How the Salary Calculator Works
Pay can be quoted in many ways: a yearly salary, a monthly amount, a weekly check or an hourly wage. To compare two jobs, or to plan your budget, you need them in the same unit. The Salary Calculator converts your pay between all of these units, using the hours and weeks that you actually work.
What you enter
- Your pay: a yearly salary or an hourly wage.
- Hours per week: for a full-time job this is usually 40.
- Weeks paid per year: 52 if you are paid for every week. Use a lower number if part of your time off is unpaid.
- Overtime (optional): the extra hours each week and the overtime rate, which is often 1.5 times your normal rate.
How the results are worked out
hours per year = hours per week x weeks per year hourly pay = yearly salary / hours per year yearly salary = hourly pay x hours per year weekly pay = yearly salary / weeks per year biweekly pay = yearly salary / 26 semi-monthly pay = yearly salary / 24 monthly pay = yearly salary / 12 daily pay = weekly pay / days worked per week
A full-time job of 40 hours a week for 52 weeks is 2,080 hours a year. This is the number that most employers use to change between a salary and an hourly rate.
A worked example
You earn $75,000 a year, working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks.
| Pay period | Amount |
|---|---|
| Yearly | $75,000.00 |
| Monthly ($75,000 / 12) | $6,250.00 |
| Semi-monthly, twice a month ($75,000 / 24) | $3,125.00 |
| Biweekly, every two weeks ($75,000 / 26) | $2,884.62 |
| Weekly ($75,000 / 52) | $1,442.31 |
| Daily, 5 days a week ($75,000 / 260) | $288.46 |
| Hourly ($75,000 / 2,080) | $36.06 |
These amounts are before tax. Your take-home pay is lower.
Hourly pay and yearly pay
At 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, every $1 of hourly pay is worth $2,080 a year. That gives a quick rule: multiply the hourly rate by 2,080.
| Hourly pay | Weekly | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| $15 | $600 | $2,600 | $31,200 |
| $20 | $800 | $3,467 | $41,600 |
| $25 | $1,000 | $4,333 | $52,000 |
| $30 | $1,200 | $5,200 | $62,400 |
| $40 | $1,600 | $6,933 | $83,200 |
Chart: yearly pay by hourly rate
One block is $1 of hourly pay, which is $2,080 a year.
$15/hr ███████████████ $31,200 $20/hr ████████████████████ $41,600 $25/hr █████████████████████████ $52,000 $30/hr ██████████████████████████████ $62,400 $40/hr ████████████████████████████████████████ $83,200
Hours change the hourly rate of a salary
A salary is a fixed amount, so the more hours you work, the less you earn for each hour. The same $75,000:
| Hours per week | Hourly pay |
|---|---|
| 35 | $41.21 |
| 40 | $36.06 |
| 45 | $32.05 |
| 50 | $28.85 |
35 hours ████████████████████████████████████████ $41.21 40 hours ███████████████████████████████████ $36.06 45 hours ███████████████████████████████ $32.05 50 hours ████████████████████████████ $28.85
A salary of $75,000 for 50 hours a week is worth the same per hour as $60,000 for 40 hours. When you compare offers, compare the hourly rate.
Unpaid time off
If you get 2 weeks of unpaid leave each year, you are paid for 50 weeks. That is 2,000 hours, so the same $75,000 is $37.50 an hour, or $1.44 more than the $36.06 for a fully paid year. Paid vacation and holidays are already part of your salary, so they do not change the hourly rate in the standard method.
Overtime
In the United States, many hourly workers must be paid at least 1.5 times their normal rate for hours over 40 in a week. Salaried workers who are exempt do not receive it. Say you earn $30 an hour and work 45 hours a week:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| 40 normal hours ($30 x 40) | $1,200.00 |
| 5 overtime hours ($30 x 1.5 x 5) | $225.00 |
| Weekly pay | $1,425.00 |
| Yearly pay (52 weeks) | $74,100.00 |
| Without overtime, 40 hours only | $62,400.00 |
40 hours a week ██████████████████████████████ $62,400 45 hours a week ████████████████████████████████████ $74,100
Green is normal pay, and amber is overtime pay. The 5 extra hours add $11,700 a year.
Tips
- Compare offers by hourly rate, and take the hours, the commute and the unpaid leave into account.
- Look beyond the salary. Health insurance, retirement matching, bonuses and paid time off can be worth thousands of dollars.
- Plan your budget with your take-home pay, not your gross pay. Taxes and deductions can take 20% to 30% or more.
- Check how often you are paid. Biweekly pay gives 26 checks a year, which means two months a year with a third check. Semi-monthly gives 24.
What this calculator does not include
- Taxes, insurance and other deductions. The amounts are before these.
- Bonuses, commissions, tips and benefits.
- Raises during the year, and pay that changes from week to week.
- The overtime rules in your state or country, which can differ.
This tool gives an estimate for general information only. It is not tax, legal or financial advice. Your contract and your pay stub show your exact pay.