How to convert salary to hourly pay (the 2,080-hour rule)
To compare a salaried job with an hourly one, or to see what your time is worth, convert one into the other. The method is short, and the one number that matters is how many hours the year contains.
The formula
hourly pay = annual salary / (hours per week x weeks per year)
For a standard full-time job that is 40 hours x 52 weeks = 2,080 hours. So a $60,000 salary is $60,000 / 2,080 = $28.85 an hour. Going the other way, $28.85 x 2,080 comes back to about $60,000.
Where 2,080 comes from
It is nothing more than 40 x 52. It treats every week of the year as a paid, 40-hour week, which includes paid vacation, paid holidays and sick days, because a salary pays for those weeks too. That is why the same number works for people who do not literally clock 2,080 hours.
Other ways to count
- 2,087 hours: some employers, including the US federal government's pay system, divide by 2,087, a year of about 52.18 weeks. The answer differs from 2,080 by roughly a third of a percent.
- Unpaid time off: if you take unpaid weeks, use fewer weeks. $60,000 over 50 weeks of 40 hours (2,000 hours) is $30.00 an hour.
- Part-time: use your real hours. A $30,000 salary at 25 hours a week is $30,000 / (25 x 52) = $23.08 an hour.
Your effective hourly rate
A salary does not rise when you work longer, so extra hours cut your real hourly pay. A $60,000 salary is $28.85 an hour at 40 hours a week but $23.08 at 50 hours: $60,000 / (50 x 52). Use your actual hours when you compare offers.
Monthly and weekly pay to hourly
Convert to a yearly figure first. A monthly salary times 12 is the annual salary; a weekly pay times 52 is the annual salary; a bi-weekly check times 26 is the annual salary. Then divide by 2,080. A $5,000 monthly salary is $60,000 a year, or $28.85 an hour.
Try it
The salary to hourly calculator does this for any salary and schedule, and the hourly to salary calculator goes the other way. The salary calculator shows every pay period at once.