First employee true cost calculator

State

Trade

Hourly wage ($)

Hours / week

Your SUI rate % (optional)

Estimated true monthly cost

$0/mo

≈ fully-loaded hourly cost

Estimate. Updated Nov 2, 2026. Excludes benefits, PTO, state income-tax withholding (paid by the employee), and local taxes.

What's included

How we calculate

Employer FICA: 7.65% of wages (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare).
FUTA: 0.6% on the first $7,000 per employee per year, assuming the full state credit.
State unemployment (SUI): 2026 new-employer rate times the state wage base.
Workers comp: midpoint of published typical ranges per $100 of payroll. Real quotes vary by state, insurer and class code.
Payroll software: Gusto Simple, $49/mo + $6/person.

All results are estimates. Updated Nov 2, 2026.