What is my real hourly wage?

Your real hourly wage is your annual take-home pay, minus all work-related expenses (commute, clothing, meals, childcare), divided by all work-related hours (including commute, getting ready, decompression, and unpaid overtime). Most people discover it's 30–50% lower than their advertised rate.

How do I calculate if hiring someone is worth my time?

Multiply the hours the task would take you by your real hourly wage. Adjust for how much you enjoy or prefer to avoid the task. Compare that adjusted cost to the price of hiring someone. If your adjusted time cost exceeds the hire price, pay someone else.

What is the self-employment tax rate?

Employees pay 7.65% FICA (6.2% Social Security + 1.45% Medicare). Self-employed individuals pay both the employer and employee shares — 15.3% total. However, you can deduct half the self-employment tax on your federal return, reducing the effective rate slightly.

Can a lower-salary remote job pay more than a higher-salary office job?

Yes. When you factor in commute costs, commute time, work clothing, decompression time, and state tax differences, a remote job paying $15,000 less can have a higher real hourly wage. Use a real hourly wage calculator that accounts for these hidden costs to compare jobs accurately.

What is decompression time?

Decompression time is the time you spend unwinding purely because work drained you — scrolling social media, watching TV you wouldn't otherwise watch, or having drinks you wouldn't otherwise need. This is work-related time that should be counted when calculating your real hourly wage.

What Is My Time Worth?

Income

Annual gross salary

Filing status

State

Hidden Costs — Money

Daily commute cost

IRS rate is $0.70/mile. 20 miles round-trip = $14/day.

Work clothing (monthly)

Work meals (daily)

Only meals you wouldn't buy if you didn't work.

Childcare during work (monthly)

Other work costs (monthly)

Professional dues, tools, continuing ed, second phone.

Hidden Costs — Time

Daily commute, round-trip

min

Include walking to/from car or transit stop.

Getting-ready time (daily)

min

Time beyond what you'd spend if not working.

Decompression time (daily)

min

Unwinding purely because work drained you — scrolling, drinks, TV you wouldn't watch otherwise.

Unpaid overtime (weekly)

hrs

Emails after dinner, weekend Slack, "quick" Sunday planning.

Work Schedule

Days/week

days

4-day week, part-time, etc.

Hours/day (contracted)

hrs

Typical shift length. 8 is standard.

Vacation days/yr

Holidays/yr

Sick days/yr

Your Real Hourly Wage

—

Real: — Advertised: —

What does something cost in life energy?

That's — of your life

🚗

—

Your commute costs per year

💸

—

Every $100 costs this much life

🏠

—

Remote work would raise your wage by

Full Breakdown

Gross annual salary —

Federal income tax —

State income tax —

FICA (SS + Medicare) —

Total tax burden —

Annual take-home —

Commute costs —

Work clothing —

Work meals —

Childcare —

Other costs —

Total work costs —

Actual annual earnings —

Contracted work hours —

+ Commute time —

+ Getting-ready time —

+ Decompression time —

+ Unpaid overtime —

Total work-related hours/yr —

⚠ Tax estimates are approximations using 2026 federal brackets and simplified flat-rate state taxes. FICA is 7.65% (employee share). Consult a CPA for your specific situation.

Financial Reality (optional — sets your discretionary budget)

What remains of your real wage after fixed obligations? This becomes the budget ceiling for your hiring decisions.

Rent or mortgage

$/mo

Debt payments

$/mo

Car loans, student loans, credit cards.

Insurance (non-payroll)

$/mo

Health, auto, life — not deducted from paycheck.

Utilities

$/mo

Electric, gas, water, internet, phone.

Subscriptions

$/mo

Streaming, software, gym, etc.

Groceries

$/mo

Non-work food. Work meals are on Tab 1.

Savings & retirement

$/mo

401k, IRA, emergency fund contributions.

Evaluate a Task

Your real hourly wage

Auto-filled from Tab 1 if you've calculated there.

What's the task?

Time to DIY

hrs

Cost to hire

How often?

How do you feel about this task?

Quick Decisions

Verdict

—

🔧 DIY

Time cost—

Enjoyment adj.—

Adjusted cost—

💼 Hire

Dollar cost—

Time saved—

Total cost—

Why This Calculator Exists

Most people have never calculated what an hour of their life is actually worth. Not their salary divided by 2,080 — their real take-home pay, minus every hidden cost of working, divided by every hour their job consumes. Commute time. Getting-ready time. Decompression time. Work lunches. Professional clothes. Once you know this number, every spending decision changes. A $40 dinner isn't $40 — it's X hours of your life energy.

Methodology inspired by Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin & Joe Dominguez. Built by Kenneth Cross — writer, developer, and parent in the Chicago suburbs who calculated his own real hourly wage and immediately regretted how much time he'd spent at Chuck E. Cheese. Support this project on Ko-fi.

Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere. No signup required. Tax estimates are approximations — consult a CPA for your specific situation. 🔒 Your financial data never leaves your device.

This real hourly wage calculator accounts for federal and state income taxes, FICA (Social Security and Medicare), daily commute costs and time, work clothing, work meals, childcare, decompression time, and unpaid overtime. The "Is It Worth My Time?" decision calculator helps you decide when to hire a professional versus doing it yourself — factoring in not just cost but how much you enjoy or dread the task. The job comparison tool reveals when a lower-salary remote position actually pays more per hour of life energy than a higher-salary office job.

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What Is My Time Worth?

Income

Evaluate a Task

Quick Decisions

Decision Queue

Job A

Job B

Why This Calculator Exists