Whether you’re weighing a job offer, comparing two roles, or just trying to understand your own paycheck, you eventually need to translate between an hourly wage and an annual salary. It sounds simple — and the basic math is — but there are a couple of traps that trip people up. Here’s how to convert hourly to salary (and back) correctly, plus the part most calculators skip: what it means after taxes.
The basic formula
A standard full-time job is 40 hours a week times 52 weeks = 2,080 hours a year. So:
Hourly wage times 2,080 = annual salary.
And to go the other way:
Annual salary divided by 2,080 = hourly wage.
That’s the whole conversion. A few quick examples:
| Hourly wage | Annual salary (full-time) |
|---|---|
| $15/hour | $31,200 |
| $20/hour | $41,600 |
| $25/hour | $52,000 |
| $30/hour | $62,400 |
| $40/hour | $83,200 |
| $50/hour | $104,000 |
A handy mental shortcut: double your hourly wage and add three zeros for a rough annual estimate ($25/hour → ~$50,000). It’s close enough for quick comparisons.
The trap: hours vary
The 2,080-hour figure assumes you work full-time, every week, all year. Reality often differs:
- Part-time? Multiply your weekly hours times 52 times your wage instead.
- Unpaid time off? A salaried worker gets paid for holidays and vacation; an hourly worker usually doesn’t. So an hourly job and a salaried job at the “same” annual number aren’t truly equal — the hourly worker only earns when they’re on the clock.
- Overtime? Hourly workers often get time-and-a-half past 40 hours, which salaried workers usually don’t. That can push hourly earnings higher.
This is why comparing an hourly offer to a salaried one isn’t just arithmetic — you have to account for paid time off, overtime, and benefits.
Don’t forget: gross vs. take-home
Here’s the part that matters most. Whether the number is hourly or annual, that’s your gross pay — before taxes. You actually live on your take-home pay after federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, and any state tax. On a $52,000 salary ($25/hour), a single filer keeps noticeably less than $52,000 once those come out.
So when comparing pay, convert to the same basis and look at take-home, not gross. Run any salary through the Take-Home Pay Calculator to see the real number, and read Gross vs Net Pay for the full breakdown.
Salary in other useful terms
Once you have the annual figure, you can slice it however you need:
- Monthly: annual divided by 12
- Bi-weekly: annual divided by 26
- Weekly: annual divided by 52
- Daily (full-time): annual divided by 260 (roughly)
These are all gross figures; apply taxes to get take-home.
Why the conversion matters
Converting correctly stops you from making a bad comparison. A $24/hour job might sound worse than a “$50,000 salary,” but $24 times 2,080 = $49,920 — essentially the same gross, and the hourly role might pay overtime on top. Always get both offers onto the same footing — and then onto an after-tax footing — before deciding.
Frequently asked questions
How do I convert hourly to salary?
Multiply your hourly wage by 2,080 (40 hours times 52 weeks) for a full-time annual salary. To reverse it, divide the annual salary by 2,080.
Is $25 an hour a good salary?
$25/hour is $52,000 a year full-time — near the U.S. median. Whether it’s “good” depends on your location and cost of living.
Why is my salaried pay different from the hourly math?
Salaried workers are paid for holidays and vacation; hourly workers usually aren’t, and may earn overtime. So the same annual number can mean different real earnings.
Does this include taxes?
No — the conversion gives gross pay. Use the Take-Home Pay Calculator to see what you actually keep.
The takeaway
Converting pay is simple: hourly times 2,080 = annual salary, and annual divided by 2,080 = hourly. But a fair comparison goes further — account for paid time off, overtime, and benefits, then look at take-home pay, not gross. Run your number through the Take-Home Pay Calculator so you’re comparing what actually lands in your account.
General educational information, not financial advice.
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