Trash Hauler Rate Increase Calculator
Find out how much you should be charging for trash pickup today. Just pick your year and enter your price.
Pick the year you set your trash rate, type in what you charge, and the calculator shows what that price should be today based on real government inflation data. If you haven’t raised rates in a few years, you’re working harder for less money.
You should be charging:
$33.41/mo
That’s $8.41 more per customer per month just to keep up with costs.
Trash Price Index in 2019
244.7
Trash Price Index today (2026)
327
+34%
costs went up
$8.41
lost/mo each
$100.90
lost/yr each
= $10,089.91 left on the table every year
How did we calculate this?
We used the Consumer Price Index for Water, Sewer, and Trash Collection Services (CUSR0000SEHG) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
How do we know how much trash collection costs have gone up?
The U.S. government tracks prices on everything — including garbage and trash collection. It’s called the Consumer Price Index (CPI). There’s one specifically for water, sewer, and trash service.
We use that number in the calculator above. It’s not a guess — it’s real data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Why every waste hauler needs to raise rates regularly
Fuel, dump fees, truck parts, insurance, labor — your costs go up every year whether you raise prices or not. If your rate stays the same, you take home less money every month.
A lot of independent haulers set their price when they start and never touch it. That’s the fastest way to go from profitable to barely breaking even.
How to tell your customers about a price increase
- Give 30 days notice.A letter or text — no surprises.
- Share this calculator.Let them see the government’s numbers. It’s not your opinion — it’s a fact.
- Small raises every year beat one big jump. $2/year is easier to accept than $10 all at once.
How much have garbage collection costs gone up?
Here’s a quick look at how much trash service costs have risen, based on the government’s own CPI data:
| Year you started | Costs went up… | $25/mo is now… |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | +53% | $38.20 |
| 2016 | +47% | $36.87 |
| 2017 | +43% | $35.68 |
| 2018 | +38% | $34.48 |
| 2019 | +34% | $33.41 |
| 2020 | +30% | $32.38 |
| 2021 | +25% | $31.26 |
| 2022 | +20% | $29.92 |
| 2023 | +14% | $28.38 |
| 2024 | +8% | $27.03 |
Bottom line
If you haven’t raised your trash hauling rates in a few years, you’re working harder for less money. The numbers don’t lie. Use the calculator, find your number, and plan your next rate increase.
Want your rates to go up automatically every year?
Learn how to add a CPI clause to your contract — free sample language included.
Data source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for Water and Sewer and Trash Collection Services (CUSR0000SEHG), retrieved from FRED . Last updated April 2026. This calculator is for informational purposes only.