The Complete Guide to Converting Salary and Hourly Pay
By Arshi Khan, Founder of Just4Marketing · Last reviewed October 2026
Comparing a salaried job offer with an hourly one, or working out what a raise means per paycheck, comes down to a few simple conversions. This guide shows the formulas, a quick-reference table, and the details — like unpaid time off and pay frequency — that change the answer.
The conversion formulas
Hourly wage = annual salary ÷ (hours per week × paid weeks per year). Going the other way, annual salary = hourly wage × hours per week × paid weeks per year. The standard full-time assumption is 40 hours × 52 weeks = 2,080 hours.
If some of your time off is unpaid, lower the paid weeks. Someone paid $25 an hour who takes two unpaid weeks a year earns $25 × 40 × 50 = $50,000, not $52,000.
Quick reference (40 hours a week, 52 weeks)
| Annual salary | Hourly | Monthly | Biweekly |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $14.42 | $2,500 | $1,154 |
| $45,000 | $21.63 | $3,750 | $1,731 |
| $60,000 | $28.85 | $5,000 | $2,308 |
| $75,000 | $36.06 | $6,250 | $2,885 |
| $100,000 | $48.08 | $8,333 | $3,846 |
Comparing salaried and hourly offers
Overtime
Hourly (non-exempt) workers in the U.S. are generally owed 1.5× pay for hours over 40 in a week. Many salaried roles are exempt, so extra hours are unpaid.
Paid time off
Salaried jobs often include paid holidays and vacation. For an hourly role without them, count only the weeks you'll actually be paid.
Benefits
Health insurance, retirement matching, and bonuses can be worth thousands a year. Compare total compensation, not just the wage.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert an annual salary to an hourly wage?
Divide the salary by the number of hours you work in a year. For a full-time schedule of 40 hours a week and 52 paid weeks, that's 2,080 hours, so a $60,000 salary works out to about $28.85 an hour.
What's a quick way to estimate it in my head?
Divide the annual salary by 2,000 — or halve it and drop the last three zeros. $60,000 becomes about $30 an hour. It slightly overstates the true figure because a full-time year is closer to 2,080 hours.
Is this before or after tax?
Before tax. These are gross pay figures. Your take-home pay will be lower after federal and state income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and any benefit or retirement deductions.
What's the difference between biweekly and semi-monthly pay?
Biweekly means every two weeks, which is 26 paychecks a year. Semi-monthly means twice a month, usually on fixed dates, which is 24 paychecks a year. Each semi-monthly check is a little larger, but the annual total is the same.