Hourly to Salary Calculator
Enter Hourly Rate
Common Hourly โ Annual
| Hourly (USD) | Annual (40 hrs/52 wks) |
|---|---|
| $15.00 | $31,200.00 |
| $20.00 | $41,600.00 |
| $25.00 | $52,000.00 |
| $30.00 | $62,400.00 |
| $40.00 | $83,200.00 |
| $50.00 | $104,000.00 |
| $75.00 | $156,000.00 |
| $100.00 | $208,000.00 |
| $125.00 | $260,000.00 |
| $150.00 | $312,000.00 |
Convert an hourly rate to annual salary โ or reverse it. Supports multiple currencies and paid time off adjustments.
How to Convert Hourly Rate to Annual Salary
The standard formula for converting an hourly rate to an annual salary is straightforward: Annual Salary = Hourly Rate ร Hours per Week ร Weeks per Year. For a standard full-time employee working 40 hours per week for 52 weeks, the multiplier is 2,080. A $25.00 per hour rate therefore equals $52,000 per year before taxes.
This formula works cleanly for salaried employees whose pay is expressed as an hourly equivalent. For freelancers and contractors, however, the actual annual earnings are more nuanced. A freelancer billing $75 per hour but working 45 billable weeks per year (allowing for vacations, non-billable administration time, and business development) earns $75 ร 40 ร 45 = $135,000 โ not $156,000. Using actual working weeks rather than 52 produces a more realistic annual income projection.
Paid Time Off (PTO) and Its Impact on Effective Hourly Rate
PTO days matter significantly when comparing job offers or evaluating freelance rates. If a job pays $52,000 per year with 15 days of paid vacation and 10 federal holidays, you work approximately 235 days per year (260 workdays minus 25 PTO/holiday days). The effective hourly rate is $52,000 รท (235 ร 8) = $27.66 per hour โ meaningfully higher than the straight $25/hour calculation because you are paid for 25 days you do not work.
This tool's PTO field subtracts PTO days from your annual working days before calculating results. For employees comparing offers, a job with 20 PTO days is worth approximately 4.6% more than an identical salary with no PTO, all else being equal. For freelancers quoting clients, PTO is not automatic โ it must be explicitly priced into your hourly or project rate.
Contractor vs Employee: Why Your Hourly Rate Needs to Be Higher
If you are a W-2 employee earning $50 per hour, your employer pays approximately 7.65% in FICA (Social Security and Medicare) on your behalf, plus contributions to any benefits like health insurance, dental, vision, 401k matching, workers' compensation insurance, and unemployment insurance. The true employer cost of a $50/hour W-2 employee is often $60โ70 per hour when all overhead is included.
As a contractor or freelancer billing $50 per hour, you receive none of these employer contributions. You must self-fund:
- Self-employment tax: 15.3% on 92.35% of net income (you pay both the employee and employer share of FICA).
- Health insurance: Individual market premiums average $500โ$600/month for a single adult in the US, $1,200โ$1,800/month for family coverage.
- Retirement savings: No employer match. You must fund your own SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k).
- Unpaid time off: Vacations, sick days, and holidays are unpaid โ you only earn when you work.
- Non-billable time: Business development, invoicing, client communication, and administration time is unpaid overhead.
A commonly used rule of thumb: a contractor's hourly rate should be at least 1.5ร to 2ร the equivalent W-2 hourly rate to achieve comparable after-tax, after-benefits take-home. If a full-time employee earns $40/hour with benefits, a freelancer doing equivalent work should charge $60โ$80/hour to come out equally after taxes, benefits, and overhead.
Hourly Rate Benchmarks by Profession (US, 2025)
Understanding where your rate falls relative to market norms helps with pricing negotiations. The following are approximate median hourly rates for freelancers and contractors in selected professions:
- Software Developer: $75โ$150/hour depending on specialization, experience, and market. Senior developers with niche skills (AI/ML, embedded systems, fintech) often command $150โ$250+/hour.
- Graphic Designer: $35โ$85/hour for general design; $75โ$150/hour for UX/UI specialists in tech sectors.
- Copywriter / Content Writer: $50โ$100/hour for experienced writers; significantly higher for highly specialized niches like financial writing, medical content, or legal copy.
- Accountant / Bookkeeper: $40โ$80/hour for bookkeeping; $100โ$300/hour for CPAs providing tax planning and advisory services.
- Marketing Consultant: $75โ$150/hour for strategy; $50โ$100/hour for execution-focused roles (SEO, social media management).
- Virtual Assistant: $20โ$50/hour for general admin; $50โ$100/hour for executive-level assistants or highly specialized skills.
These are US market rates. UK and Australian rates are often 10โ20% lower in absolute terms for equivalent skills, though purchasing power parity makes the gap smaller in practice. Within the US, rates in major tech markets (San Francisco, New York, Seattle) can run 20โ40% above national medians.
How to Use This Hourly to Salary Converter
This tool has two modes:
- Hourly Rate โ Salary: Enter your hourly rate, adjust hours per week (default 40), weeks per year (default 52), and paid time off days. The tool calculates your daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and annual earnings based on those inputs.
- Annual Salary โ Hourly: Enter your annual salary, set your hours per week and weeks per year. The tool calculates the equivalent hourly rate and breaks down monthly, weekly, and daily pay.
Supports 40+ currencies including USD, GBP, EUR, AUD, CAD, INR, JPY, and more. The tool does not perform currency conversion โ it simply formats the output with the correct symbol for your selected currency.
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