Job listings love to quote pay in different units — one says $25 an hour, another says $52,000 a year. To compare offers apples-to-apples, you need to convert between them. The math hinges on one key assumption: how many hours you work per week.
From hourly to annual salary
The standard full-time assumption is 40 hours per week × 52 weeks = 2,080 hours per year. So:
- Annual Salary = Hourly Rate × Hours per Week × 52
Example: $25/hour at 40 hours a week.
- $25 × 40 × 52 = $52,000 per year
If you work part-time at 30 hours a week instead:
- $25 × 30 × 52 = $39,000 per year
The hours-per-week figure is doing a lot of work here, which is why two people earning the same hourly rate can have very different annual totals.
From salary back to hourly
To reverse it, divide the annual salary by the number of hours worked in a year:
- Hourly Rate = Annual Salary ÷ (Hours per Week × 52)
Example: A $60,000 salary at 40 hours a week.
- $60,000 ÷ 2,080 = $28.85 per hour
Weekly and monthly breakdowns
Once you have the annual figure, the other periods follow:
- Weekly = Annual ÷ 52
- Biweekly = Annual ÷ 26
- Monthly = Annual ÷ 12
Example: Using the $52,000 salary:
- Weekly = $52,000 ÷ 52 = $1,000
- Biweekly = $52,000 ÷ 26 = $2,000
- Monthly = $52,000 ÷ 12 ≈ $4,333.33
Note that monthly pay is not the same as four weekly paychecks — a month averages about 4.33 weeks, so $1,000 weekly works out to roughly $4,333 a month, not $4,000. Keep in mind these are gross figures, before taxes and deductions.
How to use it
Instead of memorizing each divisor, open the Salary Converter. Enter a pay rate in any unit, set your hours per week, and it instantly shows the hourly, weekly, biweekly, monthly, and annual equivalents.
Knowing your true monthly income makes other financial decisions clearer:
- Use the Loan Calculator to check whether a monthly loan payment comfortably fits your take-home pay.
- Use the Interest Calculator to see how setting aside even a slice of each paycheck can grow over time.