Free tool
Restaurant labor cost percentage calculator
Enter one period’s sales and what you paid people — hourly wages, salaries, overtime, the employer share of payroll taxes, benefits — and read the labor cost percentage two ways: wages only, and fully loaded. Add your food cost percentage and prime cost appears as well. The formula sits next to the result, and the summary prints on one sheet.
Labor cost summary
Enter sales for the period and the percentages appear here.
How it is calculated
Labor cost % = (hourly wages + salaried pay + overtime) ÷ sales × 100
Fully loaded % = (wages + employer payroll taxes + benefits and other) ÷ sales × 100
Prime cost % = fully loaded labor % + food cost %
Commonly cited ranges by concept
| Concept | Labor cost (fully loaded) | Prime cost |
|---|---|---|
| Quick service | 25–30% | 55–60% |
| Full service | 30–35% | 60–65% |
| Fine dining | 35–40% | 65–70% |
| Bar or pub | 20–25% | 45–55% |
Figures quoted across industry surveys and consultants, rounded. They are context, not a target and not a guarantee — a restaurant with low rent can carry more labor than one paying city-center rent.
No currency attached — whatever you type is what you read. Every line must cover the same period.
Numbers stay in this browser so next week starts from this week’s rate and settings. Nothing is uploaded; Clear wipes them.
Before you judge the number
- Two percentages, on purpose. Wages only is what most quick calculators give you. Fully loaded adds the employer share of payroll taxes and whatever you pay for benefits, insurance, staff meals or uniforms — often 3 to 6 points higher, and the one your accountant means.
- The 7.65% is a default, not a fact about your business. It is the US employer share of Social Security and Medicare. Federal and state unemployment tax, workers’ compensation and any other country’s contributions come on top — check IRS Publication 15 or your payroll provider, then change the field. This page is arithmetic, not tax advice.
- Prime cost is labor plus food. Add the food cost percentage from the food cost calculator and the page shows prime cost, the number most operators watch weekly. Commonly cited ceilings sit around 60 to 65% for full service and lower for quick service.
- Weekly, on one sheet. Fill it in every week from the same sources (the POS sales report and the payroll register), print the summary or save the PNG, and keep the stack. The numbers stay in this browser; nothing is uploaded, and the tool does not schedule staff or run payroll.
The percentage has two halves: what you pay people on top, what you sell underneath. An order placed on your own website lands in the bottom half with no marketplace taking a cut — cards are charged through your own Stripe account, Naratake takes 0% commission, and Stripe’s card fee is the only per-order cost. Building and previewing is free; a published site with ordering is on Storefront Pro.
See online ordering with 0% commissionCommon questions
What is a good labor cost percentage for a restaurant?
It depends on the concept. Commonly cited ranges are 25 to 30% for quick service, 30 to 35% for full service, 35 to 40% for fine dining and 20 to 25% for bars — all fully loaded, as a share of sales. These are averages people quote, not targets anyone can promise you. Your rent, menu prices and volume decide what your kitchen can carry.
Is 30% labor cost high?
For a quick-service restaurant, 30% sits at the top of the range most sources cite. For full service it is the middle. For fine dining it is below the range. Before reacting to the number, check two things: whether it is wages only or fully loaded, and what prime cost comes to once food is added — 30% labor with 28% food is a 58% prime cost, which most operators would take.
Does labor cost include payroll taxes and benefits?
It should, if you want the real number. The employer share of payroll taxes, workers’ compensation, health contributions, staff meals and uniforms are all money that goes out because you employ people. This calculator shows both figures so you can see the gap; the fully loaded one is what a lender or an accountant will use.
What is prime cost?
Cost of goods sold plus total labor, as a percentage of sales — the two costs you can actually move week to week. Enter your food cost percentage and the page adds it to fully loaded labor. Beverage cost belongs in there too if you serve drinks; fold it into the food percentage before you type it in.