Salary to Hourly Calculator

The formula

Annual salary

Gross pay before tax and deductions.

Hours per week

Hours you actually work, not the hours in your contract, if the two differ.

Weeks per year

Weeks you are paid for. A salaried role is typically 52, since paid leave is part of the salary. Use fewer only if you are genuinely unpaid for part of the year.

Worked example

A 62,000 salary, 37.5 hours a week, 48 working weeks after four weeks of leave.

• Total hours = 37.5 × 48 = 1,800
• Hourly = 62,000 ÷ 1,800 = 34.44
• At 52 weeks: 37.5 × 52 = 1,950 → 31.79

34.44 an hour against working weeks, or 31.79 across the full year.

The weeks figure changes the answer by more than people expect

Forty-eight weeks against fifty-two moves this example from 34.44 to 31.79 — over 8 percent. Both are defensible and they answer different questions. Fifty-two gives the true cost of your time across the year, which is the right basis when comparing against a contract rate that includes no paid leave. Forty-eight gives the rate for hours actually worked, which is the right basis when deciding whether a piece of extra work is worth taking on. Pick one and state which you used.

Compare gross to gross, then compare everything else separately

This converts a salary figure and nothing more. Employer pension contributions, health cover, paid leave, sick pay and equity are all real compensation that a bare hourly rate does not capture, and they are frequently the largest part of the gap between a salaried role and a contract one. A contract rate has to cover unpaid time off, your own pension, gaps between engagements and the administrative overhead — which is why a straight rate comparison almost always flatters contracting.

Use the hours you actually work

If a 37.5-hour contract routinely runs to 45, the honest hourly rate uses 45. The example salary at 45 hours over 48 weeks is 28.70 rather than 34.44 — a 16.7 percent difference that exists entirely in unpaid overtime. This is the single most useful thing this calculation does: it converts an abstract salary into something you can compare against what your time is worth.

Going the other way

To convert an hourly rate into a salary, multiply by your hours and weeks: 34.44 × 37.5 × 48 returns 62,000. If you are pricing contract work and want to match a salary, that reverse calculation is the floor rather than the target, because everything in the second note above still has to be paid for out of the rate.

Common questions

How do I convert a salary to an hourly rate?

Divide the annual salary by the number of hours you work in a year — hours per week multiplied by weeks per year. The only real judgement is the weeks figure, and it moves the answer by several percent.

Should I use 52 weeks or subtract my holiday?

It depends what you are asking. Fifty-two spreads the salary across the whole year, which is the fair basis for comparing against a contract day rate that has no paid leave. Subtracting leave gives the rate for hours genuinely worked, which is the better basis for judging whether extra work is worth doing.

Why does my calculated rate seem low?

Usually because the hours entered are the real ones rather than the contracted ones. Unpaid overtime lowers the effective rate directly, and seeing that as a number is often the point of running the calculation.

Is this gross or take-home?

Gross. It divides the salary figure you enter, so if you enter pre-tax pay the rate is pre-tax. Tax, national insurance or social security and pension deductions all sit outside this calculation.