Salary Calculator

Convert pay between hourly, daily, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and annual figures — in either direction — with overtime and unpaid time off built in. Enter your wage or salary, your schedule, and see every pay period side by side, plus what overtime really adds to your year.

How Salary Conversion Works

The core formulas are simple, and every pay period derives from one annual figure:

• Annual salary = hourly rate × regular hours per week × paid weeks per year (plus overtime, below)
• Hourly rate = annual salary ÷ (hours per week × paid weeks per year)
• Monthly = annual ÷ 12; biweekly = weekly × 2; semi-monthly = annual ÷ 24

The standard full-time year is 2,080 hours (40 hours × 52 weeks), so $25 an hour equals $52,000 a year at full time. But real schedules differ: unpaid weeks off, part-time hours, and overtime all move the annual figure, which is why the calculator asks for them instead of assuming 2,080. Note that a biweekly paycheck is not the same as half a monthly salary — 26 biweekly paydays a year means two months a year contain three paychecks, which matters for budgeting.

Overtime rules come from the US Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA): hours over 40 in a week must generally be paid at 1.5 times the regular rate, and some states add daily thresholds or double time. The US Department of Labor publishes the federal rules, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks average wages by occupation and region.

How to Use This Salary Calculator: Step by Step

The calculator converts in both directions — hourly to annual, or annual to hourly — but the conversion is only fair if the schedule inputs are honest. Work through the steps with your real schedule, not the ideal one.

1. Choose the conversion direction. Pick “Hourly wage” if you are paid by the hour, or “Annual salary” if you are salaried. The unused input hides itself, so there is nothing to confuse.
2. Enter your wage or salary. For hourly workers, enter the base rate before any overtime premium. For salaried workers, enter the annual salary before bonuses — bonuses are handled separately below.
3. Enter regular hours per week. Use the hours you actually work in a typical week, not the contracted hours, if they differ. For salaried roles, this is the step that most changes the effective hourly rate.
4. Enter weeks worked and unpaid weeks off. A full year is 52 weeks; every unpaid week reduces the annual figure. Contractors and seasonal workers should count only paid weeks.
5. Add overtime honestly. Enter regular overtime hours per week and the correct multiplier. The calculator shows the overtime total separately and blends it into an effective hourly rate, which is the fair comparison figure.

Read every pay period in the result, not just the annual figure. The biweekly and semi-monthly rows explain why some months feel richer than others — two months a year contain three biweekly paychecks, and budgeting on the average month hides that pattern.

Comparing Job Offers Fairly

Two offers can look similar and pay very differently once schedule is counted. A $58,000 salaried role at 40 hours a week pays $27.88 an hour. An hourly role at $26 with 5 overtime hours a week pays $64,220 a year — more money, but for 260 extra hours, at an effective rate of $27.44 an hour. The hourly job wins on total pay; the salary job wins on hourly value and free time. The effective hourly rate in the calculator above is the fair comparison: total annual pay divided by total hours actually worked.

Also compare what is not in the gross figure: health insurance, retirement matching, paid time off, bonuses, and commute costs. A $3,000 lower salary with full health coverage and a 5% retirement match can easily beat a higher headline number.

Tips for Using Your Number

• Budget on the average month, not the payday. Biweekly pay creates two three-paycheck months a year — treat the third paycheck as savings, not spending money.
• Price overtime honestly. Regular overtime boosts income a lot (8 hours a week at 1.5× adds 30% to a 40-hour wage), but it costs evenings and weekends. Decide what your time is worth.
• Account for unpaid time. Seasonal workers and contractors often lose 2–4 weeks a year unpaid; a $25 hourly rate with 4 unpaid weeks is $50,000, not $52,000.
• Gross is not take-home. Taxes, Social Security, Medicare, and deductions typically remove 20–35% — run the result through the tax calculator for the net picture.

Related tools: the compound interest calculator for what saving part of it grows to, and the discount calculator for everyday spending decisions.

