Salary vs. Hourly: How to Compare Two Job Offers Fairly

Comparing a salaried offer to an hourly one (or your current pay) is not as simple as it looks. The quick conversion ignores overtime eligibility, benefits, and how many hours you actually work. Here is how to compare them honestly.

The basic conversion

The standard math: a full-time year is about 2,080 hours (40 hours x 52 weeks). To turn an hourly wage into salary, multiply by 2,080; to turn salary into an hourly equivalent, divide by 2,080. So $30 an hour is roughly $62,400 a year, and a $60,000 salary is about $28.85 an hour. That is the starting point, not the whole story.

Overtime changes everything

Hourly workers are typically eligible for overtime (often 1.5x pay beyond 40 hours a week), while many salaried roles are exempt and paid the same no matter the hours. If a salaried job routinely demands 50-plus hours, its true hourly rate can be far lower than the simple conversion suggests.

Count the real hours

Divide pay by the hours you actually work, not the nominal 2,080. A $90,000 salary sounds great until it requires 55-hour weeks, which drops the real hourly rate well below the headline. Conversely, a 35-hour-week salaried role pays more per hour than its conversion implies.

Benefits are part of pay

Health insurance, retirement matching, paid time off, and bonuses can be worth a large percentage of base pay, and they often differ sharply between salaried and hourly roles. A lower salary with strong benefits can beat a higher one with none. Add an estimated benefits value to each offer before comparing.

Stability and predictability

Salary offers steady, predictable income; hourly can mean variable hours (good when there is overtime, risky when hours get cut). Weigh the security of a fixed paycheck against the upside of being paid for every hour. The "better" choice depends on the role and your priorities.

Convert between the two with our salary to hourly calculator.