Salary to Hourly Converter
Convert an annual salary into an hourly rate, plus daily, weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly and monthly pay.
Enter a pay amount above to see the full breakdown.
Hourly rate —
| Pay period | Amount |
|---|---|
| Hourly | — |
| Daily | — |
| Weekly | — |
| Biweekly (26 pay periods) | — |
| Semi-monthly (24 pay periods) | — |
| Monthly | — |
| Annual | — |
Gross pay only — this converter does not deduct income tax, national insurance or other withholdings, so the figures are before tax.
How it works
This converter uses the standard payroll year of 52 weeks. Your hourly rate
is the annual salary divided by the hours you actually work in a year:
hourly = annual ÷ (hours per week × paid weeks). With the usual full-time
assumption of 40 hours a week and no unpaid time off that is 40 × 52 =
2,080 hours, so a $52,000 salary works out at exactly $25.00 an hour and
$1,000 a week. Paid holiday does not change the total, because you are still paid for those
weeks — only enter weeks that are unpaid. Two unpaid weeks drop the paid year to 50
weeks (2,000 hours) and lift the same $52,000 salary to $26.00 an hour.
The other rows come from the annual figure: monthly is annual ÷ 12, semi-monthly is annual ÷ 24 (the 1st and the 15th) and biweekly is annual ÷ 26 (every other Friday). Weekly and daily pay are per week and per day worked, using hours per week ÷ days per week for the length of a day. You can also work backwards — pick any pay period in the “Paid per” list and the rest of the table is recalculated, so an hourly rate becomes a salary just as easily. Everything is gross pay before tax, and every number is worked out in JavaScript in your browser: nothing is uploaded, there is no sign-up and there are no ads.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert my salary to an hourly rate?
Divide your annual salary by the number of hours you actually work in a year: hourly = annual ÷ (hours per week × paid weeks). The standard full-time assumption is 40 hours a week across a 52-week payroll year, which is 2,080 hours, so a $52,000 salary is exactly $25.00 an hour and $1,000 a week. If you work a 37.5-hour week the divisor drops to 1,950 hours and the same salary becomes $26.67 an hour. This converter does that arithmetic as you type and also runs it backwards, so you can enter an hourly, daily, weekly, biweekly, semi-monthly or monthly figure and see the annual equivalent.
Why is 2,080 hours used for a year?
2,080 is simply 40 hours a week multiplied by 52 weeks, and it is the divisor almost every payroll system and salary survey uses when quoting an hourly equivalent. It deliberately ignores public holidays and paid vacation, because you are still paid for those days and your salary is spread over the whole year regardless. Only genuinely unpaid time off changes the total: enter it in the unpaid weeks off field and the paid year shrinks accordingly, so two unpaid weeks give 40 × 50 = 2,000 hours and push a $52,000 salary up to $26.00 an hour.
What is the difference between biweekly and semi-monthly pay?
Biweekly means a paycheck every two weeks, which is 26 paychecks a year (annual ÷ 26). Semi-monthly means twice a month, typically the 15th and the last day, which is 24 paychecks a year (annual ÷ 24). Semi-monthly checks are therefore slightly larger than biweekly ones for the same salary ($2,166.67 versus $2,000.00 on $52,000), but they arrive less often, and biweekly schedules give you two three-paycheck months a year. The table shows both so you can match whichever cycle your employer uses. All figures are gross pay before tax.