California Wallboard and Drywall Class Codes 5446 vs 5447 and the $45.00 Threshold

Sep 7

5 min read

Quick answer: 5446 vs 5447 in California

5446 is the low-wage code and 5447 the high-wage code for wallboard installation within buildings. For policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026, the wage split moves from $41.00 to $45.00 per hour. The approved pure premium rates effective 9/1/2026 are $6.233 for 5446 and $3.249 for 5447, so the low-wage code costs about 92% more per $100 of payroll. Source: WCIRB Classification Search, codes 5446 and 5447, 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 drywall hangers who just became low-wage

A drywall installer earning $43.00 an hour was a high-wage employee under the old $41.00 threshold and was reported in 5447. From September 1, 2026 the threshold is $45.00, so the same person at the same wage doing the same work is now reported in 5446. 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 $2,794 to about $5,360 — an increase of $2,566, or 92%. At a 1.75 mod the same worker goes from roughly $4,890 to $9,381. On a crew of ten in that wage band, at a 1.75 mod, that is about $45,000 of additional annual premium for no change in payroll.

Which code is which

5447 — high wage. Installation of gypsum wallboard within buildings, including taping and texturing, non-structural metal stud framing, and insulation in building walls when installed by the same employer at the same job by employees whose regular hourly wage equals or exceeds $45.00.
5446 — low wage. The same operations for employees below $45.00, and for any employee whose wage the employer cannot verify with time records — undocumented payroll defaults to the low-wage code.
Taping and texturing are always wallboard. They stay in 5446/5447 whether or not the same employer hung the board.

Rate history

5446 went from $5.810 (9/1/2024) to $6.050 (9/1/2025) to $6.233 (9/1/2026) — up 3.0% this cycle, well under the 10.4% statewide advisory increase. 5447 rose faster: $2.690 to $2.820 to $3.249, up 15.2%. The gap between the codes narrowed from 115% to 92%, but the threshold moved $4.00 at the same time, and for most drywall crews that threshold move is the whole story.

When the raise pays for itself

Per 2,000-hour employee at a 1.00 mod, raising to $45.00 from:

$42.00 — raise costs $6,000 in wages, premium falls $2,312. Net cost $3,688.
$43.00 — raise costs $4,000 in wages, premium falls $2,436. Net cost $1,564.
$44.00 — raise costs $2,000 in wages, premium falls $2,561. Net saving $561.
$44.50 — raise costs $1,000 in wages, premium falls $2,623. Net saving $1,623.

Break-even is about $43.74 per hour at a 1.00 mod, before payroll taxes on the raise. Anyone at $44.00 or above should be moved to $45.00 before the policy incepts.

A worse mod lowers the break-even

0.90 mod — $43.86
1.00 mod — $43.74
1.25 mod — $43.44
1.50 mod — $43.16
1.75 mod — $42.88
2.00 mod — $42.61

At a 1.75 mod a drywall installer at $44.99 costs $49.90 an hour all-in. At $45.00 they cost $47.56 — $4,678 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 drywall

Non-structural metal stud framing stays in 5446/5447 when the same employer installs the wallboard at the same job or location. An employer that frames interior non-structural walls with light-gauge studs but does no structural framing and no wallboard at that job is classified elsewhere — and structural light-gauge framing is 5632/5633 with a $46.00 threshold.
Insulation within building walls stays in wallboard only when the same employer that hangs the board installs it at the same job or location.
Plaster and stucco are not wallboard. Skim coats, veneer plaster and stucco are 5484/5485 at a $42.00 threshold, so a drywall-and-plaster sub carries two thresholds three dollars apart and needs hours charged to the task.

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 5446/5447 payroll split on the expiring term versus the quoted term, and a list of employees within a few dollars of $45.00. 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 5446/5447 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.

Wallboard and drywall class code FAQ

What is the California class code for drywall installers?

5446 for employees paid under $45.00 an hour and 5447 for employees at or above $45.00, for policies incepting on or after September 1, 2026. Both cover gypsum wallboard installation within buildings, including taping and texturing.

Does drywall taping and texturing use the same class code as hanging?

Yes. Taping and texturing are assigned to 5446/5447 whether or not the same employer hung the wallboard, so a finish-only crew is rated exactly like a hanging crew.

Is $45.00 the highest dual-wage threshold in California?

Nearly. Only carpentry 5403/5432 and steel framing 5632/5633 sit higher, at $46.00. Wallboard moved from $41.00 to $45.00 on September 1, 2026, which means a large share of typical drywall payroll now sits below the line.

Placing California drywall accounts

CPR Business Solutions is a wholesale workers’ compensation broker and MGA built around high-mod and hard-to-place accounts. If a drywall client has just seen payroll reclassify from 5447 to 5446, 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.