Hourly to Salary Calculator

An hourly to salary calculator converts a per-hour wage rate into the equivalent annual, monthly, bi-weekly, weekly, and daily gross earnings — and back again. The conversion is essential when comparing job offers that quote different pay structures, negotiating a raise, freelancing at an hourly rate and wanting to know your income run-rate, or benchmarking whether a salaried role pays more or less than an equivalent hourly position once overtime, benefits, and paid time off are factored in.

The fundamental formula is straightforward — Annual = Hourly Rate × Hours per Week × Weeks per Year — but the practical comparison between hourly and salaried roles is more nuanced. Salaried positions typically come with employer-sponsored benefits, paid time off, and job security that have real dollar value not captured in the base pay figure. Hourly positions may include overtime eligibility and time-and-a-half pay that can meaningfully boost total compensation for workers who regularly exceed 40 hours per week.

This calculator shows gross (pre-tax) wages. To see your actual take-home pay after federal income tax, FICA, state tax, and benefit deductions, use the Paycheck Calculator.

All figures are gross pay before tax. Actual earnings may differ due to overtime, shift differentials, bonuses, or unpaid time off not captured here.

All conversions derive from a single annualization formula, then divide down to shorter periods:

Common Hourly Rates at 40 hrs/week, 52 weeks

The choice between hourly and salaried pay structures has implications far beyond the dollar figure on a pay stub. Understanding the legal, financial, and lifestyle differences helps you make an accurate apples-to-apples comparison when evaluating offers.

The FLSA exempt salary threshold: As of July 1, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor raised the minimum salary for overtime exemption to $844/week ($43,888/year), with a further increase to $1,128/week ($58,656/year) effective January 1, 2025 (subject to legal challenges). Workers paid below this threshold must receive overtime pay regardless of how they are classified. Always verify current thresholds at dol.gov.

When comparing a salaried offer with benefits to an hourly contract rate, you must quantify the dollar value of the benefits package to make a fair comparison. Benefits are a significant portion of total compensation — the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates employer benefit costs average 31% of total compensation for civilian workers. Here is how to estimate each component:

Practical example: A $65/hour contractor rate (40 hrs/week, no benefits) yields $135,200/year gross. A salaried offer at $110,000 with employer health ($12,000), 401(k) match ($4,400), and 3 weeks PTO ($6,346 equivalent) has a total compensation value of roughly $132,746 — nearly identical to the contractor rate, before factoring in the stability, guaranteed income floor, and payroll tax savings of employment.

For hourly non-exempt employees, overtime pay is a significant income multiplier. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to pay at least 1.5× the regular rate for all hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek. Some states (California, Alaska, Nevada, and others) have daily overtime rules — time-and-a-half after 8 hours in a single workday, regardless of weekly total.

Working 10 hours of overtime every week at $25/hr adds $19,500/year in gross overtime pay — growing total annual earnings from $52,000 to $71,500, a 37.5% increase. However, overtime hours are not guaranteed. When evaluating a role that expects overtime, treat the base 40-hour rate as the floor and overtime as upside — not the other way around.

The federal minimum wage has been $7.25/hour since July 2009 — its longest period without an increase in history. At 40 hours per week and 52 weeks, the federal minimum wage equates to $15,080/year in gross earnings, below the federal poverty line for a family of two. As of 2024, 30 states and Washington D.C. have set minimum wages above the federal floor.

Many large employers — Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco — have voluntarily set starting wages of $15–$19/hour, well above the federal minimum. The push for a $15/hour federal minimum would equate to $31,200/year gross — still below the median individual income but a significant step up from the current federal floor.