See what you actually earn per hour after commuting, overtime, work expenses, and all the time you're never paid for.
Your Income
Hidden Time
Hours you work for free
Hidden Costs
Money you spend because you have a job
Gas, public transit, or rideshare
What you spend that you wouldn't at home
Tools, certifications, dry cleaning, etc.
Start with your annual salary or hourly rate. We’ll calculate the rest.
Commute, getting ready, unpaid overtime, work email — it all counts as work.
Gas, lunch, parking, work clothes — money you spend because you have a job.
Your nominal rate vs. your true rate. The gap might surprise you.
Your employer says you make $26/hour. But that doesn't count the hour you spend commuting, the $12 lunch, the unpaid overtime, or the 30 minutes getting dressed for work.
When you add up the time and money you spend because of your job, your real hourly rate is almost always lower than you think. For most people, it's 25–40% less.
Know your real number. Then decide if it's worth it.
Your true hourly rate is what you actually earn per hour after subtracting work-related expenses (commute, lunch, clothes) and adding unpaid work time (commute, overtime, getting ready). Most people’s true rate is 25–40% lower than their nominal rate.
Take your annual salary, subtract all work-related expenses (commuting, lunch, work clothes, parking). Then divide by your total work-related hours (paid hours + commute + getting ready + unpaid overtime). The result is your true hourly rate.
Any time you spend because of your job that you don’t get paid for: commuting, getting ready for work, unpaid overtime, checking work email or taking calls at home, and work-related travel. For most workers, this adds 10–15 hours per week.
Money you spend because you have a job: gas or transit fare, parking, lunches you wouldn’t buy if working from home, work clothes, dry cleaning, tools or certifications, and the extra cost of living near your workplace.
The average American commute is 27 minutes each way (54 minutes round trip). At $0.70/mile (IRS rate), a 30-mile round trip costs about $21/day or $5,250/year. Plus the time cost: 54 minutes/day × 250 workdays = 225 hours/year working for free.
A remote worker with the same salary saves $3,000–$8,000/year in commute, lunch, and clothing costs, AND recovers 5–15 hours/week of hidden time. This can increase your true hourly rate by 30–50%. Use our calculator to see your specific numbers.
Often yes. A $5,000 pay cut that eliminates a 1-hour commute saves you 500 hours/year and $3,000–$5,000 in commute costs. Your true hourly rate might actually increase. Use the calculator to compare both scenarios.
The average full-time American worker spends roughly $5,000–$12,000/year on work-related expenses and donates 500–800 hours of unpaid time. Combined, this typically reduces the true hourly rate by 25–40% below the nominal rate.
The biggest levers are: negotiate remote work (eliminates commute cost and time), reduce commute distance, bring lunch from home, negotiate paid overtime, and eliminate unnecessary work expenses. Even small changes compound — bringing lunch saves $2,500+/year.