These figures are gross pay before tax and deductions, worked out with simple arithmetic. They are estimates, not financial or legal advice.
Enter a yearly, monthly, biweekly or weekly salary in the salary to hourly calculator and set your hours and weeks to see what it’s worth per hour.
Convert salary to hourlyHow to turn a yearly salary into an hourly wage
Divide the salary by the hours you work in a year. A full-time year of 40 hours a week for 52 weeks is 2,080 hours:
Hourly rate = yearly salary ÷ (hours per week × 52)
$50,000 ÷ 2,080 = $24.04 an hour
So $50,000 a year is about $24 an hour, $4,167 a month, $1,923 every two weeks and $962 a week, before tax.
Salary to hourly chart
Full-time, 40 hours a week, 52 weeks, before tax. Hourly rates are rounded to the cent:
| Yearly | Hourly | Monthly | Every 2 weeks | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $14.42 | $2,500 | $1,153.85 | $576.92 |
| $40,000 | $19.23 | $3,333.33 | $1,538.46 | $769.23 |
| $45,000 | $21.63 | $3,750 | $1,730.77 | $865.38 |
| $50,000 | $24.04 | $4,166.67 | $1,923.08 | $961.54 |
| $55,000 | $26.44 | $4,583.33 | $2,115.38 | $1,057.69 |
| $60,000 | $28.85 | $5,000 | $2,307.69 | $1,153.85 |
| $65,000 | $31.25 | $5,416.67 | $2,500 | $1,250 |
| $70,000 | $33.65 | $5,833.33 | $2,692.31 | $1,346.15 |
| $75,000 | $36.06 | $6,250 | $2,884.62 | $1,442.31 |
| $80,000 | $38.46 | $6,666.67 | $3,076.92 | $1,538.46 |
| $90,000 | $43.27 | $7,500 | $3,461.54 | $1,730.77 |
| $100,000 | $48.08 | $8,333.33 | $3,846.15 | $1,923.08 |
| $120,000 | $57.69 | $10,000 | $4,615.38 | $2,307.69 |
More salaries, per hour and per month
| Yearly | Hourly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| $35,000 | $16.83 | $2,916.67 |
| $42,000 | $20.19 | $3,500 |
| $48,000 | $23.08 | $4,000 |
| $52,000 | $25.00 | $4,333.33 |
| $58,000 | $27.88 | $4,833.33 |
| $62,000 | $29.81 | $5,166.67 |
| $68,000 | $32.69 | $5,666.67 |
| $85,000 | $40.87 | $7,083.33 |
| $110,000 | $52.88 | $9,166.67 |
| $150,000 | $72.12 | $12,500 |
Each hourly figure is the salary ÷ 2,080, rounded to the cent, and each monthly one the salary ÷ 12. A round number to remember: $52,000 a year is exactly $25 an hour at full time.
The halving shortcut
To estimate in your head, halve the salary and drop three zeros. $60,000 becomes $30 an hour; $45,000 becomes $22.50.
That divides by 2,000 hours instead of 2,080, so it comes out about 4% high: the real figure for $60,000 is $28.85. Knock off 4% for a closer answer: $30 × 0.96 = $28.80.
From a monthly, biweekly or weekly salary
Turn the pay into a yearly figure first, then divide by the hours in a year:
| You’re paid | Yearly | Example | Hourly at 40 hours a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | × 12 | $4,000 a month = $48,000 | $23.08 |
| Twice a month | × 24 | $2,000 twice a month = $48,000 | $23.08 |
| Every two weeks | × 26 | $1,800 biweekly = $46,800 | $22.50 |
| Weekly | × 52 | $900 a week = $46,800 | $22.50 |
A shortcut for weekly pay: divide by your weekly hours. $900 ÷ 40 = $22.50 an hour. Biweekly and twice-monthly pay sound the same but aren’t: 26 paychecks a year versus 24.
