Work hours & pay
Salary to hourly calculator
Enter your yearly salary, the hours you work each week and your paid weeks to see what that salary is worth per hour, per week and per day.
Count only the weeks you are actually paid for. Keep 52 if your holiday is paid; lower it for unpaid weeks off. Figures are gross, before tax.
Turning a yearly salary into an hourly figure
The hourly equivalent of a salary is salary ÷ (hours per week × paid weeks). The bottom line is the number of paid hours in your year, so a job that pays the same salary for fewer hours is worth more per hour. Weekly pay is simply the salary split across your paid weeks, and daily pay is that weekly figure divided by the days you work.
Take the default numbers: a $52,000 salary with a 40-hour week gives 40 × 52 = 2,080 paid hours, so the rate is 52,000 ÷ 2,080 = $25.00 an hour. The same salary breaks down to $1,000 a week and, over five days, $200 a day. Drop to a 35-hour week and those 2,080 hours fall to 1,820, lifting the rate to $28.57 even though the salary has not moved.
| Annual salary | Per hour (2,080 h) | Per week | Per day |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $14.42 | $576.92 | $115.38 |
| $40,000 | $19.23 | $769.23 | $153.85 |
| $50,000 | $24.04 | $961.54 | $192.31 |
| $60,000 | $28.85 | $1,153.85 | $230.77 |
| $80,000 | $38.46 | $1,538.46 | $307.69 |
| $100,000 | $48.08 | $1,923.08 | $384.62 |
Comparing offers and contracts fairly
An hourly rate is the honest way to compare a salaried role with contract or part-time work, because it strips out how many hours each demands. Two offers of $55,000 are not equal if one expects 38 hours and the other 45; divide each by its own yearly hours before deciding. Contractors can use the same figure in reverse to check whether a day rate clears the salary they left behind.
Choose the paid-weeks number with care. Salaried staff with paid holiday keep all 52 weeks, because the salary already covers time off. If you are only paid for weeks you actually work, subtract unpaid leave so the rate reflects real pay. The resulting hourly figure is gross; take-home is lower once income tax and any pension or insurance contributions come out, and it ignores overtime, bonuses and benefits, which can move the true value of a job well away from the headline salary.
Frequently asked questions
What is $50,000 a year as an hourly wage?
At 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, that is 2,080 paid hours, so $50,000 ÷ 2,080 = about $24.04 an hour before tax, or roughly $961.54 a week.
How do I convert my salary to an hourly rate?
Divide the annual salary by your paid hours for the year, which is hours per week multiplied by paid weeks. Fewer hours for the same salary means a higher hourly rate.
Should I use 52 weeks or fewer?
Use 52 if your holiday is paid, because the salary already includes those weeks. Lower the number only when you are paid purely for the weeks you work.