How hourly pay converts to salary
Multiply your hourly rate by the hours you work each week to get your weekly pay. Multiply that by the weeks you work per year for your annual total. Divide annual by 12 for the monthly equivalent.
Worked example. At $25 per hour, working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, your weekly pay is $1,000, your annual salary is $52,000, and your monthly equivalent is about $4,333.
Adjusting for your actual schedule
The default uses 40 hours/week and 52 weeks/year — a standard full-time schedule. If you take unpaid leave, work part-time, or bill by the hour with gaps between contracts, adjust the weeks figure down. A contractor who bills for 46 weeks a year instead of 52 earns notably less than the headline annual figure suggests.
From salary back to hourly
Divide your annual salary by weeks per year, then by hours per week. A $52,000 salary at 40 hours/week over 52 weeks works out to exactly $25/hour.