{
  "slug": "crew-loaded-labor-cost",
  "title": "Crew Loaded Labor Cost Calculator",
  "heading": "Crew Loaded Labor Cost Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/crew-loaded-labor-cost",
  "summary": "Find your real hourly cost per worker including taxes, comp, and burden.",
  "description": "The wage you write on a paycheck is never the real cost of an employee. Payroll taxes, workers' comp (which runs high in physically demanding trades), unemployment insurance, and benefits stack on top of base wage to create the true 'loaded' rate that should drive every pricing decision. This calculator builds that number from the ground up so job quotes are based on real cost, not just gross wage.",
  "formula": "Loaded rate = base wage × (1 + payroll tax rate + workers' comp rate + benefits rate) + fixed per-hour overhead allocation.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=crew-loaded-labor-cost",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "wage",
      "label": "Base hourly wage",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 20,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 7.25,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "payrollTax",
      "label": "Payroll tax burden (FICA + FUTA/SUTA)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 9,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 20
    },
    {
      "id": "workersComp",
      "label": "Workers' comp rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 12,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 40
    },
    {
      "id": "benefits",
      "label": "Benefits load (health, PTO, etc.)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 8,
      "unit": "%",
      "min": 0,
      "max": 30
    },
    {
      "id": "overheadHour",
      "label": "Overhead allocation per hour",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 3,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "loaded",
      "label": "Total loaded hourly rate",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "burdenAmount",
      "label": "Burden cost per hour",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "loadedBeforeOverhead",
      "label": "Loaded rate before overhead",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "loadPct",
      "label": "Total load over base wage",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Base hourly wage: 20 $",
      "Payroll tax burden (FICA + FUTA/SUTA): 9 %",
      "Workers' comp rate: 12 %",
      "Benefits load (health, PTO, etc.): 8 %",
      "Overhead allocation per hour: 3 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Total loaded hourly rate: $28.80",
      "Burden cost per hour: $5.80",
      "Loaded rate before overhead: $25.80",
      "Total load over base wage: 44%"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter base hourly wage ($).",
      "Enter payroll tax burden (fica + futa/suta) (%).",
      "Enter workers' comp rate (%).",
      "Enter benefits load (health, pto, etc.) (%).",
      "Enter overhead allocation per hour ($).",
      "Read your total loaded hourly rate on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "wage": 12,
        "payrollTax": 5.3999999999999995,
        "workersComp": 7,
        "benefits": 5,
        "overheadHour": 1.7999999999999998
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "wage": 20,
        "payrollTax": 9,
        "workersComp": 12,
        "benefits": 8,
        "overheadHour": 3
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "wage": 32,
        "payrollTax": 14.4,
        "workersComp": 19,
        "benefits": 13,
        "overheadHour": 4.800000000000001
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why is workers' comp so high for home service trades?",
      "a": "Workers' comp rates are set by injury risk and claims history for the job classification. Landscaping, moving, and roofing/pressure washing crews carry high physical risk (lifting, ladders, machinery) and often see comp rates of 8-20% of payroll, compared to 1-3% for office work. A single bad claims year can push a small operator's rate even higher at renewal."
    },
    {
      "q": "What's a realistic total load percentage over base wage?",
      "a": "Most home service operators see total load (taxes, comp, benefits) land between 25% and 45% over base wage. A $20/hour employee with 35% load costs $27/hour before any overhead allocation. If your pricing model still uses base wage as the labor cost input, you're understating true cost by a third or more."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should overhead be included in loaded labor rate?",
      "a": "It depends on how you want to use the number. For job costing and bid pricing, yes, roll in a per-hour overhead allocation (rent, insurance, admin salaries, vehicle depreciation) so the price of every job covers its share of fixed costs. For pure payroll budgeting, keep overhead separate and track loaded wage cost on its own."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/crew-hour-job-pricing",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/equipment-replacement-reserve"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Crew Loaded Labor Cost Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/crew-loaded-labor-cost)"
}