Converting salary to an hourly rate
To turn an annual salary into an hourly wage, divide the salary by the number of hours you are paid for in a year. With a standard 40-hour week and 52 paid weeks, that is 2,080 hours. A $52,000 salary works out to $52,000 ÷ 2,080 = $25.00 an hour. A $65,000 salary is $31.25 an hour, and $100,000 is $48.08 an hour. The calculator also works the other way: choose “per hour” and it multiplies your wage by your hours and weeks to give the annual equivalent.
From the hourly rate it builds the other pay periods: daily pay assumes a five-day week, weekly is hourly × hours per week, biweekly is two weeks of pay, semimonthly is the annual amount divided by 24, and monthly is the annual amount divided by 12.
Biweekly and semimonthly are not the same
Biweekly pay means every two weeks, which gives 26 paychecks a year, so two months each year have three paydays. Semimonthly means twice a month, usually on the 15th and the last day, which gives 24 paychecks. For the same salary, each semimonthly paycheck is slightly larger than a biweekly one. On a $65,000 salary, biweekly pay is $2,500 and semimonthly pay is $2,708.33 before taxes. Knowing which schedule you are on matters when you budget monthly bills.
Adjusting for unpaid time off
Salaried employees are usually paid for holidays and vacation, so 52 weeks is the right figure. Hourly workers and contractors are often not paid for time off, so to compare an hourly job with a salaried one, reduce the paid weeks. For example, a freelancer who takes four weeks off a year should use 48 weeks. Likewise, if your salaried job routinely requires 50 hours a week, entering 50 hours shows your true effective hourly rate, which can be eye-opening when comparing offers.
Gross pay versus take-home pay
All figures are gross pay, before income tax, Social Security, Medicare, state taxes and deductions such as health insurance and retirement contributions. Take-home pay is commonly 70% to 80% of gross for middle incomes in the US, but it varies widely by state and personal situation. When comparing a salaried job with an hourly or contract role, also consider benefits. Employer health insurance, retirement matching and paid leave can be worth 20% to 30% of salary, which is why contractors typically charge a higher hourly rate than employees doing similar work. Our retirement calculator can show how a raise put toward savings adds up over time.
Frequently asked questions
How many work hours are in a year?
A full-time schedule of 40 hours a week for 52 weeks is 2,080 hours.
What is $60,000 a year per hour?
About $28.85 an hour, based on 40 hours a week and 52 weeks a year.
Is $25 an hour a good wage?
$25 an hour is about $52,000 a year full time. Whether that is good depends heavily on where you live and your expenses.
Does this include taxes?
No. Results are gross pay before taxes and deductions.