Salary to hourly calculator

Turn an annual salary into an hourly rate using the hours you actually work — a useful number when comparing a job offer, freelancing or overtime.

How this calculator works

Divide the salary by the number of paid hours in a year and you get the rate the job actually pays per hour. For a standard US full-time role that is 40 × 52 = 2,080 hours, so a $62,400 salary works out at $30 an hour. Change the weeks field if the job has long unpaid breaks, term-time working or unpaid leave — the effective hourly rate rises as the paid hours fall.

The number is a comparison tool, not a statement that the job is hourly. It is especially useful for two decisions: judging whether a salaried offer beats an hourly one once unpaid overtime is counted, and setting a freelance rate. Freelancers should charge substantially more than their salaried equivalent because they pay their own tax, benefits, holidays and downtime — commonly 1.3–1.5× the effective hourly rate.

The formula

Paid hours per year = hours per week × paid weeks. Then:

At 40 hours and 52 weeks the divisor is 2,080. At 37.5 hours it is 1,950; at 35 hours it is 1,820.

Worked example

A 62,400 salary over 40 hours a week for 52 weeks is 2,080 paid hours a year, which works out at $30.00 an hour. That is $1,200.00 a week and $5,200.00 a month before tax.

Common mistakes

• Ignoring unpaid overtime. If the job expects 45 hours for a 40-hour salary, the true hourly rate is lower. Enter the actual hours.
• Using the rate directly for freelance pricing. Self-employment tax, benefits, holidays and non-billable admin mean a freelancer needs far more per billable hour than the salaried equivalent.
• Forgetting that paid weeks vary. Teachers and term-time workers are often paid over 12 months for fewer working weeks — use the weeks actually worked for an effective rate, but the weeks paid for the monthly cash-flow view.