GA · Cost to hire 2026
How much does it cost to hire an employee in Georgia?
The real first-year cost of a W-2 hire in Georgia is the ongoing fully-loaded payroll plus the one-time spend to recruit, onboard, and equip the person. A $75,000 hire runs about $109,336 in year one.
Costing a hire in Georgia starts with the full year-one picture, not just the salary on the offer. Atlanta's logistics, fintech, and film economy, plus the industrial base around Savannah and Augusta, all draw on the same employer math. The recurring piece is fully-loaded payroll: salary, employer FICA, net FUTA, and Georgia state unemployment insurance, which a new employer pays at 2.7% on the first $9,500 of each worker's wages, a maximum of $256.50 per employee per year until an experience rate is assigned. Georgia does levy state income tax on wages, so withholding is set up from the first run, though that is an employee-side deduction rather than an employer cost. The other half of year one is one-time spend: sourcing and recruiting, onboarding and training, and equipment and workstation setup, which this site models at roughly $8,500, alongside about $1,500 a year in HR and payroll software. Put together, the first-year cost to hire in Georgia is the annual fully-loaded payroll plus that front-loaded investment, a figure the calculator above computes from your exact salary.
Estimate a Georgia hire
Pre-filled with Georgia's 2.7% new-employer SUI rate. Adjust salary, benefits, and one-time costs to fit your hire.
First-year cost of a $75,000 hire in Georgia
| Recurring (annual) | |
| Base salary | $75,000 |
| Employer payroll taxes | $6,036 |
| Workers' comp | $750 |
| Benefits | $10,050 |
| Overhead | $7,500 |
| Software & toolsrecurs yearly | $1,500 |
| One-time (year one) | |
| Recruiting | $4,000 |
| Onboarding & training | $2,000 |
| Equipment & setup | $2,500 |
| Ongoing annual cost (year 2+) | $100,836 |
| Total first-year cost | $109,336 |
First-year cost by salary in Georgia
| Base salary | First-year total |
|---|---|
| $50,000 | $78,924 |
| $75,000 | $109,336 |
| $100,000 | $139,749 |
What drives the cost in Georgia
Georgia's new-employer SUI rate is 2.7% on the first $9,500 of wages, a maximum of $257 per worker per year (above the national average of 2.07%). That sits on top of 7.65% employer FICA and 0.6% FUTA. Georgia taxes wage income, which the employee pays, so it adds administration but not direct employer cost.
Compare and dig deeper
Weighing an employee against a contractor? See the Georgia W-2 vs 1099 comparison for the breakeven contract rate. Compare neighboring markets, including Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Kansas, or read how much it costs to hire an employee nationally.
Cost-to-hire FAQ for Georgia
- What is the first-year cost to hire a W-2 employee in Georgia?
- It is ongoing fully-loaded payroll plus one-time hiring costs. Payroll includes salary, employer FICA, net FUTA, and Georgia SUI of up to $256.50 per worker (2.7% on the first $9,500). One-time recruiting, onboarding, training, and equipment are modeled near $8,500, with about $1,500 a year in software. The calculator totals both.
- How much is Georgia's unemployment tax per new hire?
- A new employer in Georgia pays SUI at 2.7% on the first $9,500 of each worker's wages, a maximum of $256.50 per employee per year before any experience rating. It is a recurring annual cost that sits inside fully-loaded payroll, separate from the one-time recruiting and equipment spend in year one.
- Does Georgia's state income tax raise my cost to hire?
- Georgia taxes wages, so you withhold state income tax from each paycheck, but that is the employee's cost, not yours. It adds payroll-administration steps rather than employer dollars. Your direct year-one costs are employer FICA, net FUTA, SUI up to $256.50 per worker, and the one-time recruiting, onboarding, and equipment outlay.