How to convert salary to hourly rate
The conversion formula is straightforward: divide your annual salary by the total hours you work in a year. For a standard 40-hour week across all 52 weeks, that's 2,080 hours — the most commonly used denominator. A $75,000 salary divided by 2,080 yields $36.06 per hour. Going the other direction, multiply your hourly rate by 2,080 to get the equivalent annual salary.
How many hours are in a work year?
The two figures you'll encounter most often are 2,080 hours (no vacation: 40 hrs × 52 weeks) and 2,000 hours (with 10 paid vacation days, the US median). Federal government pay tables use 2,087 hours; many corporate HR departments use 1,950 for workers who take full PTO. The difference matters: a $60,000 salary equals $28.85/hr over 2,080 hours but $30.77/hr over 1,950 — a $1.92 gap that compounds significantly when comparing job offers.
Teachers and academic-year employees — typically working 9–10 months — often base hourly calculations on 1,560–1,800 hours, which is why a teacher's annual salary can look inflated relative to a calendar-year employee's. Nurses frequently work three 12-hour shifts per week (36 hours), not 40, meaning a $90,000 nursing salary equals $48.08/hr at 1,872 annual hours — not $43.27 that the default 40-hr formula would produce. Use the hours-per-week field above to match your actual schedule.
Common salary benchmarks converted to hourly
Based on the standard 2,080-hour work year:
- $15/hr = $31,200/year · $20/hr = $41,600/year · $25/hr = $52,000/year
- $50,000/year = $24.04/hr · $75,000/year = $36.06/hr
- $100,000/year = $48.08/hr · $150,000/year = $72.12/hr
- $200,000/year = $96.15/hr · $250,000/year = $120.19/hr
How overtime affects your effective hourly rate
If you regularly work overtime as a non-exempt employee, your effective annual earnings exceed what the simple hours × rate formula implies. Under the FLSA, overtime hours (over 40 per week) must be paid at 1.5× the regular rate. A worker earning $20/hr who regularly works 45 hours earns $20 × 40 + $30 × 5 = $950/week rather than $900 — a meaningful 5.6% premium that adds up over the year. Use the overtime pay calculator to model this precisely alongside regular hours.
Salaried exempt employees receive the same pay regardless of hours. If your employer regularly expects 50+ hours but your salary is set for 40, your true hourly rate is materially lower than the simple conversion shows. This is a critical factor when comparing a salaried W-2 offer to a 1099 contract rate — the 1099 vs W-2 calculator handles that comparison including self-employment tax.
Once you know your gross hourly rate, run it through the payroll tax calculator to see your actual take-home after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and state withholding. For a full paycheck breakdown that includes 401(k) contributions and health insurance premiums, use the free payroll calculator.