Reckonary / Work / Salary to hourly
Hourly rate
A yearly salary sounds tidy, but it hides what your time is actually worth by the hour. This converts any annual salary into an hourly rate, along with the monthly and weekly pay it adds up to, so you can compare a salaried offer against hourly work or freelance rates on equal footing.
The hourly rate is the salary divided by the hours you work in a year, which is your weekly hours multiplied by the number of paid weeks. Monthly pay is simply the salary split into twelve equal months, and weekly pay is the salary divided by the weeks you work. Change the hours or weeks and watch how the same salary maps to a very different hourly number.
Take a $52,000 salary at 40 hours a week across 52 weeks. That is 2,080 hours in the year, so the hourly rate works out to $25. The same salary comes to about $4,333 a month and $1,000 a week. Drop to 48 paid weeks or stretch to 50-hour weeks and the hourly figure shifts right away.
How do you convert a salary into an hourly rate?
Divide the yearly salary by the hours you work in a year. At 40 hours a week for 52 weeks that is 2,080 hours, so a $52,000 salary comes to about $25 an hour.
Is the hourly figure my take-home rate?
No. It is gross pay before income tax, payroll taxes, insurance, and retirement contributions. Your actual take-home per hour will be lower once those come out.
Should I lower the weeks figure for vacation?
If your time off is paid, keep weeks at 52 because you are paid for the full year. Only reduce it when some weeks are unpaid, such as unpaid leave or a freelance gap.
Why does my hourly rate drop when I add hours?
The salary stays fixed while the hours rise, so the same pay is spread across more time. Working longer weeks for the same salary lowers your effective hourly rate.
Last reviewed June 2026. Figures are gross pay, before tax and deductions.