Evidence calculator

Compare fully burdened workforce costs.

The calculator publishes no contractor-premium percentage until a comparable labor category, source date, contract vehicle, burden rates, productive hours, transition cost, and oversight cost are supplied.

ActualForecastAssumptionInterpretation

Last reviewed August 22, 2026

What the numbers show

Employee-visible compensation, government's civilian cost, and contractor cost remain separate outputs.
Blank or incomplete inputs return Evidence needed, not zero.
The result describes a commercial arrangement, not the salary of an equivalent employee.

Fully burdened comparison

Evidence rule: Use the same work, qualifications, period, location, and productive-hour definition on both sides.

Employee-visible compensationEvidence neededPublished salary; employer costs remain separate.

Government's total civilian costEvidence neededSalary plus entered pension and benefit cost.

Fully burdened contractor costEvidence neededLoaded labor plus transition and government oversight.

Complete every field to calculate a comparison.

Calculation method

loaded contractor cost = direct rate × productive hours × (1 + fringe) × (1 + overhead) × (1 + G&A) × (1 + fee) + transition + oversight

Rates are applied sequentially because contract burdens are often allocated to different cost bases. Use the actual contract's accounting treatment when available.

See what the gap means for your comparison.

Use the Compensation Gap Explorer, review the methodology, or download the underlying data and workbook.

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