Workers' Comp Rates for Hardware Store - Wholesale or Retail (Class Code 8010)
Last verified: 2026-07-13 · Reviewed against NCCI and state rating-bureau filings — how we verify
Description
Covers wholesale or retail hardware dealers selling fasteners, locks, hinges, hand tools, portable power tools, plumbing fittings, electrical supplies, and similar hardware goods.
Common Businesses
Hazard Group
C
Filed Figures Published
1
state · class percentile 35
Filed Figures for Class Code 8010 in the States That Publish Them
Copied from each state's own regulator or rating bureau filing, per $100 of payroll. A loss cost is what the filing calls it — your insurer multiplies it by its own loss cost multiplier; a rate is a manual rate. States not listed publish no per-class figure this site has transcribed.
Judged only from filed tables, code 8010 has a class percentile of 35 (0 = the cheapest class, 100 = the most expensive) across the 1 filing that list it.
How States Rank for Class Code 8010
Cost index 1.00 = the median of the 47 rated states. It is a relative position from this site’s model, not a price, and it does not vary by class code; a state’s filed figure, where it publishes one, is shown beside it. 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 | Cost index | Filed figure | Filing effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana | 0.73 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Texas | 0.74 | — | 2026-07-01 |
| Virginia | 0.78 | — | 2026-04-01 |
| Utah | 0.79 | — | 2026-02-01 |
| Arkansas | 0.82 | — | 2026-07-01 |
| Colorado | 0.83 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| South Dakota | 0.83 | — | 2026-07-01 |
| Arizona | 0.86 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Nebraska | 0.88 | — | 2026-02-01 |
| North Carolina | 0.88 | — | 2026-04-01 |
| Idaho | 0.89 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Tennessee | 0.89 | — | 2026-10-01 |
| Kansas | 0.90 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Mississippi | 0.91 | — | 2026-03-01 |
| New Mexico | 0.92 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Kentucky | 0.93 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| South Carolina | 0.93 | — | 2026-04-01 |
| Iowa | 0.95 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Missouri | 0.96 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Nevada | 0.97 | — | 2026-03-01 |
| Georgia | 0.98 | — | 2026-03-01 |
| Maryland | 0.98 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Oregon | 0.99 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| West Virginia | 1.00 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Alabama | 1.01 | — | 2026-03-01 |
| Minnesota | 1.01 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| New Hampshire | 1.01 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Wisconsin | 1.01 | $1.931 rate | 2026-10-01 |
| Delaware | 1.03 | — | 2025-12-01 |
| Maine | 1.03 | — | 2025-04-01 |
| Rhode Island | 1.04 | — | 2026-08-01 |
| Michigan | 1.05 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Vermont | 1.05 | — | 2026-04-01 |
| New York | 1.06 | — | 2026-10-01 |
| Florida | 1.07 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Montana | 1.07 | — | 2026-07-01 |
| District of Columbia | 1.10 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Massachusetts | 1.10 | — | 2024-07-01 |
| Oklahoma | 1.10 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Illinois | 1.12 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Connecticut | 1.14 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Louisiana | 1.17 | — | 2026-05-01 |
| Hawaii | 1.20 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Pennsylvania | 1.20 | — | 2026-04-01 |
| New Jersey | 1.21 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| Alaska | 1.33 | — | 2026-01-01 |
| California | 1.34 | — | 2026-09-01 |
A filed rate — or a loss cost times your insurer's multiplier — is step 1 of the eight-step rating-bureau premium algorithm. See what your carrier applies after that, or work out premium for code 8010 with your own rate, payroll and experience mod.
Related Class Codes
8017
Retail Store NOC
Hazard Group: C
8006
Grocery Store - Retail
Hazard Group: C
8018
Wholesale Store NOC
Hazard Group: C
8033
Meat, Fish or Poultry Dealer - Retail
Hazard Group: C
8044
Furniture Store - Wholesale or Retail & Drivers
Hazard Group: C
About Class Code 8010: Scope, Inclusions, and Common Misclassifications
NCCI Class Code 8010 - officially phrased "Store - Hardware" - is the workers' compensation classification for hardware stores whose principal merchandise is tools, fasteners, locks, hinges, plumbing and electrical fittings, paint and related hardware goods. NCCI's national wording applies 8010 to wholesale or retail hardware stores, although individual state manuals can narrow that scope. It is the code buyers usually mean when they search for "workers comp code 8010" or a hardware-store workers' comp rate.
This page shows a filed 8010 figure only for the states that publish one and ranks every other state with a relative cost index for comparing hardware-store exposure by state. Neither is a binding quote: carrier loss-cost multipliers, payroll, and experience modification still change the premium.
What's Included Under Class Code 8010
The classification follows the store's principal merchandise, not the employee's title. A hardware dealer selling fasteners, locks, hinges, hand and portable power tools, plumbing fittings, electrical supplies, paint, and similar goods can fit 8010 whether customers are homeowners, contractors, or other businesses. North Carolina's NCCI-based manual illustrates the rule with a wholesale hardware store assigned to 8010 and treats the hardware operation as the location's governing classification when it carries the most payroll.
Ordinary store operations generally travel with the basic hardware-store classification: counter and sales staff, cashiers, shelf stocking, receiving, and handling the merchandise sold by the store. Driver, repair, locksmith, glass, appliance, or outside-installation treatment can vary by state. Wisconsin, for example, publishes 8010 as "Store - Hardware - Retail & Drivers" and lists several state-specific inclusions, while its wholesale hardware wording points to 8018. The governing state manual therefore controls even when the same four-digit code appears on a national comparison page.
