Convert your annual salary to an equivalent hourly rate based on hours per week and weeks per year. Fast and accurate.
Converting an annual salary to an hourly rate is essential for comparing job offers, evaluating overtime eligibility, setting freelance rates, and understanding your true earning power per hour worked. The basic formula divides annual salary by total working hours in a year, but the result depends heavily on how many hours per week you actually work and how many weeks per year you're paid.
This Salary to Hourly Calculator lets you customize both variables for accurate results. A standard full-time schedule assumes 40 hours per week and 52 weeks per year (2,080 hours), but many professionals work 45–50+ hours, which significantly lowers their effective hourly rate. Similarly, unpaid time off reduces the working weeks below 52.
Whether you're a salaried employee curious about your per-hour earnings, an HR professional benchmarking compensation, or a freelancer pricing your services against salaried equivalents, this tool gives you instant clarity on the hourly value of any annual salary.
Job offers often come in different formats—one as an annual salary, another as an hourly rate. Without conversion, it's impossible to compare them fairly. This calculator handles that conversion instantly, and by accounting for actual hours worked (not just the standard 40), it reveals your real effective hourly rate, which is often lower than expected for salaried workers.
Hourly Rate = Annual Salary / (Hours per Week × Weeks per Year)
Result: $36.06/hour
$75,000 / (40 hours × 52 weeks) = $75,000 / 2,080 hours = $36.06 per hour. If you actually work 45 hours per week, the effective rate drops to $32.05/hour.
Working hours vary globally. The U.S. standard is 2,080 hours/year, but Germany averages 1,350, France 1,510, and Japan 1,730. When comparing international salaries, converting to hourly rates using country-specific working hours gives a fairer comparison.
Salaried exempt employees who regularly work overtime see significant erosion in their effective hourly rate. A $100,000 salary at 40 hours equals $48.08/hour, but at 60 hours it drops to $32.05—a 33% reduction in per-hour earnings. This makes understanding your actual commitment important.
Freelancers and contractors should charge at least 1.3–1.5x the equivalent salaried hourly rate to account for self-employment tax, health insurance, retirement contributions, and unpaid time off. A $36/hour salaried equivalent translates to roughly $47–$54/hour as a freelancer.
A standard full-time year has 2,080 working hours (40 hours/week × 52 weeks). After accounting for holidays, vacation, and sick days, the average American works about 1,800–1,900 hours per year.
For exempt (salaried) employees, salary is fixed regardless of hours worked. Non-exempt salaried employees must still receive overtime pay for hours over 40 per week. The FLSA salary threshold for overtime exemption is $35,568/year.
Convert both to the same unit using this calculator. Then factor in benefits—salaried roles typically include health insurance, retirement matching, and PTO worth 25–40% of base salary. Hourly roles may offer higher base rates but fewer benefits.
If you regularly work more than 40 hours per week as a salaried employee, your effective hourly rate decreases. Working 50 hours/week instead of 40 reduces your rate by 20%. This is a hidden cost of unpaid overtime for exempt workers.
For total compensation comparison, include guaranteed bonuses and commissions. For base hourly rate, use only base salary. This calculator uses the amount you enter, so include whatever components are relevant to your comparison.
If you don't work the full year, reduce the weeks per year accordingly. For example, a 9-month contract would use 39 weeks. This gives you the hourly rate for the period you actually work.