Labor Burden Calculator

Find the fully burdened labor rate: the true hourly cost of an employee after taxes, benefits, and overhead.

Social Security + Medicare (7.65%)

Federal unemployment (effective 0.6%)

Health, retirement, etc.

$37.34/hr

Fully burdened rate

24.4%

Burden added

$77,657

Annual cost

Burden breakdown

Employer FICA (Social Security + Medicare)7.7% · $2.30/hr
Federal Unemployment (FUTA)0.6% · $0.18/hr
State Unemployment (SUI)2.7% · $0.81/hr
Workers' Compensation1.5% · $0.45/hr
Benefits (health, retirement)8.0% · $2.40/hr
Overhead (PTO, equipment, admin)4.0% · $1.20/hr
Total burden24.4% · $7.34/hr

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Estimates only, using editable 2025 US defaults. Tax and insurance rates vary by employer, classification, and locality. Verify with a licensed accountant before relying on these figures.

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The wage is never the whole cost of an employee. On top of base pay, an employer carries FICA, federal and state unemployment, workers compensation, benefits, paid time off, and overhead. Together they are the labor burden. This labor burden calculator adds each component and returns the fully burdened labor rate per hour and per year.

Use the fully burdened rate to set bill rates, quote projects, and compare a W2 hire against a 1099 contractor. For a salaried hire, the employee cost calculator applies the Social Security, FUTA, and state unemployment wage bases to an annual salary instead of a flat percentage. Start from the editable 2025 defaults and adjust to your business.

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Labor burden by industry: Construction · Staffing Agency · Healthcare · Field Service · Manufacturing · Hospitality

Frequently Asked Questions

What is labor burden?
Labor burden is every cost of an employee beyond base wages: employer payroll taxes (FICA, FUTA, SUI), workers compensation, benefits, paid time off, and overhead. The fully burdened rate is base pay plus that burden.
How do you calculate the fully burdened labor rate?
Express each employer cost as a percentage of base wages, add them into a total burden rate, then multiply the pay rate by (1 + burden). At $30 an hour with a 25% burden, the fully burdened rate is $37.50 an hour.
What is a typical labor burden rate?
Most US employers land between about 15% and 30% of base wages, depending on benefits, workers comp class, and state unemployment rates. Construction, field service, and healthcare often exceed 30%. The industry pages on this site start from trade defaults.
Does labor burden vary by state?
Yes. State unemployment wage bases range from $7,000 to over $70,000 and new-employer rates from 0.5% to over 4%. Workers comp rates for the same class code also differ by state. The state pages pre-fill local SUI estimates.
Are these figures tax advice?
No. They are editable planning estimates using 2025 US defaults. Confirm payroll tax, SUI, and workers comp rates with a licensed accountant.