Hourly to Salary Conversion (and Back)
The standard 2,080-hour year, how to adjust for part time and unpaid leave, and what gets lost when comparing an hourly job to a salaried one.
Updated 2026-10-20
The standard conversion assumes a full-time year of 52 weeks at 40 hours, or 2,080 hours.
annual salary = hourly rate × 2,080
hourly rate = annual salary ÷ 2,080$25 an hour is $52,000. $60,000 a year is $28.85 an hour.
Quick table
| Hourly | Annual | Monthly | Bi-weekly |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15 | $31,200 | $2,600 | $1,200 |
| $20 | $41,600 | $3,467 | $1,600 |
| $25 | $52,000 | $4,333 | $2,000 |
| $30 | $62,400 | $5,200 | $2,400 |
| $40 | $83,200 | $6,933 | $3,200 |
| $50 | $104,000 | $8,667 | $4,000 |
Rule of thumb: double the hourly rate and add three zeros. $25 → $50,000, close to the exact $52,000.
Adjusting the hours
Part time: hours per week × 52. 30 hours at $25 is $39,000.
Unpaid time off: subtract the unpaid weeks. Two unpaid weeks: 40 × 50 = 2,000 hours. $25 × 2,000 = $50,000.
Paid holidays do not change the salary figure, but they do raise the effective hourly rate of a salaried job because fewer hours are worked for the same pay. The Hours Per Year calculator works out actual hours after vacation and holidays.
What the conversion hides
An hourly job pays overtime; a salaried exempt job usually does not. An hourly worker doing 45 hours a week at $25 earns $25 × 40 + $37.50 × 5 = $1,187.50, or $61,750 a year, against a $52,000 salary for the same hours. A salaried job may include benefits worth 20 to 30% of pay. Compare total compensation, not the headline number.
Converting a raise
A $2,000 salary raise is $2,000 ÷ 2,080 = $0.96 an hour. A $1 hourly raise is $2,080 a year. Percent raises are the same either way: 3% of $25 is $0.75; 3% of $52,000 is $1,560, which is $0.75 × 2,080.
Other period conversions
Weekly: hourly × hours per week. Monthly: annual ÷ 12, not weekly × 4 (a month is 4.33 weeks). Bi-weekly: annual ÷ 26. Semi-monthly: annual ÷ 24.
Worked example: comparing two offers
Offer A: $31 an hour, non-exempt, typically 44 hours a week, no paid holidays, 10 days vacation. Offer B: $64,000 salary, exempt, typically 44 hours, 10 paid holidays, 15 days vacation, 401(k) match worth about $1,900.
Offer A annual pay: 40 × $31 × 52 = $64,480 base, plus 4 overtime hours × $46.50 × 52 = $9,672, minus 10 unpaid vacation days (80 hours × $31 = $2,480) = $71,672. Offer B: $64,000 + $1,900 match = $65,900, and five more days off. Offer A pays about $5,800 more for the same hours; Offer B pays the same whether the week is 38 hours or 50.
Effective hourly rate of a salary
Divide the salary by hours actually worked, not 2,080. $64,000 at 44 hours a week over 48 working weeks (after vacation and holidays) is 2,112 hours, or $30.30 an hour. At 50 hours a week it drops to $26.67. This is the number to compare against an hourly offer when the salaried role has long weeks.
Hourly from a monthly figure
Monthly × 12 ÷ 2,080. $4,500 a month is $54,000 a year, or $25.96 an hour. Do not multiply monthly by 4 and divide by 40: a month has 4.33 weeks on average and that shortcut understates the rate by 8%.
Frequently asked
How many working hours are in a year? 2,080 for a 40-hour week with no time off. With 10 holidays and 15 vacation days, 1,880. With a 37.5-hour week, 1,950 before time off.
Is $20 an hour good? It is $41,600 a year full time, above the 2026 federal poverty line for a family of four and roughly the median wage in many US metro areas for service jobs, but below the median for all full-time workers. Cost of living in your city matters more than the national figure.
Does the conversion include taxes? No. All figures here are gross. Use the hourly paycheck calculator for take-home pay.
What hours per week should I use for a 9-to-5 job? Usually 40, or 37.5 if lunch is unpaid and the day is 8:30 to 5:00 with an hour’s lunch. Check the offer letter; salaried roles often state the standard week.