Contractor pricing
Labor Burden Calculator
Estimate the true cost of labor beyond hourly pay.
Enter your labor assumptions
Payroll Tax Cost = Wage � Payroll Tax Rate
Workers Comp Cost = Wage � Workers Comp Rate
Benefits Cost = Wage � Benefits Rate
Adjusted Labor Cost = Wage + Payroll Tax Cost + Workers Comp Cost + Benefits Cost
True Labor Cost = Adjusted Labor Cost / (1 - Non-Billable Time Factor)
Outputs
Small percentage costs add up quickly once labor is priced correctly.
Base Wage
$0.00
Added Burden Cost
$0.00
True Labor Cost Per Hour
$0.00
Payroll Tax Cost: $0.00
Workers Comp Cost: $0.00
Benefits Cost: $0.00
Non-Billable Time Factor: 0.00%
What labor burden means
Labor burden is the full hourly cost of putting one person to work, not just the wage you pay them. It includes payroll taxes, workers comp, benefits, and the reality that not every paid hour is billable.
Why hourly wage is not true labor cost
A $25 hourly wage does not mean labor costs $25 per hour on the job. Once insurance, taxes, benefits, supervision gaps, callbacks, travel, and other non-billable time are accounted for, the real labor cost is usually much higher.
Why contractors underprice labor
Many contractors build pricing around take-home pay or a rough hourly number. That leaves out the hidden costs attached to every crew hour, which makes estimates look competitive while quietly shrinking margin.
Related resources
If your labor numbers are wrong, every estimate is at risk.