Workers' Compensation Rates in Minnesota (2026)

State Overview

Minnesota has its own independent rating bureau (MWCIA). The state maintains a well-regulated workers' comp system.

Understanding Minnesota Workers' Comp Rates

Minnesota workers' compensation pure premium base rates fell 4.6% on average effective January 1, 2026 — a decrease the Minnesota Department of Commerce approved as part of the 2026 Minnesota Ratemaking Report. That headline figure is a statewide average across every classification, not a rate change you can expect on your own renewal: what you actually pay is your class code's pure premium base rate multiplied by your payroll, then adjusted by your insurer's own loss-cost multiplier and your experience modification factor.

The Minnesota Workers' Compensation Insurers Association (MWCIA) describes itself as "a non-profit corporation licensed by the State of Minnesota Department of Commerce as a DSO" — a data service organization — and notes that it is "one of ten independent data collection organizations of its type, each serving one of ten states in the nation," while "the majority of the remaining states are served by the NCCI." So Minnesota is not an NCCI state. If you are extending an existing policy into Minnesota, that distinction is the first thing to check: your classification, your rate basis and your experience-rating eligibility all come from Minnesota's own filings rather than from the national manual. For contrast, see how the model differs in a neighbouring independent-bureau state, Wisconsin workers' compensation rates, and in a monopolistic state fund, Ohio workers' compensation rates; our rating bureau directory maps every state to the organization that files its rates.

MWCIA published the decrease in Circular No. 25-1863, dated July 29, 2025. The circular breaks the number down rather than leaving it as a single figure: the indicated change from financial-data experience — policy years 2022 and 2023 and accident years 2023 and 2024, excluding COVID-19 losses incurred between December 1, 2019 and June 30, 2023 — was -5.2%. The October 1, 2025 change in the minimum and maximum weekly benefit added an estimated 0.4%, House File 2988 subtracted an estimated 0.5% (a combined benefit impact of -0.1%), and a change in loss adjustment expenses added 0.7%. Those components combine to the approved -4.6%.

How to find a Minnesota workers' comp class code from a job description

There is no Minnesota workers' comp class code for a job title. Minnesota does not take NCCI's classification decisions — the MWCIA is the rating organization that classifies Minnesota employers, and what gets classified is the employer's business — not the separate employments, occupations or operations inside it. "Machinist", "CNC operator", "general construction labor" and "data entry" are therefore work that sits inside whichever classification describes the business, not values you can look up on their own.

MWCIA publishes Minnesota's classifications in the Minnesota Basic Manual (the living online edition — the MWCIA tells users to work from the website version rather than a downloaded copy, which goes out of date). To confirm the classification for a specific business, use MWCIA Classification Search — that is the filed authority for Minnesota, and a code quoted from another state's manual is not.

Minnesota's classifications are the MWCIA's own, published in the Minnesota Basic Manual and searched through the MWCIA's Classification Search rather than through NCCI.

MWCIA Classification Search (official Minnesota lookup)

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Related Guides for Minnesota Employers

• The Complete Guide to Workers' Comp Costs in 2026

  National benchmarks, the 2026 state rate-change table, and how to budget your premium.

• Compare Workers' Comp Rates by State

  Rank the states by cost index and see the filed figures for a class code, side by side with up to two other states.

• Workers' Comp Premium Calculator

  Work out annual premium from your Minnesota class-code rate, payroll, and experience modification factor.

• Workers' Comp Class Codes Explained

  How NCCI assigns a code to each job and why it creates a 10–25× swing in your rate.

• NCCI Class Code Lookup & Directory

  Search workers' comp class codes by keyword to find the four-digit NCCI (or Minnesota bureau) code for your business — then see how it is rated above.

• Experience Modification Rate (EMR) Explained

  How your claims history becomes a multiplier that raises or lowers your Minnesota premium.

• 5 Proven Ways to Lower Your Workers' Comp Premium

  Tactics any small business can use to reduce cost at next renewal — from classification audits to return-to-work programs.

• How Rates Are Calculated: NCCI vs Independent States

  Whether Minnesota uses NCCI or an independent bureau — and why the difference changes how your premium is set.