On $60,000 a year, an hour of your time is worth about $28.85 and a minute about $0.48
Divide a year's pay by the hours you work in a year and you get what an hour of your time is worth. At 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, a year is 2,080 hours, so $60,000 works out to $28.85 an hour, $0.48 a minute and $4.81 for 10 minutes. Put that price on a 2 hour 30 minute house cleaning and your time is worth $72.12. If a cleaning service charges $100, doing it yourself costs $27.88 less, and the cleaning service only wins once the job takes longer than 3 hours 28 minutes.
This is the cost of what you give up, which economists call opportunity cost, measured in money. The calculator above starts from your annual pay, monthly pay or hourly wage, and it can also fold in your commute and the money you spend just to go to work to give an effective hourly rate. Enter how long a task takes, what it costs to hire out, what you would spend on materials if you did it yourself and how often it comes up. It shows which side is cheaper, the break-even time and the yearly difference, and it draws how both costs change with the time the task takes.
Why put a price on your time
Money shows up on a receipt and time does not, so doing something yourself feels free. Putting a price on an hour lets you compare "do it myself or hire it out?" on the same footing every time instead of by gut feel. It helps most in these situations.
- Deciding whether to hire out cleaning, laundry or assembly: divide the hire price by the hours the job takes you and you get the money you save per hour of doing it yourself. If that is higher than your hourly rate, doing it yourself wins on money. If it is lower, hiring it out wins.
- Comparing cooking with takeout: it is easy to forget that cooking costs groceries too. If shopping and cooking take 1 hour 20 minutes and $8 of ingredients while takeout is $30, then on $60,000 a year doing it yourself costs $46.46, which is $16.46 more.
- Hunting for the lowest price or waiting in line: if 30 minutes of effort saves you less than 30 minutes of your own time is worth ($14.42 on $60,000), you lose on time value.
- Weighing a side gig or overtime offer: compare the offered hourly rate with your effective hourly rate including the commute to see what your current job really pays per hour.
- Hesitating over paying to save time: a study of 6,271 people in the United States, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands found that those who spent money on time-saving services reported greater life satisfaction. In a field experiment in the same study, working adults reported being happier after spending money to save time than after buying a thing.
Opportunity cost and the value of time
Opportunity cost is the value of the best alternative you give up when you make a choice. The opportunity cost of 2 hours 30 minutes of cleaning is the most valuable thing you could have done with that time. If you could have earned extra money, it is that money. If an evening with family or a rest matters more, it is the value of that evening.
This calculator approximates that value with an hourly wage. Gary Becker's 1965 paper on the allocation of time framed the cost of household activities as the money spent plus the income given up during that time, and the "value of time" here points the same way. But if your pay is fixed and you cannot earn more in your spare time, your hourly rate is only a reference point, and the real opportunity cost may be something money cannot buy, like rest.
How it is calculated
- Yearly work hours = hours per week × work weeks per year. 40 hours × 52 weeks = 2,080 hours.
- Hourly rate = annual pay ÷ yearly work hours. Monthly pay is converted as monthly pay × 12 ÷ yearly work hours, and an hourly wage is used as entered. The value of 1 minute is the hourly rate ÷ 60.
- Effective hourly rate = (annual income − monthly work costs × 12) ÷ (yearly work hours + yearly commute hours). Yearly commute hours = round-trip minutes ÷ 60 × office days per week × work weeks.
- Cost of doing it yourself = value of 1 minute × minutes it takes + out-of-pocket cost. The first part is the value of your time.
- Break-even time = (hire-out price − out-of-pocket cost) ÷ value of 1 minute. If the task takes longer than this, hiring it out is cheaper. If the hire-out price is no more than your out-of-pocket cost, hiring it out is cheaper at any length.
- Money saved per hour of doing it yourself = (hire-out price − out-of-pocket cost) ÷ hours the task takes. If it is higher than the rate you compare with, doing it yourself pays.
- One year = cost of one time × times per year. Daily counts as 365, 3 times a week as 156, weekly as 52, every 2 weeks as 26 and monthly as 12.
Dollar amounts are rounded to the cent after all calculations are done, and the cheaper side is decided on the rounded difference. If you switch the comparison to the effective hourly rate, the value of 1 minute in steps 4 to 6 becomes the effective rate ÷ 60.
What an hour and a minute are worth at each salary
The table assumes 40 hours a week. The 48-week column assumes 4 weeks off a year for vacation and holidays. The last column is the effective hourly rate with a 54-minute round-trip commute (about 27 minutes each way) 5 days a week, which adds 234 commute hours a year to the working hours.
| Annual pay | 1 hour (52 weeks) | 1 minute | 10 minutes | 1 hour (48 weeks) | With a 54-minute round-trip commute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $14.42 | $0.24 | $2.40 | $15.63 | $12.96 |
| $40,000 | $19.23 | $0.32 | $3.21 | $20.83 | $17.29 |
| $50,000 | $24.04 | $0.40 | $4.01 | $26.04 | $21.61 |
| $60,000 | $28.85 | $0.48 | $4.81 | $31.25 | $25.93 |
| $80,000 | $38.46 | $0.64 | $6.41 | $41.67 | $34.57 |
| $100,000 | $48.08 | $0.80 | $8.01 | $52.08 | $43.22 |
For comparison, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which is about $0.12 a minute and $1.21 for 10 minutes. If you are paid by the hour, switch the income basis to "Hourly" and enter your wage.
