Retention Economics Calculator
Click a role and adjust the numbers to match your organization. See what it costs to get that person in the door, how long until they pay it back — and what it costs you to lose them at six months, one year, two, three, four and five years.
Cost To Acquire
Shared inputs (drive both equations)
Acquisition line items
Total Cost To Acquire
$74,693
It costs you $74,693 to get this nurse practitioner in the door — and they do not make you a dollar until month 7. Every retention decision before that point protects an investment that has not yet paid back. Lose them after it pays back, and the curve below shows what walks out.Every acquisition dollar returns about $18 in gross profit — if they stay five years. Retention is the bridge.
Cost At Turnover
Auto-fed from the Cost To Acquire total above — edit to override.
One Preventable Departure
at 5 years — and $212,656 even at 6 months
Cost at Turnover — the loss curve
| Tenure at exit | Cost at Turnover | Recovered |
|---|---|---|
| 6 months | $212,656 | 10% |
| 1 year | $238,856 | 35% |
| 2 years | $278,156 | 70% |
| 3 years | $317,456 | 85% |
| 4 years | $343,656 | 92% |
| 5 years | $369,856 | 97% |
Every role on your roster — acquisition cost, payback period, and the loss curve side by side — saved and sent to you. Then book a debrief call to turn the numbers into a plan.
All figures are conservative, directional estimates derived from 2025–2026 Arizona compensation data and published research (SHRM cost-per-hire benchmarks; agency fee norms of 15–25% of first-year salary; payer credentialing timelines of 90–120+ days; Gallup replacement multipliers; NSI National Health Care Retention Report). Credentialing dead-time uses a 50% mitigation factor, clearly an estimate. Every input is editable so you can model your own organization. Intended to inform a strategic conversation — not as guaranteed or audited accounting figures.
America runs on Dunkin. The world runs on Compassion.