Money & Pricing Tables
Hourly Wage Conversion Table
Converting between a salary and an hourly rate looks like a single division and is really a decision about how many hours a working year contains. The contractual figure is 2,080 hours: 40 hours a week for 52 weeks. It counts every week of the year, including the ones you are on holiday, which makes it the right number for comparing a contract and the wrong number for comparing what you are actually paid per hour worked.
The realistic figure is closer to 2,000 hours, which takes out public holidays, and lower still once annual leave is removed. A full-time US employee with ten holidays and fifteen days of leave works about 1,880 hours. The difference between 2,080 and 2,000 is 4%, which is small on a single comparison and large when it decides whether an offer beats your current job.
The third table is the one that changes minds. A salary is paid for the job, not for the hours, so unpaid overtime silently lowers the hourly rate. At 50 hours a week a $75,000 salary is $28.85 an hour — the same as a $60,000 job at 40 hours — and at 60 hours it falls to $24.04.
Annual salary to hourly, weekly and monthly
| Annual salary | Per hour (2,080 h) | Per hour (2,000 h) | Per week | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000.00 | $14.42 | $15.00 | $576.92 | $2,500.00 |
| $40,000.00 | $19.23 | $20.00 | $769.23 | $3,333.33 |
| $45,000.00 | $21.63 | $22.50 | $865.38 | $3,750.00 |
| $50,000.00 | $24.04 | $25.00 | $961.54 | $4,166.67 |
| $60,000.00 | $28.85 | $30.00 | $1,153.85 | $5,000.00 |
| $70,000.00 | $33.65 | $35.00 | $1,346.15 | $5,833.33 |
| $75,000.00 | $36.06 | $37.50 | $1,442.31 | $6,250.00 |
| $80,000.00 | $38.46 | $40.00 | $1,538.46 | $6,666.67 |
| $90,000.00 | $43.27 | $45.00 | $1,730.77 | $7,500.00 |
| $100,000.00 | $48.08 | $50.00 | $1,923.08 | $8,333.33 |
| $120,000.00 | $57.69 | $60.00 | $2,307.69 | $10,000.00 |
| $150,000.00 | $72.12 | $75.00 | $2,884.62 | $12,500.00 |
| $200,000.00 | $96.15 | $100.00 | $3,846.15 | $16,666.67 |
The two hourly columns differ by 4%. A $60,000 salary is $28.85 an hour at 2,080 hours and $30.00 at 2,000, and quoting one without saying which is the usual cause of an argument.
Hourly rate to annual, at different hours per week
| Hourly rate | 40 h/week, 52 weeks | 40 h/week, 48 weeks | 35 h/week, 52 weeks | 20 h/week, 52 weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $31,200.00 | $28,800.00 | $27,300.00 | $15,600.00 |
| $20.00 | $41,600.00 | $38,400.00 | $36,400.00 | $20,800.00 |
| $25.00 | $52,000.00 | $48,000.00 | $45,500.00 | $26,000.00 |
| $30.00 | $62,400.00 | $57,600.00 | $54,600.00 | $31,200.00 |
| $35.00 | $72,800.00 | $67,200.00 | $63,700.00 | $36,400.00 |
| $40.00 | $83,200.00 | $76,800.00 | $72,800.00 | $41,600.00 |
| $50.00 | $104,000.00 | $96,000.00 | $91,000.00 | $52,000.00 |
| $60.00 | $124,800.00 | $115,200.00 | $109,200.00 | $62,400.00 |
| $75.00 | $156,000.00 | $144,000.00 | $136,500.00 | $78,000.00 |
| $100.00 | $208,000.00 | $192,000.00 | $182,000.00 | $104,000.00 |
48 weeks instead of 52 removes four weeks of paid work, which is what holiday and leave actually cost. A contractor billing $50 an hour at 48 weeks earns $96,000, not $104,000.
What unpaid overtime does to an hourly rate
| Annual salary | Nominal rate (40 h) | At 45 h/week | At 50 h/week | At 60 h/week |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $50,000.00 | $24.04 | $21.37 | $19.23 | $16.03 |
| $60,000.00 | $28.85 | $25.64 | $23.08 | $19.23 |
| $75,000.00 | $36.06 | $32.05 | $28.85 | $24.04 |
| $90,000.00 | $43.27 | $38.46 | $34.62 | $28.85 |
| $120,000.00 | $57.69 | $51.28 | $46.15 | $38.46 |
The hours actually worked matter more than the salary. At 60 hours a week a $120,000 salary is $38.46 an hour, barely above the nominal rate of a $80,000 job at 40 hours.
How to Use These Tables
- Comparing an offer: divide the salary by the hours you will actually work, not by 2,080. Use the realistic column when the role has unpaid overtime.
- Setting a contract rate: take the salaried equivalent, add the value of leave and benefits, then divide by 2,000 rather than 2,080.
- Checking a payslip: gross pay divided by hours on the timesheet is the effective rate, and it is the only figure that survives a comparison across employers.
- Part-time work: multiply the hourly rate by the actual weekly hours and by the weeks worked. A $40 rate at 20 hours a week for 48 weeks is $38,400, not $41,600.
Common Questions
Should I use 2,080 or 2,000 hours?
Use 2,080 for a contractual conversion and 2,000 for a realistic one. 2,080 is 40 hours a week for 52 weeks with nothing removed; 2,000 accounts for public holidays. If you have substantial leave, use the hours you actually work.
Why do two calculators give me different hourly rates?
Because they assume different hours. A $60,000 salary is $28.85 at 2,080 hours, $30.00 at 2,000 and $31.91 at 1,880. None is wrong; they answer slightly different questions, and the honest answer names the assumption.
How do I value paid leave in the comparison?
Add its cash value to the salary before dividing. Four weeks of leave at a $28.85 rate is worth about $4,616, so a salaried package with that leave is effectively $64,616 against an hourly role that pays nothing for time off.
Is overtime worth it at time and a half?
Financially yes, per hour: ten hours at 1.5× pays the same as fifteen straight hours. But the comparison only holds if the alternative is genuinely more hours at the base rate, not more rest.
Do bonuses and benefits belong in the figure?
Yes, for any real comparison. Health insurance, retirement matching and a bonus can add 20–30% to a salary, and hourly roles frequently offer none of them. Add them to total compensation before dividing.
More Money & Pricing Tables
Sources
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — hourly and annual wage definitions — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Fair Labor Standards Act — overtime and exempt employees — U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division
- Employee benefits survey — paid leave and total compensation — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Filed with Finance calculations.