Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Annual turnover cost
$18,720
Cost per departure
$3,120
Recruiting + onboarding cost per hire
$1,200
Estimated productivity loss per hire
$1,920
Psst — share this and help Rex grow
One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter recruiting / advertising cost per hire ($).
- 2Enter supervisor hours spent hiring & onboarding (hrs).
- 3Enter supervisor hourly rate (loaded) ($/hr).
- 4Enter training cost per new hire ($).
- 5Enter new hire monthly salary ($).
- 6Enter ramp-up period at reduced productivity (months).
- 7Enter departures per year (center-wide).
- 8Read your annual turnover cost on the right — it updates as you type.
- 9Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Turnover cost is almost always underestimated because most of it is hidden in productivity loss and management time rather than a single visible invoice. This calculator adds recruiting and advertising cost, hours spent interviewing and onboarding valued at a supervisor's hourly rate, training cost for the new hire, and a productivity-loss estimate (the new hire and team running below full effectiveness for a ramp-up period) to compute total cost per departure. Multiplied by your annual number of departures, it produces a total annual turnover cost that finance committees consistently underestimate until they see it laid out. Childcare has one of the highest turnover rates of any industry, commonly cited in the 25-40%+ annual range at the sector level, which means this isn't a rare event to model once but a recurring cost that deserves its own budget line and its own retention investment case.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Recruiting / advertising cost per hire: 350 $
- Supervisor hours spent hiring & onboarding: 15 hrs
- Supervisor hourly rate (loaded): 30 $/hr
- Training cost per new hire: 400 $
- New hire monthly salary: 3200 $
- Ramp-up period at reduced productivity: 2 months
- Departures per year (center-wide): 6
Results
- Annual turnover cost: $18,720
- Cost per departure: $3,120
- Recruiting + onboarding cost per hire: $1,200
- Estimated productivity loss per hire: $1,920
What each field means
Inputs
- Recruiting / advertising cost per hire ($)
- The recruiting / advertising cost per hire used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 350 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Supervisor hours spent hiring & onboarding (hrs)
- The supervisor hours spent hiring & onboarding used in the calculation, measured in hrs. Starts at 15 hrs so you have a working example on load.
- Supervisor hourly rate (loaded) ($/hr)
- The supervisor hourly rate (loaded) used in the calculation, measured in $/hr. Starts at 30 $/hr so you have a working example on load.
- Training cost per new hire ($)
- The training cost per new hire used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 400 $ so you have a working example on load.
- New hire monthly salary ($)
- The new hire monthly salary used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 3200 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Ramp-up period at reduced productivity (months)
- The ramp-up period at reduced productivity used in the calculation, measured in months. Starts at 2 months so you have a working example on load.
- Departures per year (center-wide)
- The departures per year (center-wide) used in the calculation. Starts at 6 so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Annual turnover cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Cost per departure
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Recruiting + onboarding cost per hire
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Estimated productivity loss per hire
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Where does the 30% productivity-loss assumption come from?
It's a commonly used rule of thumb in workforce cost studies: a new hire and the team supporting them operate at a discount to full effectiveness during ramp-up, often estimated around a quarter to a third of salary cost during that period. It's an estimate, not a precise measurement — if you can track actual output or quality metrics during onboarding, replace it with your own number.
Why is childcare turnover so much higher than other industries?
Wages in the sector are historically low relative to the physical and emotional demands of the work, and better-paying jobs with similar skill requirements (retail management, healthcare support roles) compete for the same labor pool. Centers that pace wages closer to local competing industries, not just other daycares, generally see materially lower turnover.
How should I use this number with a board or owner?
Compare the annual turnover cost total to what a wage increase or benefits improvement would cost, and to what a stronger retention program (mentorship, PTO improvements, career ladders) would cost. It's common for the turnover cost total to exceed the cost of the retention fix, making the business case straightforward once it's quantified.
Does this include the cost of ratio violations from unfilled positions?
No — this models the direct cost of replacing a departed employee. A separate risk exists when a position stays vacant and forces overtime, substitute costs, or temporary ratio non-compliance; use the substitute teacher cost and ratio compliance buffer calculators alongside this one for the full financial and compliance picture during a vacancy.
Accuracy and 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.
Related tools
Teacher Salary Scale Budget Calculator
Project total annual payroll across a step-and-lane teacher salary schedule.
Substitute Teacher Cost Calculator
Project your annual substitute budget from absence rates and sub pay.
Childcare Staffing Ratio Cost Calculator
Turn a required teacher-to-child ratio into a monthly labor cost per classroom.
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Childcare Staff Turnover Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/staff-turnover-cost
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/staff-turnover-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Childcare Staff Turnover Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Childcare Staff Turnover Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/staff-turnover-cost) (2026).