Worked Examples: Three Schedules Compared

The same hourly rate produces very different annual pay once schedule is counted:

• Full-time, $30 an hour, 40 hours, 52 paid weeks: 30 × 40 × 52 = $62,400 a year.
• Part-time, $30 an hour, 25 hours, 48 paid weeks: 30 × 25 × 48 = $36,000 a year — the unpaid four weeks cost $3,000 versus a 52-week year.
• Hourly $28 with 8 overtime hours a week: regular pay 40 × 28 = $1,120, plus overtime 8 × 42 = $336, for $1,456 a week and $75,712 a year. The effective hourly rate is 75,712 ÷ 2,496 hours = about $30.33 an hour — higher than the $28 base rate, but it costs 416 extra hours a year.

The third example is the trap to watch: overtime looks like free money, but the effective rate shows the truth. A $28 base rate with heavy overtime pays less per hour of your life than a straight $31 an hour job with no overtime — and the overtime job leaves far less free time. Always divide by total hours actually worked, not by 2,080.

Salary vs Hourly: Which Job Is Really Better?

Take two offers. Offer A is a $65,000 salary where people typically work 45 hours a week. Offer B is $30 an hour at a strict 40 hours. Offer B pays $62,400 — $2,600 less on paper. But Offer A’s effective rate is 65,000 ÷ (45 × 52) = about $27.78 an hour, while Offer B pays $30.00 an hour and gives back 260 hours a year — five full working weeks of free time.

Salary roles often add paid leave, steadier income, and benefits that hourly roles lack, so the comparison is not purely hourly. But when a salaried job quietly expects 50-hour weeks, its effective rate falls fast: $65,000 at 50 hours is exactly $25.00 an hour, well below the $30 hourly offer. Ask about typical hours, not contracted hours, before accepting — and run both offers through the calculator using realistic hours.

Freelancers and Contractors: The Gross-Up Rule

Contractors must cover what employers normally pay: payroll taxes, health insurance, retirement, paid leave, sick days, and gaps between contracts. A rough rule is that a contractor needs 30% to 40% more per hour than an employee to end up equal. To match a $30 an hour employee job, a contractor should charge roughly $39 to $42 an hour — and that is before accounting for unpaid admin time, invoicing, and finding the next client.

Contractors should also budget in monthly, not annual, terms: a $40 hourly rate at 30 billable hours a week for 48 weeks is $57,600, not the $83,200 that 40 hours × 52 weeks would suggest. Billable hours are almost always fewer than working hours, and the gap is where most new freelancers underprice themselves. Enter your realistic billable hours and paid weeks in the calculator, then compare the result with the tax calculator for the after-tax picture — contractors usually owe quarterly estimated tax on top of income tax.

Negotiating With Your Number

Your converted rate is a negotiating tool, not just a curiosity. When an employer offers $58,000 for a role that typically demands 45-hour weeks, the effective rate is 58,000 ÷ (45 × 52) = about $24.79 an hour. If the market rate for the role is $28 an hour, you can make a precise counter: at 45 hours, $28 an hour is $65,520 a year. A specific, arithmetic-backed number is far harder to dismiss than “I was hoping for more.”

Negotiate total compensation, not just salary. A $2,000 lower salary with a 5% retirement match, full health coverage, and 20 paid days off can beat a higher headline figure by thousands a year. Convert each benefit to dollars where possible — a $300 monthly health premium the employer covers is $3,600 a year of value — then compare the totals, not the salaries. And never accept an hourly-to-salary conversion that assumes 2,080 hours if the real schedule is longer; the hours are where the money hides.

Pay Periods Explained

Employers pay on different schedules, and the schedule changes how money arrives even when the annual total is identical. The differences are pure arithmetic, but they matter for budgeting, bill timing, and the feeling of being paid.

The confusion to avoid is biweekly versus semi-monthly: biweekly pays every two weeks (26 paychecks), semi-monthly pays twice a month (24 paychecks). Biweekly paychecks are slightly smaller, but there are more of them, and the two extra paychecks a year are the ones most budgets forget — until they arrive and feel like a windfall.

The Three-Paycheck Month Trick

Biweekly workers get two months a year with three paychecks instead of two. Budgeting on the two-paycheck amount all year turns those months into a built-in savings mechanism worth an entire extra month’s pay annually — without any sacrifice in the other ten months.

