Cost of Employee Turnover Calculator
Enter how many people left, their average salary, and an estimated replacement cost to see what turnover is costing your business.
Estimates commonly range from 30% of salary for entry-level roles to 200% or more for senior and specialist positions. 33% is a widely cited mid-range default.
A planning estimate only. Real costs include recruiting, onboarding, lost productivity, and institutional knowledge — they vary widely by role and industry. Figures are pre-tax.
New to this? Read: how to calculate the cost of turnover →
Advertisement
How to calculate the cost of employee turnover
Turnover is not just an HR statistic — it is a real expense. Every time someone leaves, the business pays to advertise the role, screen and interview candidates, onboard a replacement, and absorb the lost productivity while the seat sits empty. This calculator turns those costs into a single, comparable number.
The estimate rests on two lines of math:
- Cost per departure = average salary × (replacement cost % ÷ 100)
- Total turnover cost = number of leavers × cost per departure
A worked example
Say 10 people left over the year, earning an average of $55,000, and you use a mid-range replacement cost of 33%. Each departure costs about 55,000 × 0.33 = $18,150, so ten of them add up to $181,500 — roughly $15,125 a month. Seeing the monthly figure often makes the case for investing in retention.
Choosing a replacement percentage
The replacement percentage is where most of the uncertainty lives. Entry-level roles often land near 30% of salary, while senior, technical, or specialist positions can reach 150–200% once you count long vacancies and ramp-up time. If you are unsure, run the calculator twice — once with a low estimate and once with a high one — to see the realistic range.
Pair it with your turnover rate
Cost and rate work best together. Your turnover rate tells you how many people are leaving; this calculator tells you what that movement is worth in dollars. Lowering either one — fewer departures, or cheaper and faster hiring — brings the total down.
Calcento is for general guidance only and does not provide financial advice. Figures are pre-tax estimates.
Frequently asked questions
Multiply the average salary of the roles you lost by an estimated replacement cost (expressed as a percentage of salary), then multiply by the number of people who left. For example, 10 leavers earning $55,000 on average at a 33% replacement cost is 55,000 × 0.33 × 10 = $181,500.