Workers' Comp Rate for Plastering NOC in Wisconsin (Class Code 5480)
Last verified: 2026-06-15
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Get Your QuoteFiled Figures for Class Code 5480 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.
Where code 5480 sits among all classes, judged only from filed tables: a class percentile of 89 (0 = the cheapest class, 100 = the most expensive) across the 2 filings that list it.
Compare: Wisconsin and States with a Similar Cost Index
Cost index 1.00 = the median of the 47 rated states. It is a relative position, not a price, and it does not vary by class code.
| State | Cost index | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 1.00 | 24 of 47 |
| Alabama | 1.01 | 25 of 47 |
| Minnesota | 1.01 | 25 of 47 |
| New Hampshire | 1.01 | 25 of 47 |
| Wisconsin (this page) | 1.01 | 25 of 47 |
| Delaware | 1.03 | 29 of 47 |
| Maine | 1.03 | 29 of 47 |
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Related Class Codes in Wisconsin
About Class Code 5480: Scope, Inclusions, and Common Misclassifications
Workers' comp class code 5480 (Plastering NOC) is the classification buyers mean when they search "5480 class code," "plastering workers comp," or "stucco workers comp class code." As of June 2026 it covers plastering and stucco contractors — interior plastering, minor drywall finishing, and, under NCCI's national scope, stucco and lathing applied to receive plaster — and it is a NOC ("not otherwise classified") code, used only after checking whether a more specific masonry, wallboard-installation, lathing, waterproofing, or wallpaper classification controls the work.
The audit question is rarely "does the crew apply plaster?" It is which operation dominates, whether the work is interior or exterior, and whether non-plastering trade work is more than incidental. A drywall-finishing crew, a stucco contractor, and an ornamental-plaster shop can all touch 5480, but drywall hanging, exterior waterproofing, standalone lathing, and substantial masonry work are commonly split to other codes — and several states word those boundaries differently than the NCCI national manual.
What Class Code 5480 Usually Includes
NCCI maps 5480 to special-trade contractors applying plain or ornamental plaster — including the installation of lathing and similar appurtenances to receive plaster — and, in NCCI's scope language, drywall, acoustical, and building-insulation work. Drivers connected with the plastering operation are included where the state phraseology lists drivers, so a crew member hauling plaster, lath, stilts, mixers, and scaffolding to the job site is normally part of the 5480 exposure rather than a separate trucking class.
State bureau descriptions sharpen the picture. The New York Compensation Insurance Rating Board (NYCIRB) phrases the class as "Plastering — NOC — All Operations to Completion & Drivers" and includes interior plastering, minor drywall finishing such as taping and filling holes, interior waterproofing applied by hand trowel, and chisel work to prepare cracks. That state-by-state wording is exactly why this page treats each state separately — a filed figure where the state publishes one, a relative cost index elsewhere — instead of treating one national description as binding everywhere.
Stucco is the headline inclusion to verify by state. Under NCCI's national scope, exterior stucco and EIFS (exterior insulation and finish systems) applied as a plaster-type finish are commonly rated with plastering. NYCIRB, by contrast, routes outdoor waterproofing and stucco installation to masonry code 5022, not 5480. A stucco contractor's correct code therefore depends on whether the state follows the NCCI manual or an independent bureau's own rule.
When Plastering Work Is Not 5480
The single most common audit dispute is drywall hanging versus drywall finishing. Installing wallboard — hanging and fastening sheets to framing — is generally NCCI code 5445 (Wallboard Installation Within Buildings & Drivers), while the finishing stage (taping, mudding, sanding, filling) can stay with 5480 when the same employer performs it as minor finishing. An employer that both hangs and finishes drywall often needs payroll split between 5445 and 5480 by operation, not blended into one code.
Adjacent trades draw the other boundaries. Standalone lathing as a distinct operation is rated as lathing where the manual provides a lathing class; exterior waterproofing and stucco can move to masonry 5022 in independent-bureau states like New York; wallpaper or paperhanging is separately rated; and painting/decorating belongs in painting NOC 5474. Substantial masonry, concrete or cement floors, driveways, and yards 5221, or carpentry performed by the same employer should be reviewed under its own classification rather than absorbed into plastering.
California needs its own check. WCIRB operates plastering as a dual-wage classification — payroll is assigned to a lower-wage or higher-wage plastering code based on the worker's regular hourly wage against a threshold WCIRB republishes annually. A California stucco or plastering contractor should confirm the current wage threshold and companion code with WCIRB before relying on any single-rate national comparison.
Audit Records for Plastering and Stucco Contractors
The cleanest 5480 audit file separates payroll by operation before the policy year closes. Keep job tickets, customer contracts, subcontractor certificates of insurance, and payroll splits that distinguish interior plastering and drywall finishing (5480) from wallboard hanging (5445), exterior stucco or waterproofing (5022 in some states), standalone lathing, and any masonry or carpentry work. Reconstructing those splits after the auditor arrives is far harder than assigning crews correctly on the job.
Dual-wage and high-wage states reward wage records specifically. Where a state runs a wage-threshold split (California most prominently), certified payroll showing each employee's regular hourly wage is what keeps payroll in the lower-rate plastering code instead of defaulting to the higher one. Without those records, an auditor can assign the more expensive classification.
For quote shoppers, the figures on this page — filed figures where a state publishes them and a relative cost index elsewhere — are a starting point, not a binding quote. The final premium is still modified by payroll, carrier loss-cost multipliers, experience modification, schedule credits, minimum premium, and whether the audit splits any wallboard-hanging, masonry, or lathing work to another classification.
Sources
- NYCIRB Classification Digest - Class 5480 Plastering Phraseology and Description (retrieved 2026-06-15)
- NCCI Class Look-Up - Scopes Classification 5480 (Plastering NOC & Drivers) (retrieved 2026-06-15)
- WCIRB California Classification Search - Plastering Dual-Wage Classifications (retrieved 2026-06-15)
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