Employee Cost Calculator
Estimate the fully loaded annual employee cost for a Retail role — including $1.10/$100 workers’ comp, a $25,000–$75,000 salary range, $300/mo benefits, and a 1.25× burden multiplier.
Open the CalculatorPre-configured with your state tax rates and Retail benchmarks. Adjust salary, benefits, and overhead to model your specific hire.
Total Annual Cost
$47,332
Loaded multiplier: 1.25× base salary
Open the interactive calculator to adjust every input and export a PDF report.
Representative Retail salary, benefits, and workers’ comp figures for 2026.
Each figure is classified and cited below. Published benchmarks come from BLS and SHRM; representative estimates vary by employer; and TrueHireCost modeling assumptions are editable defaults.
| Metric | Value | Type | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median salary | $38,000 | Published benchmark | BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics | Aug 2026 |
| Salary range | $25,000 – $75,000 | Representative estimate | BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics | Aug 2026 |
| Workers’ comp rate | 1.1 / $100 payroll | Representative estimate | DOL Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs | Aug 2026 |
| Monthly benefits | $300 | Representative estimate | BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation (ECEC) | Aug 2026 |
| 401(k) employer match | 2% | TrueHireCost modeling assumption | TrueHireCost methodology | Aug 2026 |
| Annual overhead | $1,200 | TrueHireCost modeling assumption | TrueHireCost methodology | Aug 2026 |
| Annual turnover rate | 60.5% | Published benchmark | BLS Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) | Aug 2026 |
| Time to fill | 14 days | Published benchmark | SHRM Human Capital Benchmarking & Talent Acquisition | Aug 2026 |
| Employment growth | 1.2% | Published benchmark | BLS Employment Projections | Aug 2026 |
| Loaded-cost multiplier | 1.25× | TrueHireCost modeling assumption | TrueHireCost methodology | Aug 2026 |
How to read this table
A Retail hire at the median $38,000 salary costs approximately $47,332 fully loaded — a 1.25× burden multiplier including $1.10/$100 workers’ comp, $300/mo benefits, and overhead.
Retail hiring is shifting toward e-commerce fulfillment and experiential store roles as brick-and-mortar footprints stabilize. High-volume, high-turnover hiring of sales associates and cashiers, with seasonal peaks around holidays.
A retail employee’s hourly wage or salary is the starting point, not the total cost. Retail employers also pay:
At the page’s default $38,000 median retail salary, these layers produce a fully loaded annual cost of about $47,332 — a 1.25× burden multiplier. The worked example above breaks out every line.
The same retail role can cost meaningfully different amounts depending on where the employee works. State payroll taxes, unemployment insurance (SUTA) rates and wage bases, minimum wage requirements, and workers’ compensation class rates all vary by location — and retail’s high headcount means small per-employee differences compound across a team.
Open a state page for a pre-configured retail calculator with that state’s rates:
Retail wages & turnover
Federal employer tax guide
Department of Labor compliance
Retail industry resource
Editorial Standards
Maintained by the TrueHireCost editorial team
TrueHireCost is an independent research and tooling project. Our content is written and maintained by the TrueHireCost editorial team — not by a licensed CPA, attorney, or HR certificant, and no named professional endorses or "verifies" these pages. Rates, wage bases, and benchmarks are collected from official public sources (IRS, U.S. Department of Labor, state workforce agencies, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics) and labeled with their source and last-reviewed date. State SUTA, workers’ comp, and minimum-wage figures are representative new-employer estimates and should be confirmed with the agency for your specific situation.
Found an outdated rate or a calculation that looks wrong? Email editorial@truehirecost.com and we’ll review and correct it. TrueHireCost is an informational tool, not professional tax, legal, or HR advice — consult a qualified professional before making hiring or payroll decisions.
Last updated 2026-08-24
Every rate and formula is checked against the issuing agency before publication. Last updated 2026-08-24.
IRS
FICA, FUTA tax rate & wage base
U.S. DOL
FUTA credit, federal wage & hour
State Workforce Agencies
SUTA rates, wage bases, new-employer rates
BLS
Industry salary benchmarks & turnover
The fully loaded annual cost of a Retail employee combines a typical $25,000–$75,000 salary with $1.10/$100 workers’ comp, $300/month benefits, a 2% 401(k) match, and overhead — yielding roughly a 1.25× burden multiplier.
Retail roles typically pay $25,000 to $75,000 per year, with a median around $38,000. Use the calculator’s salary input to model your specific role.
The representative Retail workers’ comp class rate is $1.10 per $100 of payroll. Seasonal hiring spikes
Beyond wages, a retail employee adds employer FICA (7.65%), FUTA, state unemployment (SUTA), workers’ comp (a representative $1.10/$100 of payroll here), benefits, a 401(k) match, and overhead. At the page’s default $38,000 median retail salary those layers total about $47,332 fully loaded — a 1.25× burden multiplier.
Retail employers pay the same employer payroll taxes as any W-2 employer: FICA (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare), FUTA (0.6% effective on the first $7,000), and state unemployment (SUTA) at the state’s rate and wage base. High retail turnover can raise your experience-rated SUTA over time.
Benefits are a fixed dollar add-on, so they matter more for lower-wage retail roles. The page’s $300/month default plus a 2% 401(k) match adds about $4,360/year at a $38,000 salary. Many part-time retail staff sit under employer benefit thresholds, which lowers benefit cost per head but can raise turnover cost.
State SUTA rates and wage bases, minimum wage laws, and workers’ comp class rates all differ by state. Because retail runs high headcount, small per-employee differences compound across a team. Use the Retail Employee Cost by State section on this page, or compare states side-by-side, to see the gap for your salary.
For Estimation Purposes Only
TrueHireCost provides cost estimates for informational purposes only and is not professional tax, legal, or HR advice. Actual employer costs vary by experience rating, industry classification, carrier, and jurisdiction. Consult a qualified CPA, tax advisor, or HR professional before making hiring or payroll decisions.