The short answer
- Hourly rate = yearly salary ÷ (hours a week × weeks a year).
- Yearly salary = hourly rate × hours a week × weeks a year.
- A full-time year is 40 × 52 = 2,080 hours.
Salary to hourly
Divide the salary by the hours you work in a year. For a $50,000 salary and a standard full-time week:
- Hours a year: 40 × 522,080
- $50,000 ÷ 2,080$24.04
Hourly to salary
Multiply the other way. $25 an hour for 40 hours a week is $1,000 a week, and 52 of those weeks make $52,000 a year.
- Weekly: $25 × 40$1,000
- Yearly: $1,000 × 52$52,000
- Monthly: $52,000 ÷ 12$4,333.33
Common salaries as hourly pay
| Salary | Hourly | Weekly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $14.42 | $576.92 | $2,500 |
| $40,000 | $19.23 | $769.23 | $3,333.33 |
| $50,000 | $24.04 | $961.54 | $4,166.67 |
| $60,000 | $28.85 | $1,153.85 | $5,000 |
| $75,000 | $36.06 | $1,442.31 | $6,250 |
| $100,000 | $48.08 | $1,923.08 | $8,333.33 |
| $150,000 | $72.12 | $2,884.62 | $12,500 |
Common hourly rates as salaries
| Hourly | Yearly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| $7.25 | $15,080 | $1,256.67 |
| $10 | $20,800 | $1,733.33 |
| $15 | $31,200 | $2,600 |
| $20 | $41,600 | $3,466.67 |
| $25 | $52,000 | $4,333.33 |
| $30 | $62,400 | $5,200 |
| $40 | $83,200 | $6,933.33 |
| $50 | $104,000 | $8,666.67 |
Weekly, biweekly and semimonthly
The pay period changes the size of each check, not your yearly pay. On $50,000 a year, a biweekly check (26 a year) is $1,923.08 before tax and a semimonthly check (24 a year, often on the 15th and the last day of the month) is $2,083.33. Biweekly payers hand out a third check in two months of each year, which is handy for budgeting if you plan your bills around two checks a month.
Your real hours
The answer is only as good as the hours you enter. A salaried job with a 40-hour contract that regularly runs to 45 hours pays less per hour than it looks. $60,000 a year is $28.85 an hour at 40 hours a week, but $25.64 at 45 hours: the same pay spread over more time.
- Hours a year
- 2,080
- Hourly
- $28.85
- Hours a year
- 2,340
- Hourly
- $25.64
Vacation, holidays and unpaid time off
If you are paid for vacation and holidays, keep the year at 52 weeks: you are paid for all of them. There are 11 federal holidays, but private employers do not have to give them as paid days off, and no federal law requires paid vacation. If your time off is unpaid, take it out. $25 an hour over 50 paid weeks instead of 52 is $50,000 a year rather than $52,000. Enter unpaid days under More options.
The federal minimum wage
The federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act is $7.25 an hour, unchanged since July 2009. Full time, that is $290 a week and $15,080 a year. Many states and cities set a higher minimum, and when they do, the higher one applies. Tipped employees can be paid a lower cash wage if tips bring them up to the minimum. The Department of Labor keeps a list of state rates.
Salaried, exempt and overtime
Being paid a salary does not on its own take away your right to overtime. To be exempt as an executive, administrative or professional employee, you must usually be paid at least $684 a week ($35,568 a year) and do work that meets the duties tests. A 2024 rule that would have raised this level was struck down by a federal court, and the Department of Labor now applies the $684 figure. If you are non-exempt, hours over 40 in a week are paid at time and a half: see the overtime calculator.
Check your hourly rate on a salary
$35,568 a year at 50 hours a week works out to $13.68 an hour. A salaried worker below the $684 a week level who works those hours should be getting overtime pay on top.
Part-time and 37.5-hour weeks
Use your own hours. $20 an hour for 30 hours a week is $600 a week and $31,200 a year. Some employers quote salaries on a 37.5-hour week, where $50,000 a year is $25.64 an hour instead of $24.04.
Comparing job offers
When you weigh a salaried offer against an hourly one, convert both to the same period and the same hours, then look at what comes with the pay:
- Health insurance: the employer’s share of premiums can be worth thousands of dollars a year.
- Retirement: a 401(k) match is extra pay. See the 401(k) calculator.
- Paid time off, sick days and holidays.
- Overtime: hourly and non-exempt workers are paid for extra hours; exempt salaried staff are not.
From gross to take-home
Every figure here is gross pay, before tax. Federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%) and any state or local income tax come out of each check, along with any 401(k) or health insurance deductions. The paycheck calculator shows your take-home pay, and the tax bracket calculator shows which bracket your pay falls in.
Mental math shortcuts
- Hourly to yearly: double it and add three zeros. $20 an hour is about $40,000 (exactly $41,600 at 2,080 hours).
- Yearly to hourly: halve it and drop three zeros. $60,000 is about $30 an hour (exactly $28.85).
- Monthly from yearly: divide by 12. Weekly: divide by 52.
The shortcuts assume 2,000 hours a year, so they run about 4% off. Use the calculator for the exact figure.
Raises in hourly terms
A raise quoted as an hourly figure grows a lot over a year. Every extra $1 an hour is worth $2,080 a year at 40 hours a week, before tax. Going from $20 to $25 an hour lifts full-time pay from $41,600 to $52,000. Turned around, a $5,000 raise on a salary is about $2.40 an hour at 2,080 hours. When you negotiate, it helps to know both numbers: the hourly figure sounds small, while the yearly figure shows what it adds to your budget and to any 401(k) contributions set as a share of pay.
If your raise comes with longer hours, convert the new pay at the new hours before you compare. A move from $50,000 at 40 hours to $55,000 at 45 hours is a raise in yearly pay, but your hourly rate falls from $24.04 to $23.50.