Most contractors know what they pay their crews. Few know what their crews actually cost. The gap between those two numbers — what shows up on a paycheck versus the true fully-loaded cost of employment — can be 40% to 60% above base wages once payroll taxes, workers compensation, health insurance, and unemployment taxes are factored in. That gap matters every time you estimate a job, bid a contract, or try to figure out whether a crew is carrying its weight financially. This calculator takes six straightforward inputs and tells you your true hourly labor cost and your burden multiplier — the number that belongs in your job estimates, not the wage rate alone.

Labor Burden Rate Builder | Your CFO Service

Labor Burden Rate Builder

Find out what your crew actually costs per hour — not just what you pay them.

Crew Parameters

Crew Size & Hours
Total headcount in this labor group.
Blended average across the crew. Use your most recent payroll period as a reference.
$
Standard full-time is 2,080 (52 weeks × 40 hrs). Adjust for your actual schedule.
Calculated from the inputs above.
$
Payroll Taxes & Insurance
Fixed at 7.65% of wages (Social Security + Medicare). Calculated automatically.
$
Your state unemployment tax rate. Default is 2.7% — typical for construction. Check your annual state rate notice for your exact rate.
%
Your blended rate as a percentage of wages. Find this on your workers comp policy declarations page or annual audit.
%
Benefits
Employer-paid portion only. Check your insurance invoice for the company's share. Do not include amounts deducted from employee paychecks.
$

Burden Rate Results

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Enter your crew parameters and click
Build Burden Rate to see results.