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).
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.