Pay quirks that change the answer
- 2,080 hours includes your paid time off. 40 hours × 52 weeks counts vacation days, holidays and sick days as worked. If you actually take three weeks off, enter 49 weeks and $60,000 becomes $30.61 an hour instead of $28.85. Either is fine as long as you use the same number for every comparison.
- Salaried and hourly workers differ. A salaried employee who regularly works 45 hours should enter 45 hours a week, because the same salary buys less per hour. An hourly worker should enter the wage and leave the weeks as they are.
- Benefits are not in the number. Employer health insurance, retirement matching and paid leave have value, but the calculator uses only the pay you enter. Add them to the pay if you want a total compensation view.
- Pre-tax or after-tax. Annual pay is usually quoted before tax, but hire prices come out of after-tax money. For a comparison with what you pay out of pocket, enter after-tax pay for both.
Comparing common situations
The examples use $60,000 a year ($28.85 an hour, about $0.48 a minute). The dollar figures are illustrations, so replace them with a real quote or delivery price. The example buttons in the calculator load the first three rows.
| Task | Time it takes | Hire-out price | Out-of-pocket cost | Do it yourself | Cheaper side | Break-even time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning the house vs a cleaning service | 2 hours 30 minutes | $100.00 | $0.00 | $72.12 | Do it yourself ($27.88 less) | 3 hours 28 minutes |
| Groceries and cooking vs takeout | 1 hour 20 minutes | $30.00 | $8.00 | $46.46 | Hire it out ($16.46 less) | 46 minutes |
| Assembling a bookcase vs assembly service | 3 hours | $75.00 | $0.00 | $86.54 | Hire it out ($11.54 less) | 2 hours 36 minutes |
| Washing the car vs a hand wash | 1 hour | $40.00 | $5.00 | $33.85 | Do it yourself ($6.15 less) | 1 hour 13 minutes |
For the bookcase, the table says doing it yourself is cheaper only if you are confident you can finish in under 2 hours 36 minutes. A fast builder and a first-timer get different answers for the same job.
Look at the yearly total for things you repeat
A small gap per time becomes a big one over a year. Here is the house cleaning example (2 hours 30 minutes, $100 for a cleaning service) at different frequencies.
| How often | Hours per year | Do it yourself | Hire it out | Saved by doing it yourself |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Once | 2.5 hours | $72.12 | $100.00 | $27.88 |
| Monthly (12 times) | 30 hours | $865.38 | $1,200.00 | $334.62 |
| Every 2 weeks (26 times) | 65 hours | $1,875.00 | $2,600.00 | $725.00 |
| Weekly (52 times) | 130 hours | $3,750.00 | $5,200.00 | $1,450.00 |
The reverse also holds: a task where hiring out is cheaper costs more the more often you do it. Groceries and cooking three times a week take 208 hours a year, and on these numbers doing it yourself costs $7,248.00 against $4,680.00 for takeout, a gap of $2,568.00. If the home-cooked food is better or healthier for you, weigh that against the number, since the calculator cannot see it.
What the household time use data say
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' American Time Use Survey for 2025 reports the average hours a day that Americans aged 15 and older spend on each activity, counting everyone and every day of the week, including people who did not do the activity. At the $28.85 hourly rate of a $60,000 salary, with a year taken as 365 days, those averages translate like this.
- Food preparation and cleanup: 0.71 hours a day, about 259.2 hours a year, worth $7,475.48.
- Purchasing goods and services: 0.69 hours a day, about 251.9 hours a year, worth $7,264.90.
- Household activities overall: 1.99 hours a day, about 726.4 hours a year, worth $20,952.40.
These are population averages, not what a typical working person spends, and the survey's tables have no separate commuting line because travel is counted with each activity. For the commute, the Census Bureau's American Community Survey gives a mean one-way travel time to work of 27.2 minutes in 2024 (26.8 minutes in 2023). Doubling that and rounding gives the 54-minute round trip in the table above, which lowers the effective rate on $60,000 from $28.85 to $25.93, or 10.1% less.
Common mistakes
- Mixing pre-tax and after-tax: pay is usually quoted before tax, but a cleaner's fee is paid from after-tax money. To compare with what leaves your wallet, enter after-tax pay. Whichever you choose, use the same basis throughout.
- Leaving out the cost of doing it yourself: with the cooking example, leaving out the $8 of ingredients makes your side $38.46 instead of $46.46, which understates what cooking really costs.
- Forgetting the time hiring takes: finding a provider, waiting and checking the work all take time. Subtract that from the time you enter for a fair comparison.
