A $65,000 salary sounds better than $28 an hour — until you do the math. $28 an hour at full time is $58,240, but with regular overtime it can beat the salary job, and the salary job with no overtime pay might be the worse deal. Here is how to compare them honestly.
The base conversion: 2,080 hours
A full-time year is 2,080 work hours: 40 hours a week times 52 weeks. The conversions are simple division and multiplication:
- Salary to hourly: divide the salary by 2,080. $65,000 / 2,080 = $31.25/hour.
- Hourly to salary: multiply the rate by 2,080. $28 × 2,080 = $58,240/year.
This is the starting point, not the answer. It assumes you work exactly 40 hours, get paid for all 52 weeks, and earn no overtime — and for most people, at least one of those assumptions is wrong. The corrections below are where the real comparison happens.
Correction 1: hours you actually work
Many salaried jobs quietly demand more than 40 hours. A $70,000 salaried role at 50 hours a week pays $70,000 / (50 × 52) = $26.92/hour. Meanwhile an hourly role at $26/hour with 45 hours a week pays ($26 × 40 × 52) + ($39 × 5 × 52) = $54,080 + $10,140 = $64,220 — with a lower hourly rate on paper.
The rule: never compare salaries without dividing by realistic hours. Ask current employees how many hours they really work, check whether the salaried role is exempt from overtime (most professional salaries are), and re-run the conversion with the honest number.
Correction 2: paid time off
Salaried workers are typically paid through holidays and PTO — 2,080 hours of pay for fewer hours worked. Hourly workers vary: some employers pay for holidays and vacation, some pay only hours clocked. The math:
- Salaried at $60,000 with 3 weeks PTO + 10 holidays: works 1,880 hours, earns $60,000 → effective $31.91/hour worked.
- Hourly at $28/hour with no paid holidays or PTO: works 2,000 hours (unpaid holidays off), earns $56,000 → effective $28.00/hour.
When a recruiter says "competitive PTO," ask whether it applies to hourly staff too. Two unpaid weeks a year is a 3.8% pay cut versus the same job with paid leave.
Correction 3: overtime rules
Under federal law, non-exempt hourly employees earn time-and-a-half (1.5x) for hours beyond 40 per week. Exempt salaried employees earn nothing extra, no matter how long the week. This single difference flips many comparisons:
- A nurse at $32/hour working 48-hour weeks: (32 × 40 × 52) + (48 × 8 × 52) = $86,528/year.
- An office manager at $72,000 salary working the same 48-hour weeks: $72,000/year, effectively $28.85/hour.
The hourly worker with routine overtime out-earns the salaried worker by $14,500 despite a lower base rate. In industries with heavy overtime — healthcare, trades, logistics, hospitality — hourly pay is very often the better deal.
Correction 4: benefits and taxes
Cash pay is only part of compensation. Price the rest:
- Health insurance: employer-paid premiums average roughly $7,000/year for single coverage and over $20,000 for family coverage. A job with full family coverage can be worth $15,000+ more than it looks.
- 401(k) match: a 4% match on $60,000 is $2,400 of free money per year.
- PTO: each extra week of paid time off is worth about 1.9% of salary.
- Unpaid vs paid breaks: some hourly jobs include paid meal breaks; most do not. It adds up.
Build a total-compensation line for each offer: base pay at realistic hours, plus the dollar value of benefits, minus unpaid time. Compare those lines, not the headline numbers.
Worked comparison: two real-looking offers
Offer A: $62,000 salary, exempt, expected 48-hour weeks, 2 weeks PTO + 8 paid holidays, health plan with a $3,000/year employee contribution, 3% 401(k) match. Offer B: $30/hour, non-exempt, 42-hour weeks typical, no paid holidays, 1 week paid vacation, free employee health coverage, no 401(k) match.
- Offer A cash: $62,000 salary + $1,860 match = $63,860. Hours worked: ~2,270. Effective rate: $28.13/hour.
- Offer B cash: ($30 × 40 × 52) + ($45 × 2 × 52) = $62,400 + $4,680 = $67,080. Hours worked: ~2,160. Effective rate: $31.06/hour.
Offer B pays about $3,200 more cash for fewer hours — and its free health coverage adds thousands more in value. The $62,000 salary looked bigger on the offer letter; the hourly job wins on the spreadsheet.
Frequently asked questions
What is the quickest way to convert salary to hourly?
Divide the annual salary by 2,080 — the number of work hours in a year (40 hours times 52 weeks). A $60,000 salary is about $28.85/hour. To go the other way, multiply the hourly rate by 2,080: $25/hour is about $52,000/year.
Is salary or hourly better for overtime?
Hourly is generally better if overtime is common, because non-exempt hourly workers must be paid 1.5x their rate for hours over 40 per week. Many salaried workers are exempt and earn nothing extra for long weeks — so a $70,000 salaried job at 55 hours/week can pay less per hour than a $22/hour job with regular overtime.
Do salaried workers get paid holidays?
Salaried exempt employees typically receive their full salary even on holiday weeks, and PTO days are paid at the same rate. Hourly workers often get paid only for hours worked, though many employers do offer paid holidays and PTO to hourly staff — the specifics matter a lot when comparing offers.
How do I value benefits when comparing offers?
Add the employer's cost of benefits to your pay. Employer-paid health insurance can be worth $7,000–$20,000 a year, a 401(k) match is often 3–6% of salary, and two extra weeks of PTO is worth about 4% of annual pay. A lower salary with rich benefits can beat a higher salary with none.