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Benefits Cost per Employee Calculator

Add up the real cost (and employee-visible value) of a benefits package — health, retirement, PTO, insurance, and perks per employee per year.

Short answer

Benefits Cost per Employee Calculator

$19,212Benefits cost per year

BLS data puts benefits at roughly 30% of total compensation for private industry — this package sits in the normal band. The PTO line surprises people: 25 paid days off are worth $7,692 of salary paid for non-work. Publish a total-comp statement annually; it is the cheapest retention tool you have.

How it's calculated: Total compensation $99,212 — benefits add 24.0% to base. Adjust the inputs below to recalculate for your own numbers.

Disclaimer: Estimates only — not legal, tax, or payroll advice. Pay rules vary by state, contract, and collective agreement; confirm figures with your payroll provider, CPA, or employment counsel.

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80,000
600
3
25
60
100

Wellness, stipends, meals, L&D, equipment amortized.

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Formula used

Benefits cost

The employer cost and the employee-visible value are the same dollars viewed from different chairs. BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation consistently shows benefits near 29–31% of total comp — health insurance and paid leave are the two biggest lines.

Total = health×12 + salary×match% + (salary÷260)×PTO days + insurance×12 + perks×12
BLS benefits share
~30% of comp
Avg employer health share
~$7,000/yr
25 PTO days @ $80K
$7,692 value
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Source: [Benefits Cost per Employee Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/benefits-cost-per-employee-calculator) (2026).

Worked example: $80,000 salary, standard package

Health insurance at $600/month employer share is $7,200; the 3% match adds $2,400; 25 paid days off are worth $7,692; life/disability $720; perks $1,200. Total benefits: $19,212 — 24% on top of salary, total comp $99,212. The employee comparing against a $90K offer with no benefits is actually choosing between $99K and $90K.

  • • Health premiums rose 5–7% annually in recent years — budget the trend, not the snapshot.
  • • PTO is the most undervalued line: employees rarely price it until it's gone.
  • • Self-funded vs fully-insured health plans start making sense around 50+ covered lives.

Related guides

Long-form playbooks on the same topic, written by the RevenueLab editorial team.

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Read the guide

FAQ

How much do benefits cost per employee?

BLS data shows benefits averaging about 30% of total compensation — for a $60,000 salary, expect $18,000–$25,000 per year across health insurance, retirement, paid leave, and legally required contributions.

What is the biggest benefits cost?

Health insurance by a wide margin: employers pay an average of roughly $7,000–$8,000 per employee per year for single coverage and far more for family plans. Paid leave and retirement contributions follow.

How do I show employees their total compensation?

An annual total-comp statement listing base, bonus, employer health share, match, PTO value, insurance, and perks. Employees routinely undervalue their package by 20–30% until they see the number.

Are benefits or salary better for retention?

Salary wins the offer conversation; benefits (especially health, flexibility, and PTO) win the stay conversation. Cutting benefits to fund salary usually raises turnover among employees with families.

How this calculator is built

Independently maintained

Written by Sam Doshi and the RevenueLab editorial team. We don't sell the data feeds this tool is built on.

Sourced from primary data

Benchmarks come from public AdSense / Stripe / IRS disclosures and reader-submitted data — never third-party "$X per view" claims. Full methodology.

Last editorial review

Reviewed on a rolling quarterly cycle. Dated reviews are published on the methodology record for each calculator.

Editorial standards

See our editorial policy and disclaimer. Results are estimates, not advice.

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