How to convert salary to hourly (and back)
The math is simple once you know your working hours. To turn a yearly salary into an hourly rate, divide it by the number of hours you work in a year:
Hourly rate = Annual salary ÷ (hours per week × weeks per year)
For a standard full-time schedule that's 40 hours × 52 weeks = 2,080 hours a year. So a $50,000 salary works out to about $24.04 per hour. To go the other way, multiply your hourly wage by your yearly hours.
Why your real hourly rate may differ
- Paid time off — if you take unpaid weeks, lower the "weeks per year" value.
- Overtime — extra hours change your effective rate.
- Benefits — health cover, pension, and bonuses add value beyond the headline number.
- Taxes — these figures are gross (before tax). Your take-home will be lower.
When this is useful
Use it to compare a salaried job offer with freelance or contract work, to check whether a raise keeps pace with extra hours, or simply to understand what your time is worth.