Contract Staffing Cost Calculator
Bill rate range and total cost for 22 contract roles in 22 metros, with a direct-hire fee beside it.
This contract staffing cost calculator multiplies a KORE1 Contract Rate Index 2026-Q4 bill rate by hours and weeks. A senior contract data engineer at the $129 national median costs about $134,400 for 26 weeks at 40 hours a week.
Last updated: October 21, 2026
Fill in the stub. Role, level, metro, weeks, hours. The check prints the median total for the whole engagement, the low and high ends sit right under it with their hourly rates, and nothing on this page asks for your name or an email before it shows you the number.
Bill rates only. Every figure is what you pay a staffing firm per hour, never what the contractor takes home. It’s the same index our contract staffing desk quotes from and the one behind the IT contractor rates by metro board. The Bay Area version of that board is the Bay Area metro rate table.
Contract staffing cost by role, metro and weeks
Straight time only, 10 to 40 hours. Overtime bills at its own rate, see below.
One senior data engineer / database developer, United States (national), bills $118 to $140 an hour with a median of $129, so 26 weeks at 40 hours costs about $134,400 ($122,700 to $145,600).
Cell Modeled, BLS OEWS May 2025 wages × 24% burden × KORE1 bill bands
An estimate from published index cells, not a quote. The button carries your inputs to our contact form, and a recruiter confirms the rate for your req. Want the main rates on one sheet? Get the 2026 contract staffing rate card.
Contract or direct hire for the same weeks
Starts at Devin’s $100,000 example. Type your own.
26 weeks at the median bill rate, all in: pay, payroll taxes, insurance, sick pay and weekly payroll
20% of a $100,000 base salary, paid once, with a 60-day replacement guarantee
You also pay the salary for those 26 weeks, about $50,000, plus your own payroll taxes and benefits.
At 40 hours a week this contractor reaches 1,040 hours in week 26. From there they can join your payroll with no conversion fee from KORE1.
“If we take that $20,000 and we spread that gross profit over that 1,040 hours, that’s kind of the bill rate. There’s really no savings in going direct hire versus contract.”
Devin Hornick, Partner at KORE1
So it isn’t a price question. It’s speed and flexibility against stability. Our contract-to-hire vs direct hire cost breakdown runs the longer math.
How the contract staffing cost numbers are built
Two kinds of cell. Each one is KORE1 observed, from at least five of our own W2 contract placements started 2023 to 2026, or modeled from BLS OEWS May 2025 wages plus a 24% employer burden, run through the bill-to-cost range we see on our own placements. The check tells you which one you’re reading. The rest is in how the Contract Rate Index is built.
- 1,365
- index cells, role by level by metro
- 15
- KORE1 observed cells, n of 5 or more each
- 24%
- burden in every modeled cell
- Jan 2027
- next quarterly update
What the calculator does not include
Straight time only. Three things land on the invoice outside it.
- Overtime. Hours past 40 in a week bill at a separate overtime rate, set in your agreement before anyone works them.
- California daily overtime, which counts by the day. Past 8 hours in a day it’s 1.5 times, past 12 it’s double, per the California Labor Commissioner, so a 40-hour week can still carry overtime.
- Travel. If the role needs flights, hotels or per diem, they’re agreed separately.
Burden is already inside every rate. Our contractor burden rate page takes the 24% apart line by line.
Common Questions
What does a contract data engineer cost for six months?
A senior contract data engineer bills $118 to $140 an hour nationally, so six months at 40 hours, 1,040 hours, costs about $134,400 at the $129 median (KORE1 Contract Rate Index 2026-Q4).
Three months is about $67,200. In Dallas-Fort Worth the senior cell runs $123 to $137, median $127, about $132,400 for six months. Yes, Dallas comes in a little under the national cell, since the BLS wage data there runs lower. Our own data engineer placements are held out of the index until they’re re-classified, because too many of them carried analyst and ETL support titles that billed well under the market, so both figures here are modeled cells.
Is a contractor cheaper than a direct hire?
There’s really no savings either way, according to KORE1 partner Devin Hornick.
A direct-hire fee is 20% of base salary, $20,000 on a $100,000 hire, with a 60-day replacement guarantee. A contractor who reaches 1,040 hours can convert with no fee.
What changes is risk. Contract gets someone in fast and lets you scale back down when the project ends, while a direct hire buys stability and the system knowledge that stays after everyone else rolls off. Pick on that. Not on price.
Why is the bill rate so much higher than the contractor’s pay?
Because a bill rate carries more than wages, including employer payroll taxes, workers’ comp, liability insurance, paid sick leave, benefits and the firm’s recruiting and weekly payroll.
Round numbers, not a KORE1 rate. A contractor paid $100 an hour costs $124 loaded at a 24% burden, and a bill rate near $150 to $160 covers that plus recruiting, account management and margin. The burden rate breakdown lists each line, and the payroll tax rates sit in IRS Publication 15.
Two firms quoting different rates for the same req? Here’s how to compare staffing agency quotes line by line.
Got the req? Send the role, the metro and a start date.
A KORE1 recruiter confirms the bill rate for your exact req. Not the index cell. Once there’s an offer, our median contractor starts 3 days later (n=1,997).
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