Comparing a salaried offer with an hourly job needs one number: the rate per hour. Here is the formula, why the result changes with your hours and how to do it in Excel.
Updated November 2026
The conversion
To convert salary to an hourly rate, divide the yearly salary by the number of hours you work in a year. A full-time schedule of 40 hours for 52 weeks is 2,080 hours, so the common shortcut is salary divided by 2,080.
For a quick answer with your own hours, use the salary to hourly calculator. The rest of this guide explains the math so you can check any offer.
Worked example
A job pays $65,000 a year for 40 hours a week. Hours per year are 40 x 52 = 2,080. The hourly rate is $65,000 / 2,080 = $31.25. From there the other pay periods follow:
| Period | Calculation | Pay before taxes |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $65,000 / 2,080 | $31.25 |
| Daily (8 hours) | $31.25 x 8 | $250.00 |
| Weekly | $65,000 / 52 | $1,250.00 |
| Biweekly | $65,000 / 26 | $2,500.00 |
| Monthly | $65,000 / 12 | $5,416.67 |
When your hours are not 40
The same salary is worth less per hour as your hours go up. At 45 hours a week for 52 weeks you work 2,340 hours, and the rate drops to $65,000 / 2,340 = $27.78 an hour. A salaried employee who regularly works longer weeks is effectively paid less for each hour, which is worth knowing when you compare offers.
Unpaid time off
Paid vacation, holidays and sick days are part of the salary, so they count as paid weeks. If you take two weeks off without pay, you work 50 weeks, or 2,000 hours, and the real hourly rate is $65,000 / 2,000 = $32.50. Contractors who pay for their own time off should make this adjustment before quoting an hourly rate.
Excel formulas
Put salary in B2, hours per week in C2, weeks paid in D2 and unpaid weeks in E2.
=B2/(C2*(D2-E2))
For the example, with B2 = 65000, C2 = 40, D2 = 52 and E2 = 0, this returns 31.25. Weekly, biweekly and monthly pay are =B2/52, =B2/26 and =B2/12. To go the other way, from hourly to salary, multiply: =hourly*C2*D2. At $25 an hour for 40 hours and 52 weeks that is $25 x 2,080 = $52,000.
What the hourly rate leaves out
- Taxes. The figures are gross. For take-home pay use the paycheck calculator.
- Benefits. Health insurance, retirement match and paid leave have value that does not show in the rate.
- Overtime. Salaried employees may or may not be eligible for overtime. See how it is calculated in our guide to overtime pay.
- Bonuses. Add them to annual pay if they are reliable, or leave them out for a conservative rate.
Using it to price your own work
Freelancers cannot bill every hour they work, because some time goes to admin, sales and gaps between jobs. If you want to match a $65,000 salary, an hourly rate of $31.25 would only work if every hour were billable. The service business hourly rate calculator accounts for billable hours, overhead and profit, and our guide on how to calculate an hourly rate for a service business walks through it.
Quick checks
Divide by 2,080 for a quick estimate, then adjust. A rate of about $15 per $31,200, or roughly $0.48 per $1,000 of salary, is a handy rule: every $1,000 of salary is about $0.48 an hour at full-time hours. Check your result by multiplying back: $31.25 x 2,080 = $65,000.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert salary to hourly?
Divide the annual salary by the hours you work in a year. For 40 hours a week that is salary / 2,080.
What is $65,000 a year per hour?
At 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, it is $31.25 an hour before taxes.
Does paid time off change the hourly rate?
No. Paid time off is part of the salary. Only unpaid weeks reduce the hours you work.
How do I convert hourly to salary?
Multiply the hourly rate by hours per week and by weeks per year. $25 x 40 x 52 = $52,000.