Hourly to Salary Calculator
Convert your hourly pay rate to an annual salary equivalent. Factor in weekly hours, weeks worked per year, and overtime hours to see your total annual compensation broken down by month, biweekly, weekly, and daily amounts.
Converting hourly pay to an annual salary equivalent is the bridge between the two ways jobs typically quote compensation. Most professional and corporate roles quote salaries ("this position pays $75,000/year"); hourly trades, freelance work, contract roles, and part-time positions quote hourly rates ("this position pays $30/hour"). When you're comparing offers across these structures — say, a salaried corporate role vs. a contract opportunity, or evaluating whether a "salary equivalent" of an hourly job is meaningful — you need to translate one to the other.
The base math is simple: hourly rate times hours per week times weeks per year equals annual salary. The complications are in the assumptions. Does the calculation use 40 hours per week (standard) or your actual hours? Does it assume 52 weeks per year (paid time off included) or fewer? Does it include overtime at the 1.5x rate or just straight time? The "annual equivalent" of a $25/hour job is anywhere from $50,000 to $80,000+ depending on how you count.
This calculator handles the conversion with explicit inputs for hours per week, weeks per year, and overtime hours, then shows you the equivalent annual, monthly, biweekly, weekly, and daily figures. Use it to compare contract vs. salaried offers, to set freelance rates, to evaluate whether overtime makes a meaningful difference to annual income, or to set realistic expectations when accepting an hourly position.
Inputs
Results
Annual Salary
$52,000
Monthly
$4,333
Biweekly
$2,000
Daily
$200
Pay Period Comparison
Formula
How to use this calculator
- Enter your hourly rate — the base rate quoted by the employer or the rate you charge as a freelancer.
- Enter typical hours per week. 40 is the standard full-time assumption; use higher or lower if your typical week differs.
- Enter weeks worked per year. Use 52 if you have fully paid PTO; use 50 if you take 2 weeks unpaid; use fewer for seasonal or contract work with gaps.
- Enter regular weekly overtime hours, if applicable. The calculator applies 1.5x to overtime hours above the 40-hour regular threshold.
- Review the equivalent annual salary and the breakdown by pay period.
- For contract vs. salaried comparison: the hourly rate of a 1099 contractor needs to be roughly 1.5–2× the equivalent W-2 salaried hourly to be apples-to-apples. The difference covers self-employment tax (additional 7.65%), benefits (health insurance, retirement match), and unpaid time off.
- For freelance rate-setting: work backward from your desired annual income to find the hourly rate, then verify the rate is competitive in your market. Aim to bill at least 65–75% of "available hours" — accounting for unbillable admin, marketing, and sales time.
- For overtime evaluation: the calculator shows the gross impact of regular overtime. Pair with the income-tax-estimator to see the after-tax impact (some of the OT premium gets eaten by progressive tax brackets).
Worked examples
Standard 40-hour worker
$20/hour, 40 hours/week, 52 weeks/year, no overtime. Annual: $20 × 40 × 52 = $41,600 Monthly: ~$3,467 Biweekly: $1,600 Daily (8-hour): $160 A reasonable comparison for entry-level salaried positions. A "$45,000 salary" offer is meaningfully better than this; a "$38,000 salary" is meaningfully worse.
Skilled tradesperson with regular overtime
$45/hour, 40 hours regular + 12 hours OT per week, 50 weeks (2 weeks unpaid vacation). Regular: $45 × 40 × 50 = $90,000 Overtime: $45 × 1.5 × 12 × 50 = $40,500 Total Annual: $130,500 Without overtime: $90,000 salary equivalent. With overtime: $130,500 — 45% higher. For skilled trades with consistent overtime opportunities (electricians, plumbers, machinists in busy markets), the OT-included salary equivalent often dramatically exceeds the base rate. Sustainability matters: 52-hour weeks for years carries real cost.
Contract rate vs. salaried equivalent
Contract rate offered: $75/hour. Working 40 billable hours/week, 48 weeks/year (4 weeks for vacation + holidays + downtime). Gross annual: $75 × 40 × 48 = $144,000 But adjustments needed for fair comparison to salaried: Self-employment tax (additional 7.65% above W-2): -$11,000 equivalent Health insurance ($800/mo): -$9,600 Retirement match foregone (5% of salary): -$7,200 Disability insurance: -$1,500 Equivalent W-2 salary: roughly $115,000 A $75/hour contract rate is roughly equivalent to a $115K salaried position with full benefits. If the salaried offer is $130K, salaried wins; if it's $95K, contract wins.
When to use this calculator
Use this calculator when evaluating job offers across different compensation structures, setting freelance or consulting rates, projecting annual income from variable hourly work, or comparing the value of overtime opportunities against the time cost.
For freelancers and contractors, the calculator answers "what hourly rate do I need to charge to make $X/year?" The honest answer usually requires backing into a higher hourly rate than expected because of unpaid administrative time, intermittent contract availability, self-employment taxes, and benefit costs. A 1099 hourly rate that matches a W-2 salaried equivalent on paper typically leaves the contractor with less actual income.
Pair this with the salary-to-hourly calculator (the inverse direction), the overtime-calculator (for detailed overtime math), the income-tax-estimator (for after-tax projections), and the pay-raise calculator (when evaluating compensation changes).
For part-time and side-hustle income, the calculator helps set expectations. A $25/hour side gig working 10 hours per week, 40 weeks per year, equals $10,000/year of additional gross income — meaningful but not life-changing. Knowing the realistic annualized amount helps set goals and decide whether the time investment is worth it.
A common scenario worth knowing: gig economy and contract roles often pay higher hourly rates than salaried equivalents but lack benefits, paid time off, and the income stability of a W-2 position. The "premium" hourly rate is partly compensation for the additional risk and missing benefits. Always do the full apples-to-apples comparison before assuming the higher headline rate is actually better. The salaried position with $20K in benefits and PTO is often a stronger total package than a contract role paying 20% more in hourly rate.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using 52 weeks when you don't actually get paid for 52 weeks. Unpaid PTO, gaps between contracts, or seasonal work reduce paid weeks below 52. A $25/hour position paid for only 48 weeks per year ($48,000 gross) is not the same as $25/hour paid for 52 weeks ($52,000 gross).
- Comparing contract hourly to salaried hourly without adjustments. Contract rates need to be 1.5–2× equivalent salaried rates to provide comparable total compensation, accounting for self-employment tax, benefits, and PTO.
- Treating overtime as guaranteed income. Many roles offer variable overtime that can disappear during business slowdowns. Don't budget around 15 hours/week of OT if it might drop to 0 with little notice.
- Ignoring per-shift differential pay. Some hourly roles (healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing) pay shift differentials (10-30% premium for nights, weekends, holidays) that materially affect annual income. The base hourly rate understates real compensation for those workers.
- Forgetting that salaried positions often work more hours. A "$70K salary at 40 hours/week" sounds great until reality is 50–60 hours/week. The hourly equivalent of $70K at 55 hours/week is $24.50/hour — less than a $25/hour straight-time job.
- Forgetting taxes. Gross annual is what the calculator produces; take-home is typically 65–75% of gross. Lifestyle planning should use take-home, not gross.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources & further reading
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Fair Labor Standards Act — overtime rules — U.S. Department of Labor — Wage and Hour Division
- Self-Employed Individuals Tax Center — U.S. Internal Revenue Service