Salary to Hourly Calculator

How to use this tool

1. Choose your pay type. Select whether you are entering an annual, monthly, biweekly, weekly, or hourly amount.
2. Enter the amount. Type your salary or wage in the selected field.
3. Adjust work schedule. Set hours per week (default 40) and weeks worked per year (default 52).
4. Read conversions. All equivalent pay rates are displayed instantly.

How many hours are in a work year?

A standard full-time employee works 40 hours per week. Multiplied by 52 weeks, that equals 2,080 hours per year. If you subtract paid time off (e.g., 2 weeks vacation), you get 2,000 working hours, which slightly raises your effective hourly rate.

Pay period reference

• Annual: the total gross salary for the year
• Monthly: annual ÷ 12
• Biweekly: annual ÷ 26 (26 pay periods per year)
• Weekly: annual ÷ weeks worked
• Daily: weekly ÷ 5 (assumes 5-day work week)
• Hourly: annual ÷ (hours/week × weeks/year)

Salary vs hourly: which is better?

Salaried employees often receive benefits (health insurance, PTO) and have predictable income but may not receive overtime pay. Hourly workers are typically entitled to overtime (1.5× rate over 40 hrs/week in the US) and can directly see how extra hours affect earnings.

Use this calculator to compare job offers on an apples-to-apples basis regardless of how compensation is quoted.

Overtime impact

For hourly workers in the US, overtime is paid at 1.5× the regular rate for all hours over 40 per week under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This can significantly boost effective annual income. Example: a worker earning $25/hour averaging 5 hours of overtime per week earns:

• Regular: $25 × 40 hrs × 52 weeks = $52,000
• Overtime: $25 × 1.5 × 5 hrs × 52 weeks = $9,750
• Total: $61,750 - nearly 19% above the base rate

A salaried employee at $52,000 working the same overtime would receive no additional compensation if classified as exempt.

Self-employment adjustment

If you are self-employed or a freelancer, your effective hourly rate is lower than it appears because you bear costs that employers typically cover:

• Self-employment tax: approximately 15.3% of net earnings (covers both employee and employer shares of Social Security and Medicare).
• Health insurance: you pay 100% of premiums (though the premium is tax-deductible above-the-line).
• Retirement contributions: no employer match; you fund 100% of your own retirement savings.
• Unpaid time: vacation, sick days, and time spent on administrative work (invoicing, taxes) reduce billable hours without reducing costs.

A common rule of thumb is that a self-employed rate needs to be at least 1.3–1.5× an equivalent employee salary to break even on total compensation.