• Budget on two paychecks. Set rent, bills, and regular spending against two paychecks a month, every month, including the three-paycheck months.
• Send the third paycheck to savings. Move it out of the spending account the day it arrives, before it feels available. Over a year, that is one full extra month of pay saved.
• Use it for lumps, not lifestyle. The third paycheck is ideal for annual bills — insurance premiums, car registration, holiday spending — that otherwise break monthly budgets.
• Watch the calendar. Three-paycheck months depend on the year’s calendar and the employer’s pay dates. Note them at the start of the year so the plan is deliberate, not accidental.

Semi-monthly workers do not get this effect — 24 equal paychecks is the trade-off for perfect predictability. If you are choosing between two offers with identical annual pay, the biweekly one gives you this free savings mechanism and the semi-monthly one gives you smoother months. Neither is better in total; they differ only in timing.

Overtime: Time and a Half in Real Money

Overtime pay looks generous per hour, but its annual value depends on how many extra hours it really involves. At a $25 base rate with the standard 1.5× multiplier, each overtime hour pays $37.50 — and the weekly and annual totals add up fast.

Ten overtime hours a week adds $19,500 a year — nearly 38% on top of the base salary. But it also costs 520 hours a year, or thirteen extra working weeks. The effective hourly rate tells the truth: $71,500 divided by 2,600 total hours is $27.50 an hour, not the $37.50 the overtime hours appear to pay. Always divide by total hours actually worked when comparing a heavy-overtime job with a straight-time job at a higher base rate.

Shift Differentials and Weekend Rates

Many hourly jobs pay premiums for unsocial hours: night shifts, weekends, and holidays. These differentials are separate from overtime and stack with it in some workplaces — a night-shift overtime hour can pay the night premium multiplied by the overtime multiplier, depending on the employer’s policy.

• Night differential. Commonly $1 to $3 an hour extra for overnight shifts, or a percentage premium (often 10% to 15%) on the base rate for those hours.
• Weekend differential. Often a flat addition per weekend hour, or a higher rate for Saturday and Sunday work in healthcare and retail.
• Holiday pay. Frequently 1.5× or 2× the base rate, sometimes plus the regular day’s pay if the holiday is also a paid day off — effectively double pay for working the holiday in some contracts.
• On-call pay. A flat amount for being available, plus the hourly rate if actually called in. On-call hours are not usually counted as worked hours unless the worker is called.

Differentials belong in the conversion as an addition to the annual figure, not as a change to the base rate: compute the base annual pay first, then add the expected differential earnings for the year. Mixing them into the base rate inflates every other calculation — overtime, holiday pay, and the effective rate all derive from the base, and a polluted base pollutes all of them. Ask your employer for the exact differential policy in writing before relying on it in a job comparison.

Raises: Percentage vs Flat Amount

Employers offer raises as percentages or flat amounts, and the two favour different earners. A percentage raise gives more dollars to higher earners; a flat raise gives the same dollars to everyone, which is proportionally more for lower earners. On a $52,000 salary — the $25-an-hour full-time figure used throughout this page — the difference is easy to see.

• Negotiate in the form that favours you. Lower-paid workers usually gain more from flat raises; higher-paid workers gain more from percentages. Know which you are before the conversation.
• Compound the percentage. A 3% raise every year for five years is not 15% — compounding makes it about 16%, because each raise applies to the previous year’s higher salary.
• Check the effective rate after a raise. If the raise comes with longer expected hours, divide the new salary by the new hours. A raise that adds 5 hours a week to a 40-hour job needs to exceed 12.5% just to keep the effective hourly rate flat.
• Price the whole package. A smaller raise with better health coverage or more paid leave can beat a larger raise without them. Convert benefits to dollars using the method in the comparison section, then compare totals.

Run any offer through the calculator with realistic hours before accepting. The tax calculator then shows what the raise is worth after tax — remember that only the new dollars are taxed at the marginal rate, so a raise always increases take-home pay.

Common Hourly Rates Converted

For quick reference, the standard full-time conversion (40 hours × 52 weeks = 2,080 hours) at common hourly rates:

These are gross figures before tax, and they assume a full 52 paid weeks with no overtime. Unpaid weeks, part-time hours, and overtime all move the real figure — which is why the calculator asks for your schedule instead of assuming this table.

