Cost of Turnover Calculator

Turn a turnover percentage into a dollar figure your leadership can act on. Built on published replacement cost research, which puts the cost of replacing an employee between roughly half and two times their annual salary. Every number on this page is calculated in your browser and never leaves your device.

Employees who left during the period

Average annual salary (USD)

Total headcount (optional)

Adding this shows the cost as a percentage of your annual payroll.

Time period

Industry (optional)

Use my own cost estimate

Enter the percent of annual salary it costs you to replace someone. If replacing a $60,000 employee costs you about $45,000 all in, enter 75. The scenarios above use 50, 100, and 200.

Entering a value here replaces the research range with your own figure.

Replacement cost as a percent of salary (optional)

Have you measured your cost per hire? Run the Cost per Hire calculator.

Cost per hire is the recruiting portion only. Replacement cost also includes lost productivity during the vacancy and the ramp time before a replacement reaches full output, which together usually exceed recruiting spend. Use cost per hire as a starting input, not as the whole figure.

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Keep this quarter next to the last one

A single cost figure lands harder when you can show the quarter before it. The HRAnalyst™ Workbook is a printable tracker for every calculator on this site, with the formula, the recommended cadence and space for four quarters. Join the list and we will send it, along with new calculators and workforce analytics as they publish.

Formula used

How do you calculate the cost of turnover?

Cost per departure = average annual salary x replacement cost percent

Total cost = cost per departure x employees who left

Cost as percent of payroll = total cost / (average salary x total headcount)

Published research puts replacement cost between roughly half and two times annual salary, which is why this page shows a range rather than a single figure. The conservative, moderate, and high scenarios apply 0.5x, 1.0x, and 2.0x salary. Entering your own measured percent replaces the range with your figure.

Common mistakes with cost of turnover

Counting only recruiting costs.

Agency fees and job board spend are the visible portion. Lost productivity during the vacancy, the ramp time before a replacement reaches full output, and the drag on the team absorbing the work usually exceed them.

Applying one multiplier to every role.

Replacing a specialized or senior employee costs a multiple of what replacing an entry level one does. Running a blended average across all departures understates the cost of the departures that hurt most.

Including involuntary separations without saying so.

A planned reduction and a resignation are not the same event. Presenting them as one number invites a leadership question you will not want to answer live.

Where to go next

Turnover Rate

Calculate the rate before you calculate the cost

Compa-Ratio

Check whether pay position is driving your departures

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The calculators and content on HRAnalyst are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. Compensation and compliance obligations vary by jurisdiction. Consult qualified counsel before acting on any result.

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