Labor Burden Calculator for Landscapers
Find out what your employees really cost. Most landscapers underestimate labor costs by 25–50%.
What Is Labor Burden?
Labor burden is the total cost an employer pays beyond an employee's base hourly wage. It includes payroll taxes, workers' compensation insurance, health benefits, and paid time off. For landscaping and lawn care businesses, labor burden commonly adds 25–50% on top of the base wage (varies by province/state and class code)—meaning a $25/hr employee may actually cost $31–$38 per hour.
Understanding your true labor cost is critical for accurate job costing. If you quote jobs using only the base wage, you're losing money on every hour worked.
What This Calculator Includes
- Payroll taxes — Employer contributions (US: Social Security, Medicare, FUTA/SUTA; Canada: CPP, EI, provincial taxes)
- Workers' compensation — Required insurance for workplace injuries (US: workers' comp; Canada: WSIB/WCB). Rates vary by trade and province/state.
- Health insurance — Your monthly contribution toward employee health coverage (more common in US; varies in Canada)
- Paid time off — Vacation, sick days, and statutory holidays you pay for but don't bill
The Formula
True Hourly Cost = Wage + Payroll Taxes + Workers' Comp + Benefits + PTO Cost
Example (US-style defaults):
$25/hr wage + 7.65% payroll taxes + 8% workers' comp + $400/mo health insurance + 10 PTO days = ~$38.50/hr true cost
Canadian employers: Enter your CPP/EI employer rate and WSIB/WCB rate below. Health insurance contributions are less common in Canada, so adjust or set to $0 as needed.
Need to calculate burdened labor for a whole crew, plus overhead costs and travel time? The full GreenMargins app calculates everything automatically on every quote.
Enter Employee Details
US: SS + Medicare. Canada: CPP + EI. Enter your actual employer rate.
Varies by state/province and class code. Check your policy.
Enter total paid days you pay for but can't bill.
Are you losing money on every job?
If you quote using $25/hr instead of the true cost, you lose $13.50 for every hour worked. On a 40-hour job, that's $540 in hidden losses.
Calculate this automatically on every quote
GreenMargins applies your labor burden to every job. No spreadsheets. No forgotten costs.
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How This Calculator Works
Payroll Taxes
Employer-paid taxes like Social Security, Medicare, FUTA, SUTA (US), or CPP/EI contributions (Canada). Rates vary by location.
Workers' Comp / WCB
Required insurance for workplace injuries. Landscaping and outdoor trades typically have higher rates (5–15%) due to physical labor.
Health Insurance
Your monthly contribution to employee health coverage. We divide by ~173 hours/month to get the hourly cost.
Paid Time Off (PTO)
Vacation, sick days, and statutory holidays. You pay wages but don't bill clients, so this cost spreads across billable hours.
What This Calculator Does NOT Include
- Overhead costs — Rent, equipment, vehicle expenses, office costs, software, general liability insurance. Use our overhead calculator for that.
- Non-billable time — Rain days, equipment breakdowns, admin time. This calculator assumes all non-PTO hours are billable.
- Travel time — Drive time to job sites is a separate cost. See our travel time calculator.
- Training & onboarding — Time spent training new employees before they're productive.
Common Mistakes When Calculating Labor Burden
Using only base wage
Quoting jobs at $25/hr when your true cost is $38/hr means you lose money on every hour worked. Always use your burdened rate.
Forgetting paid time off
Vacation days, sick time, and statutory holidays are hours you pay for but don't bill. This cost spreads across your billable hours.
Using outdated rates
Workers' comp and payroll tax rates change. Check your actual rates annually—using last year's numbers can throw off all your quotes.
Confusing burden with overhead
Labor burden is employee-specific (taxes, comp, benefits). Overhead (rent, equipment, insurance) is a separate calculation.
Labor Burden vs Overhead (Quick Difference)
- Labor burden = employee-specific costs (payroll taxes, workers' comp, benefits, PTO)
- Overhead = business costs not tied to one employee (rent, equipment, vehicles, insurance, office expenses)
- Both must be added to base wages before you can quote profitably
You need both labor burden and overhead for accurate job costing. This calculator handles labor burden. Use our overhead calculator to find your overhead cost per billable hour.
This calculator helps you determine your burdened labor rate, also known as fully burdened labor cost or true labor cost. The result includes your labor burden multiplier (e.g., 1.54×), which you can apply to any wage to instantly calculate total employer cost. Understanding your burdened rate is essential for accurate job costing in landscaping, lawn care, and outdoor service businesses across the US and Canada.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is labor burden?
Labor burden is the total cost an employer pays beyond an employee's base hourly wage. It includes payroll taxes, workers' compensation insurance, health benefits, and paid time off. For landscaping businesses, labor burden commonly adds 25–50% on top of the base wage—though this varies by province/state, benefits offered, and workers' comp classification.
How do you calculate labor burden?
True hourly cost = Base wage + Payroll taxes + Workers' comp + (Monthly benefits ÷ monthly hours) + PTO cost per hour. Enter your actual employer rates into the calculator above to get an accurate result for your location.
What is a good labor burden percentage?
Labor burden percentage commonly ranges from 20% to 50% of base wages, depending on the benefits you offer and your location. Outdoor trades like landscaping often see higher rates due to workers' compensation costs. Use your actual rates to calculate your specific burden.
What is the difference between labor burden and labor cost?
Labor cost typically refers to the base wage you pay an employee. Labor burden is the additional cost on top of wages—taxes, insurance, and benefits. Total labor cost = base wages + labor burden.
What is a burden rate vs burden multiplier?
The burden rate is the percentage added to base wages (e.g., 40% burden). The burden multiplier is the factor you multiply wages by to get total cost (e.g., 1.40×). If your burden rate is 40%, your multiplier is 1.40. This calculator shows both.
Does labor burden include overhead?
No. Labor burden only includes employee-specific costs like payroll taxes, workers' comp, benefits, and PTO. Overhead costs like rent, equipment, vehicle expenses, and general liability insurance are calculated separately. Use our overhead cost per hour calculator for that.
Why is my labor burden so high?
Common reasons for high labor burden include: generous health insurance contributions, high workers' comp rates (common in landscaping), lots of PTO days, or operating in a state/province with higher employer taxes. If your burden multiplier exceeds 1.5×, review each component to see which is driving costs.
How do I use labor burden in job costing?
When estimating a job, multiply your burdened labor rate (not base wage) by estimated hours. Then add overhead per hour, travel time costs, materials with markup, and your profit margin. This gives you a quote that actually makes money.
Learn More About Labor Costs
The Easiest Way to Calculate Labor Burden
A complete deep dive into labor burden calculations for landscaping businesses.
How Much Should Landscapers Charge Per Hour?
Find the right hourly rate that covers your true labor costs and delivers profit.
Why Landscapers Use GreenMargins for Job Costing
See how automated job costing eliminates guesswork from your quotes.
What Profit Margin Should Landscapers Charge?
Learn the profit margins that successful landscaping businesses actually achieve.