About this calculator
Job offers rarely speak the same language: one is quoted hourly, another as an annual salary, a third as a bi-weekly paycheck. This calculator translates between all of them using the standard full-time baseline of 40 hours a week and 52 weeks a year (2,080 work hours), which you can adjust if your schedule differs — teachers, seasonal workers and part-timers should change the weeks and hours to match reality.
Remember that these are gross figures, before taxes and deductions. Two offers with the same gross pay can still differ a lot in take-home terms once health insurance premiums, retirement matches and paid time off are counted.
How to use it
- Pick the conversion direction.
- Enter your hourly wage or your annual salary.
- Adjust hours per week and paid weeks per year if you are not full-time year-round.
- Compare offers using the same row of the results — bi-weekly paychecks are what most salaried US workers actually see.
The formula
At the standard 40 hours × 52 weeks, the shortcut is simply hourly wage × 2,080. A quick mental version: doubling the hourly wage gives roughly the annual salary in thousands — $30 an hour ≈ $60,000 a year (the exact figure is $62,400).
Worked example
At $30 an hour, 40 hours a week, year-round: $62,400 a year, $5,200 a month, $2,400 every two weeks, $1,200 a week. In reverse, an $85,000 salary on the same schedule works out to $40.87 an hour — the number to compare against an hourly contract offer (which should be higher, since contractors usually get no benefits or paid leave).
Sources: Straight time conversion (2,080 standard full-time hours per year) before any taxes or deductions. Last updated: October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How many work hours are in a year?
2,080 for a standard full-time schedule: 40 hours × 52 weeks. Actual hours worked are fewer once holidays and vacation are counted — about 1,880–1,950 for someone with 10 holidays and 2–3 weeks off — which is why salaried pay feels slightly better per hour truly worked.
Is bi-weekly the same as twice a month?
No. Bi-weekly means every two weeks: 26 paychecks a year. Twice-monthly (semi-monthly) means 24 paychecks. This is why two months a year have three bi-weekly paychecks — a common budgeting quirk. This calculator shows bi-weekly by default.
How should I compare an hourly contract offer with a salaried job?
As a rule of thumb, a contractor rate should be at least 25%–40% higher than the hourly equivalent of the salary to cover self-employment taxes, unpaid time off, and the absence of employer benefits and retirement matching. Convert the salary here, then apply that premium.
Does this calculator include taxes?
No — it converts gross pay. For a rough take-home estimate, total deductions (federal and state tax, Social Security, Medicare, insurance premiums) commonly run 18%–30% of gross for US workers, varying widely by state and income.
What formula does this salary calculator use?
Annual salary = Hourly wage × Hours per week × Weeks per year At the standard 40 hours × 52 weeks, the shortcut is simply hourly wage × 2,080. A quick mental version: doubling the hourly wage gives roughly the annual salary in thousands — $30 an hour ≈ $60,000 a year (the exact figure is $62,400). The worked example on this page applies the formula step by step with real numbers, so you can verify the result by hand.