- Assuming saved time turns into money by itself: on a fixed salary, the 2 hours 30 minutes you save by hiring out cleaning will not earn extra pay. Read the result as "is this much money worth buying 2 hours 30 minutes of rest?"
- Judging from a single occurrence: for something weekly, look at the yearly total. A $28 difference once is more than $1,400 over a year.
- Entering the wrong week count: using 2,080 hours when you work far fewer or more changes every value. Adjust the hours and weeks to your own year.
Limits and cautions
- The hourly rate is a yearly average. It can differ from what you actually earn for one more hour, which depends on overtime pay, bonuses and side income.
- Taxes are not calculated. To compare after tax, enter your after-tax pay.
- Quality, the risk of mistakes and redoing the work, enjoyment of doing it yourself and what you learn are not in the numbers.
- The commute is assumed to be the same every week. If you work from home some days, lower the office days per week.
- Work weeks per year must be a whole number from 1 to 52. Your entries are calculated in your browser only, and the link carries numbers but not the task name.
As of 2026-10-15. The BLS figures were checked against Table 1 of the 2025 American Time Use Survey release, the commute figure on the Census Bureau's ACS 1-year commuting page, and the federal minimum wage on the U.S. Department of Labor page, all on that date. Becker 1965 and Whillans et al. 2017 were checked against their publisher records.
Sources
- 01Becker GS. A Theory of the Allocation of Time. The Economic Journal 1965;75(299):493–517A theory that treats the cost of household activities as money spent plus the income given up during that time.
- 02Whillans AV, Dunn EW, Smeets P, Bekkers R, Norton MI. Buying time promotes happiness. PNAS 2017;114(32):8523–85276,271 respondents in the United States, Canada, Denmark and the Netherlands: those who spent money on time-saving services had higher life satisfaction. Field experiment: more happiness after buying time than after buying things.
- 03U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Time Use Survey, Table 1, 2025 annual averagesAverage hours per day, civilian population aged 15 and older: household activities 1.99, food preparation and cleanup 0.71, purchasing goods and services 0.69. Travel is included in each activity category.
- 04U.S. Census Bureau, Commuting at a Glance, American Community Survey 1-year estimates"The mean one-way travel time in 2024 was 27.2 minutes, higher than 26.8 minutes in 2023."
- 05U.S. Department of Labor, Minimum Wage"The federal minimum wage for covered nonexempt employees is $7.25 per hour."
Frequently asked questions
How much is an hour of my time worth on $60,000 a year?
Divide by 40 hours × 52 weeks = 2,080 hours and you get about $28.85 an hour and $0.48 a minute. If you count 4 weeks off a year and divide by 48 weeks (1,920 hours), an hour is about $31.25. With a 54-minute round-trip commute added to your working hours, the effective hourly rate is about $25.93.
Does 2,080 hours include my paid time off?
Yes. 40 hours × 52 weeks counts vacation, holidays and sick days as worked. If you take three weeks off a year, enter 49 weeks and $60,000 becomes about $30.61 an hour instead of $28.85. Pick one convention and use it for every comparison.
How do I decide between doing it myself and hiring it out?
Divide (hire-out price − out-of-pocket cost) by the hours the task takes to get the money you save per hour of doing it yourself, then compare it with your hourly rate. If a cleaning service charges $100 and the job takes you 2 hours 30 minutes, that is $40 an hour, above the $28.85 rate on $60,000, so doing it yourself costs $27.88 less.
What is the break-even time?
It is the time at which doing it yourself and hiring it out cost the same: (hire-out price − out-of-pocket cost) ÷ the value of 1 minute. With $60,000 a year and a $100 cleaning service it is about 3 hours 28 minutes, and a cleaning that takes longer is cheaper to hire out.
What is the effective hourly rate?
It is (annual income − yearly work costs) ÷ (yearly work hours + yearly commute hours). On $60,000 with a 54-minute round-trip commute 5 days a week for 52 weeks, you commute 234 hours a year, so the rate is about $25.93, roughly 10.1% below the plain hourly rate. The Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey puts the average one-way trip at 27.2 minutes.
Should I enter pre-tax or after-tax pay?
If you compare with money you actually pay out, such as a cleaning fee or delivery, after-tax pay is more accurate. If you compare pre-tax figures, such as a freelance rate or a side-gig offer, pre-tax is fine. What matters is that income and costs use the same basis.
Is it right to use an hourly wage if I cannot earn more in my spare time?
On a fixed salary, time you save does not turn into money. Read the result as a question: is it worth paying this much for that much rest or time with family? A study of 6,271 people in four countries (Whillans et al. 2017) found that people who spent money on time-saving services reported greater life satisfaction.
How do I compare something I do every week?
Choose how often it happens and the calculator shows the yearly total. Cleaning (2 hours 30 minutes, $100 service) every 2 weeks takes 65 hours a year: $1,875.00 to do it yourself against $2,600.00 hired out, a gap of $725.00. Weekly it is 130 hours and a gap of $1,450.00.