Salary to daily rate
A full-time year has 260 weekdays (52 weeks × 5). Divide the salary by 260 for a daily rate, or multiply the hourly rate by the hours in a day:
$60,000 ÷ 260 = $230.77 a day, or 8 hours at $28.85
Employers sometimes use a different count of working days, for example to work out pay for a partial first month or unused leave. If the exact figure matters, ask payroll which divisor they use.
Salaries for other working weeks
Not every full-time job is 40 hours. Contracts of 35 or 37.5 hours are common in many offices, and they give a higher hourly rate for the same salary:
| Contract hours | Hours a year | $50,000 a year per hour | £35,000 a year per hour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 a week | 1,820 | $27.47 | £19.23 |
| 37.5 a week | 1,950 | $25.64 | £17.95 |
| 40 a week | 2,080 | $24.04 | £16.83 |
The method doesn’t depend on the currency: a salary of ₹6,00,000 a year at 48 hours a week, 52 weeks, is 6,00,000 ÷ 2,496 = ₹240.38 an hour. Use the hours in your own contract for an accurate figure.
Your real hourly rate
A salary pays the same however long you work, so longer weeks lower what you earn per hour. Use the hours you actually work, not the hours in the contract:
| $60,000 a year, worked | Hours a year | Real hourly rate |
|---|---|---|
| 37.5 hours a week | 1,950 | $30.77 |
| 40 hours a week | 2,080 | $28.85 |
| 45 hours a week | 2,340 | $25.64 |
| 50 hours a week | 2,600 | $23.08 |
| 55 hours a week | 2,860 | $20.98 |
Regular 50-hour weeks turn a $28.85-an-hour job into a $23.08 one. Commuting time isn’t paid either, which is worth remembering when two offers are close.
The federal 2,087-hour year
The US Office of Personnel Management doesn’t use 2,080 for federal employees. Its rule is annual basic pay ÷ 2,087, rounded to the nearest cent. 2,087 is the average number of work hours in a year over a 28-year calendar cycle, which allows for leap years and years with an extra workday.
$60,000 ÷ 2,087 = $28.75 an hour, versus $28.85 with 2,080
If you work for a federal agency, your pay stub uses this figure. Most private employers use 2,080, but check your offer letter or payroll if the exact cents matter.
Salaried, exempt and overtime
Being paid a salary doesn’t by itself mean you don’t get overtime. Under the US Fair Labor Standards Act, a salaried employee is only exempt from overtime if they earn at least $684 a week ($35,568 a year) and their main duties pass the executive, administrative or professional tests. A salaried worker who doesn’t meet those tests must still be paid at least 1.5 times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek.
For a non-exempt salaried worker, the regular rate is the weekly salary divided by the hours it is meant to cover. The guide to exempt and non-exempt employees explains the tests.
Comparing a salary with an hourly job
- Convert both to the same unit. An hourly job at $27 is $56,160 a year at 40 hours and 52 weeks; compare that with the salary.
- Count paid time off. Ten paid holidays and two weeks of vacation are worth about a month’s pay compared with a job that pays only for hours worked.
- Count overtime both ways. An hourly job that pays time and a half can beat a higher salary with long weeks.
- Check how the hours are counted. Some salaried jobs expect regular evening or weekend work that an hourly job would pay for. Ask what a normal week looks like before you compare the hourly figures.
- Look at the pay schedule. A job that pays every two weeks gives you 26 paychecks, two months a year with three. That helps budgeting but doesn’t change the yearly total.
- Count benefits. Health insurance and retirement matching don’t show in either figure.
To go from hourly to yearly, the hourly to salary guide has the opposite chart, and the hourly to salary calculator does the sums.
Sources
- OPM: Computing hourly rates of pay using the 2,087-hour divisor. Hourly rate = annual basic pay ÷ 2,087, rounded to the nearest cent
- U.S. Department of Labor: Earnings thresholds for the EAP exemption. $684 a week ($35,568 a year)
- U.S. Department of Labor: Fact Sheet #17A. Exemption for executive, administrative, professional, computer and outside sales employees