California Masonry Class Codes 5027 vs 5028 and the $37.00 Threshold

Sep 7

5 min read

Quick answer: 5027 vs 5028 in California

5027 is the low-wage code and 5028 the high-wage code for masonry. For policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026, the wage split moves from $35.00 to $37.00 per hour. The approved pure premium rates effective 9/1/2026 are $9.332 for 5027 and $4.928 for 5028, so the low-wage code costs about 89% more per $100 of payroll. Source: WCIRB Classification Search, codes 5027 and 5028, pure premium rates effective 9/1/2026. Verified September 7, 2026 by CPR Business Solutions.

Will we write it? Tell us the operation, the state, and roughly where the mod sits — we’ll come back within one business day with a straight answer: yes, no, or what we’d need to see. No ACORD, no loss runs, no obligation. Agents and business owners both welcome. Run it past us here.

The masons who just became low-wage

A mason earning $36.00 an hour was a high-wage employee under the old $35.00 threshold and was reported in 5028. From September 1, 2026 the threshold is $37.00, so the same person at the same wage doing the same work is now reported in 5027. Nothing about the risk changed. The cost did.

At a 1.00 mod over 2,000 hours, that employee’s workers’ comp goes from about $3,548 to about $6,719 — an increase of $3,171, or 89%. At a 1.75 mod the same worker goes from roughly $6,209 to $11,758. On a crew of ten in that wage band, at a 1.75 mod, that is about $55,000 of additional annual premium for no change in payroll.

Which code is which

5028 — high wage. Construction of structures, load-bearing or non-load-bearing walls, fences, fireplaces, walkways, retaining walls, barbecues and enclosures using brick, natural or manufactured stone, concrete block or glass block by employees whose regular hourly wage equals or exceeds $37.00.
5027 — low wage. The same operations for employees below $37.00, and for any employee whose wage the employer cannot verify with time records — undocumented payroll defaults to the low-wage code.
Masonry is not concrete. Block, brick and stone are masonry; flatwork, slabs, footings and sidewalks are concrete 5201/5205 at a $36.00 threshold.

Rate history

5027 went from $7.300 (9/1/2024) to $7.970 (9/1/2025) to $9.332 (9/1/2026) — up 17.1% this cycle, the largest low-wage rate increase in the finish trades and well above the 10.4% statewide advisory increase. 5028 barely moved: $4.290 to $4.830 to $4.928, up 2.0%. The gap widened from 65% to 89% in one year. Masonry has the smallest threshold move in the table ($35.00 to $37.00, tied with roofing) but the rate itself is doing the damage.

When the raise pays for itself

Per 2,000-hour employee at a 1.00 mod, raising to $37.00 from:

$34.00 — raise costs $6,000 in wages, premium falls $2,699. Net cost $3,301.
$35.00 — raise costs $4,000 in wages, premium falls $2,886. Net cost $1,114.
$36.00 — raise costs $2,000 in wages, premium falls $3,072. Net saving $1,072.
$36.50 — raise costs $1,000 in wages, premium falls $3,166. Net saving $2,166.

Break-even is about $35.51 per hour at a 1.00 mod, before payroll taxes on the raise. Every mason who was high-wage last year — anyone at $35.00 or above — is within $2.00 of the new line, and at $35.51 or above the raise already pays at a 1.00 mod.

A worse mod lowers the break-even

0.90 mod — $35.65
1.00 mod — $35.51
1.25 mod — $35.18
1.50 mod — $34.86
1.75 mod — $34.55
2.00 mod — $34.25

At a 1.75 mod a mason at $36.99 costs $43.03 an hour all-in. At $37.00 they cost $40.19 — $5,680 per FTE per year for one cent of wage. Mod cleanup takes three years; reclassification takes one payroll run. If the mod itself is the problem, that is a separate placement question.

Classification carve-outs for masonry

Concrete work — slabs, footings, flatwork, sidewalks and pool shells — is 5201/5205, not masonry, even when the same crew pours the footing the block wall sits on. Split the hours or the auditor will.
Stucco over block is plastering 5484/5485 at a $42.00 threshold — five dollars above masonry.
Glass block is masonry, not glazing. Glass panes and insulated units in framework are 5467/5470.

What else lands on the same renewal

September 1, 2026 is a crowded date: all sixteen dual-wage thresholds move, the advisory pure premium level rises 10.4%, and the experience rating eligibility threshold goes to $11,700. Pull the 5027/5028 payroll split on the expiring term versus the quoted term, and a list of employees within a few dollars of $37.00. That second list is where the decisions are.

One honest caveat

These are WCIRB approved pure premium rates — advisory benchmarks, not the rates any carrier charges. California is an open-rating state; every insurer files its own rates and applies its own schedule and experience modifications. The shape of the 5027/5028 gap holds across the market because the loss data underneath is the same, but the exact break-even for a given account depends on the carrier’s filed rates and the client’s mod. Run it on the real quote.

Masonry class code FAQ

What is the California class code for masonry contractors?

5027 for employees paid under $37.00 an hour and 5028 for employees at or above $37.00, for policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026. The pair covers walls, fences, fireplaces, retaining walls and similar structures built from brick, stone, concrete block or glass block.

Is block wall construction masonry or concrete in California?

Masonry. Concrete block, brick and stone are 5027/5028. Poured concrete — slabs, footings, flatwork — is 5201/5205. A crew that pours the footing and lays the block on it has payroll in both pairs.

Why did the masonry low-wage rate jump 17% for 2026?

The WCIRB sets each class’s pure premium rate on that class’s own loss experience. 5027 moved from $7.970 to $9.332 while 5028 moved only from $4.830 to $4.928; the filing does not explain individual class movements, but the effect is that the low-wage code now costs 89% more than the high-wage code, up from 65% a year earlier.

Placing California masonry accounts

CPR Business Solutions is a wholesale workers’ compensation broker and MGA built around high-mod and hard-to-place accounts. If a masonry client has just seen payroll reclassify from 5028 to 5027, has a mod above 1.50, or has been non-renewed after an audit, that is the account we want.

Call 714-928-3858 or email proposals@cprbrokers.com.