Checking Your Paycheck: A Quick Audit

Pay errors are common and usually small — a missed overtime hour here, a wrong rate there — but they compound over a year. A five-minute audit each payday catches them while correction is easy.

1. Check the hours. Compare the pay stub’s regular and overtime hours with your own record. Overtime disputes are almost always about hours, not rates.
2. Check the rate. Confirm the hourly rate matches your offer letter and any raise that should have taken effect. Raises applied a pay period late are a frequent error.
3. Check the gross. Multiply the rate by the hours, including overtime at the correct multiplier, and compare with the stub’s gross figure.
4. Check deductions. Tax withholding, retirement, and health premiums should be stable month to month. A sudden change usually means a settings change worth asking about.
5. Check the net against the calculator. Run your real schedule through this calculator, then through the tax calculator for the tax side. A large gap between the two estimates and your actual net pay deserves a question to payroll.

Gross Pay vs Take-Home Pay

Gross pay is the calculator’s output; take-home pay is what reaches your bank account after income tax, Social Security, Medicare, and any deductions for health insurance or retirement. The gap is typically 20% to 35% of gross for most workers, which is why a $52,000 salary feels closer to $36,000 to $42,000 of spendable income. Budget on take-home pay, never on gross — and use the tax calculator to estimate the gap before committing to rent or a loan payment based on the gross figure. For the loan side of that decision, the mortgage calculator works from the monthly payment your budget can actually support.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many hours is a full-time year?

2,080 hours: 40 hours a week for 52 weeks. Part-time, unpaid leave, and overtime all change the real figure, which is why the calculator uses your schedule instead of assuming 2,080.

Is biweekly pay the same as semi-monthly pay?

No. Biweekly means every two weeks (26 paychecks a year); semi-monthly means twice a month (24 paychecks). Biweekly paychecks are slightly smaller but arrive more often, with two three-paycheck months a year.

What is time and a half?

Overtime paid at 1.5 times the regular hourly rate, required by US federal law for hours over 40 in a week for most hourly workers. Double time (2×) applies in some states and union contracts.

Why is my monthly pay not exactly annual divided by 12?

It is — as an average. If you are paid biweekly, actual months vary: most months have two paychecks, two months have three. The monthly figure smooths that out for budgeting.

Does salary include bonuses?

Not in this calculator. Add any expected annual bonus to the annual figure before converting, or treat it as a separate lump sum in your budget.

How do I convert a monthly salary to hourly?

Multiply the monthly figure by 12 to get the annual salary, then divide by (hours per week × paid weeks per year). A $5,000 monthly salary at 40 hours and 52 paid weeks is 60,000 ÷ 2,080 = about $28.85 an hour.

What is a per diem and how does it fit in?

A per diem is a daily allowance for meals, lodging, and incidental expenses while travelling for work, paid on top of wages. It is not part of your hourly rate and usually is not taxed if it stays within government rates — but it also is not pay for hours worked, so do not fold it into an hourly comparison.

Should I take a salary or hourly role?

Compare the effective hourly rate, not the headline. Divide the salary by the hours actually worked — including the unpaid extra hours salaried roles often expect — and compare with the hourly rate. Then weigh the non-cash differences: salaried roles usually bring steadier income and paid leave; hourly roles pay for every extra hour and make overtime visible. The better choice is the one with the higher effective rate and the schedule you can sustain.

How do unpaid holidays affect annual pay?

Each unpaid week costs one week of pay: at $25 an hour and 40 hours, one unpaid week is $1,000. Two unpaid weeks a year turn a $52,000 salary into $50,000, and four unpaid weeks turn it into $48,000. Enter unpaid weeks in the calculator rather than assuming a full 52-week year — the difference is the most common reason annual pay disappoints.

What counts as paid weeks?

Paid weeks are weeks you receive pay for, including paid vacation, paid holidays, and paid sick leave. Unpaid weeks are weeks with no pay at all — unpaid leave, seasonal shutdowns, and gaps between contracts. If your employer gives 20 paid days off, those weeks still count as paid, because the pay arrives. Only genuinely unpaid time reduces the annual figure.

Disclaimer: This calculator shows gross pay estimates for general information only, before taxes, deductions, and benefits. Actual pay depends on your employer, contract, and local law.