worker at a theme park shares one 9016 code.
Traveling carnivals and circuses are a second boundary. A mobile enterprise that dismantles, transports, re-erects, operates, and maintains equipment from venue to venue is not the same risk as a fixed park or exhibition. Bureau manuals classify traveling carnival, circus, and amusement-device operators separately because the transportation, setup, and teardown hazards are materially different.
Food, retail, entertainment, and service concessions need a separate look. Bureau manuals warn that operations separately classified elsewhere — for example restaurants, retail stores, janitorial contractors, theaters, bowling lanes, billiard halls, boat liveries, garages, or bathhouses — do not automatically become 9016 just because they sit inside an amusement park or exhibition. If payroll records separate the concession from the park operation, the concession should usually follow its own governing code.
Common 9016 Misclassifications
The first misclassification is the all-employees shortcut. A payroll record that puts gate attendants, ride mechanics, food-service staff, retail clerks, and traveling setup crews all under 9016 can understate or overstate the actual risk. Auditors usually test job duties first: who operates the fixed premises, who operates or repairs devices, who sells food or merchandise, and who travels with equipment.
The second misclassification is treating a leased or independent concession as part of the park. If a third-party vendor operates a restaurant, souvenir stand, game booth, or retail shop on the grounds, the vendor's payroll generally follows the vendor's own operation rather than the park operator's 9016 classification. Even when the park owns the concession, separate payroll records may be needed when the work is separately classified in the manual.
The third misclassification is using 9016 for a portable event business. Fairs and exhibitions at a fixed location can fit 9016, but a company whose main work is hauling, setting up, and operating portable amusement equipment across multiple venues has a different exposure. The transportation, assembly, teardown, and device-maintenance work should be verified before accepting a 9016 quote.
Sources
- NYCIRB Classification Digest — Class 9016 Dashboard (retrieved 2026-05-13)
- NYCIRB New York Manual — Classification Code Interpretations for 9016 (retrieved 2026-05-13)
- NCRB Circular C-25-6 — Revisions to the Workers Compensation Basic Manual, 9016 classification text (retrieved 2026-05-13)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is workers' comp class code 9016?
- Workers' comp class code 9016 is the NCCI classification for Amusement Park or Exhibition Operation & Drivers at a fixed location. It can include premises maintenance, gate attendants, box-office employees, security, musicians, power or elevator apparatus employees, and drivers connected with the park or exhibition operation. It is not a blanket code for every worker at a carnival, theme park, restaurant, retail shop, or ride operation.
- How much is workers' comp insurance for class code 9016?
- The national average rate for class code 9016 is $4.39 per $100 of payroll, across the 47 jurisdictions rated on that basis. Cheapest states: Indiana ($3.20), Texas ($3.23), Virginia ($3.40). Most expensive: New York ($5.94), Alaska ($5.82), California ($5.54). Actual premium depends on your state, payroll, experience modifier, and carrier. North Dakota, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming are not included. Each is a monopolistic state fund that sets premium on its own basis rather than on an NCCI class-code rate per $100 of payroll, so there is no comparable figure to average or rank.
- What businesses use workers' comp class code 9016?
- Class code 9016 typically applies to Amusement parks, Fixed exhibitions, Trade shows, Outdoor flea markets, Miniature golf courses.
- Does class code 9016 cover amusement ride operators?
- Not automatically. Bureau manuals separate the operation or maintenance of amusement devices from the fixed amusement park or exhibition operation. A park's premises, gate, box-office, and security employees may be 9016, while employees operating or maintaining rides may need a separate ride/device classification. The correct split depends on the state's bureau manual and the employer's payroll records.
- Is a traveling carnival class code 9016?
- Usually no. Class code 9016 is for fixed-location amusement park or exhibition operation. Traveling carnival, circus, or amusement-device employers have different transportation, setup, teardown, and equipment-operation hazards, and bureau manuals classify those operations separately. If the business moves from venue to venue with portable rides or booths, verify the traveling-operation classification before using 9016.
- Are restaurants and retail shops inside an amusement park included in 9016?
- They may need separate classification. Bureau manuals exclude operations separately classified elsewhere, including restaurants, retail stores, theaters, bowling lanes, boat liveries, garages, and similar concessions, whether they are run by the park owner, a lessee, or an independent concession. Keep payroll separated by operation so the audit can apply the right code instead of forcing everything into 9016.
- What is the workers' comp rate for class code 9016?
- The rate for class code 9016 varies by state and by carrier. The table on this page shows current base-rate or loss-cost estimates for 9016 by state, but actual premium also depends on payroll, the carrier's loss-cost multiplier, the employer's experience modification factor, minimum-premium rules, and whether ride/device, food-service, retail, or traveling-event payroll must be split to another code. Treat the numbers here as filing-based estimates, not quotes.
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