Two hourly rates, two different questions
The standard rate (salary ÷ 2,080 hours) answers “how does my salary compare to an hourly job posting?” — it’s the number recruiters and job boards use. The true rate divides your salary by the hours you actually work: 52 weeks minus your vacation, at your real weekly hours. It answers a more personal question — “what is one hour of my working life worth?” — and it’s the right number to use when deciding whether to buy back time (outsourcing, commuting trade-offs, overtime offers).
Try raising the hours-per-week field to what you really work. Salaried employees who quietly average 47 hours discover their true rate is 15% lower than they thought — useful context before the next negotiation.
Quick reference: common salaries at 40 h/week
| Annual salary | Hourly | Weekly | Monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $19.23 | $769 | $3,333 |
| $50,000 | $24.04 | $962 | $4,167 |
| $60,000 | $28.85 | $1,154 | $5,000 |
| $75,000 | $36.06 | $1,442 | $6,250 |
| $100,000 | $48.08 | $1,923 | $8,333 |
| $150,000 | $72.12 | $2,885 | $12,500 |
Frequently asked questions
How do you convert an annual salary to an hourly rate?
Divide the salary by the number of paid hours in a year. The standard basis is 40 hours × 52 weeks = 2,080 hours, so a $60,000 salary is $60,000 ÷ 2,080 ≈ $28.85 per hour. Adjust the hours per week if your schedule differs.
Why is my “true” hourly rate different?
The standard conversion counts vacation weeks as worked. If you get 3 weeks of PTO, you actually work 49 weeks — so the same $60,000 salary is $60,000 ÷ (40 × 49) ≈ $30.61 per actually-worked hour. The gap widens if you routinely work more than your official hours: unpaid overtime silently lowers your real rate.
What is $X per hour as an annual salary?
Multiply the hourly rate by 2,080 (for a 40-hour week): $20/hour ≈ $41,600, $25 ≈ $52,000, $30 ≈ $62,400, $50 ≈ $104,000. This calculator does the conversion in both directions — edit whichever field you know.
Is this before or after taxes?
Everything here is gross (pre-tax) pay, which is how salaries and hourly rates are quoted. Your take-home pay depends on federal and state taxes, FICA, and your benefits elections — typically 20–35% lower than gross for most U.S. earners.
Should I compare a salaried offer to a contractor hourly rate this way?
No — a common trap. Contractors pay both halves of FICA, buy their own health insurance, get no PTO, and cover gaps between contracts. A rough rule: a fair contractor rate is 1.4× to 1.6× the salary-equivalent hourly rate, so a $50/hour employee job is closer to a $75/hour contract.