Hourly to Annual Salary: How to Convert Your Pay
Last updated
The 2,080-hour rule, how overtime and unpaid time off change the math, and how to compare an hourly job offer with a salaried one.
Comparing an hourly job with a salaried one is easier once both are in the same unit. Here’s the arithmetic, plus the details that trip people up.
The basic formula
Annual pay = hourly rate × hours per week × weeks per year. A standard full-time year is 40 hours × 52 weeks = 2,080 hours. So $25 an hour is $25 × 2,080 = $52,000 a year before taxes. A quick mental shortcut: double the hourly rate and add three zeros ($25 → about $50,000), then add 4%.
Adjust for your real schedule
- Part time: at 30 hours a week, the year is 1,560 hours.
- Unpaid time off: if you take two unpaid weeks, use 50 weeks (2,000 hours). If your time off is paid, keep 52.
- Overtime: under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees generally earn at least 1.5× their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Five overtime hours a week at $25 adds 5 × $37.50 × 52 = $9,750 a year.
Salary back to hourly
Divide annual salary by annual hours. A $65,000 salary at 40 hours a week is $65,000 ÷ 2,080 ≈ $31.25 an hour. If the salaried role routinely requires 50-hour weeks, the effective rate is $65,000 ÷ 2,600 = $25 an hour.
Compare whole offers, not just rates
Benefits matter: employer health premiums, 401(k) matches and paid leave can be worth thousands of dollars. Hourly roles may also pay overtime that exempt salaried roles do not.
Use the Hourly to Salary Converter to see annual, monthly, biweekly and weekly gross pay, then the Take-Home Pay Calculator to estimate what reaches your bank account after taxes.