8010 vs 8017, 8018, and 8058
Use 8010 when hardware is the principal merchandise and the state's manual recognizes the hardware-store class. Use 8017 Retail Store NOC when the operation is general retail that is not more specifically described. Use 8018 Wholesale Store NOC when the state routes wholesale hardware or a broader business-to-business distribution operation to its wholesale NOC class. A store should not select the lowest-looking rate before checking what it mainly sells and whether sales are retail or wholesale.
A building-material dealer is a different exposure. Store employees at a new-materials dealer or lumberyard may belong in 8058 Building Materials Dealer - Store Employees, with yard, warehouse, lumber-handling, forklift, and delivery payroll assigned to 8232 Building Material Yard & Drivers. Manufacturing, construction-site installation, and a separate repair business also need their own review rather than being folded into the hardware-store code merely because the employer sells the installed or repaired item.
What Is the Workers' Comp Rate in Ohio for Code 8010?
Ohio is a monopolistic state, so an Ohio hardware store buys workers' compensation through the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation rather than a private carrier. Ohio BWC states that it assigns a unique rate to each classification and adjusts rates annually. Ohio BWC's own filed base rates are listed on the Ohio page, but the binding rate is the current BWC rate assigned to the employer's manual classification and experience.
For a rough comparison, divide hardware-store payroll by 100 and multiply by the BWC base rate for 8010 — ($500,000 / $100) x the BWC rate — before experience modification and other BWC rating adjustments. That example is not a quote. Confirm that BWC assigned 8010 to the actual operation and use the rate on the employer's current BWC policy record for budgeting.
Audit Records for Hardware Stores
Keep gross receipts by merchandise category, retail-versus-wholesale sales reports, vendor and inventory summaries, job descriptions, payroll by location, delivery logs, and work orders for any locksmith, glass, appliance, repair, or installation service. Those records show that hardware is the principal merchandise and let an auditor separate store work from building-material yard, manufacturing, installation, or other operations when the state manual requires it.
For multi-state dealers, document the classification decision separately in each state. National NCCI wording describes 8010 as wholesale or retail hardware, while state manuals can route wholesale, drivers, repair, or specialty departments differently. The figures on this page — filed figures where a state publishes them and a relative cost index elsewhere — are not a binding quote; final premium still changes after the state-filed basis, carrier or state-fund adjustments, payroll, experience modification, minimum premium, and any audit reclassification.
Sources
- North Carolina Rate Bureau / NCCI Item B-1412 - Store Hardware classification (Code 8010 applies to wholesale or retail stores) (retrieved 2026-07-13)
- North Carolina Rate Bureau Basic Manual Rule 1 - assignment by principal merchandise and wholesale hardware store 8010 example (retrieved 2026-07-13)
- Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau Class Code Lookup - 8010 Store Hardware Retail & Drivers (state-specific scope and current rating values) (retrieved 2026-07-13)
- Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation - Manual Classification instructions (BWC assigns a unique annually adjusted rate to each classification) (retrieved 2026-07-13)
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is workers' comp class code 8010?
- Workers' comp class code 8010 is the hardware-store classification. NCCI's national wording applies it to wholesale or retail hardware stores whose principal merchandise includes tools, fasteners, locks, hinges, plumbing and electrical fittings, paint, and related goods. State manuals can narrow the wholesale, driver, repair, or specialty-store treatment.
- How much is workers' comp insurance for class code 8010?
- It depends on the state, and only some states publish a per-class figure. For class code 8010, the filed figures per $100 of payroll are: Wisconsin $1.931 (rate, WCRB, effective 2026-10-01). A loss cost is not a rate — your insurer multiplies it by its own loss cost multiplier — and every figure is before your experience modification. For other states this site shows a relative cost index, not a dollar figure. 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 8010?
- Class code 8010 typically applies to Hardware stores, Wholesale hardware suppliers, Industrial supply houses, Fastener distributors, Plumbing supply stores.
- What is the workers comp rate in Ohio for code 8010?
- There is no permanent national 8010 rate. Ohio BWC assigns a unique rate to each classification and updates rates annually. Ohio BWC's own filed base rates are listed on this site's [Ohio page](/states/ohio/), but an Ohio employer should use the current rate assigned on its BWC policy record for a binding calculation.
- Does class code 8010 cover wholesale and retail hardware stores?
- NCCI's national phraseology says 8010 applies to wholesale or retail hardware stores, but state adoption varies. Wisconsin, for example, publishes 8010 for retail hardware and drivers while routing wholesale hardware to 8018. Confirm the state manual instead of copying one jurisdiction's treatment to another.
- What is the difference between class codes 8010 and 8017?
- 8010 is the specific hardware-store class where the governing manual recognizes it. [8017 Retail Store NOC](/class-codes/retail-store-noc-8017/) is the general retail fallback for merchandise not more specifically described. A business principally selling hardware should check 8010 before using the broader retail NOC code.
- What records help defend an 8010 hardware-store classification at audit?
- Keep sales and gross receipts by merchandise category, retail-versus-wholesale reports, inventory and vendor summaries, payroll by location, job descriptions, delivery logs, and work orders for repair or installation services. These records show that hardware is the principal merchandise and separate store payroll from yard, manufacturing, installation, or other operations.
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