Hourly to Salary Calculator

Converting between hourly wages and annual salary is essential for comparing job offers, negotiating compensation, and understanding your true earning rate — especially when comparing salaried positions to hourly ones with different hours, benefits, and flexibility.

The standard full-time annual calculation: Hourly Rate × 40 hours/week × 52 weeks = Annual Salary. The result is gross income — before federal income tax, state income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), and any pre-tax deductions like 401(k) or health insurance premiums.

Quick reference points: $15/hour = $31,200/year. $20/hour = $41,600. $25/hour = $52,000. $30/hour = $62,400. $40/hour = $83,200. $50/hour = $104,000. $75/hour = $156,000. $100/hour = $208,000.

Salaried vs. hourly considerations: hourly employees receive overtime pay (typically 1.5× their rate) for hours worked beyond 40/week — which can significantly increase annual earnings in industries where overtime is common. Salaried exempt employees generally don't receive overtime but often have more flexibility. When comparing offers, look at total compensation: base pay + benefits value (health insurance $5,000–$15,000/year), paid time off, retirement matching, and any performance bonuses.

For freelancers: a $50/hour consulting rate sounds excellent, but the correct comparison to a $104,000 salaried job requires accounting for: self-employment tax (additional 7.65%), health insurance out of pocket, no employer 401(k) match, unpaid sick/vacation time, non-billable business hours (20–30% of total work time), and marketing/admin overhead. A freelancer needs to charge roughly 1.4–1.6× the equivalent employee rate to match total compensation.