How many working days are in a year?

2026 has 261 weekdays. Subtract the 11 US federal holidays and you get 250 working days, or 240 once two weeks of vacation come off. Most years have 260 to 262 weekdays; the count depends only on which day 1 January falls and whether it is a leap year.

Working days by year

Year	Weekdays	Minus 11 holidays	Minus 10 vacation days	Work hours (8h)
2025	261	250	240	2,088
2026	261	250	240	2,088
2027	261	250	240	2,088
2028 (leap)	260	249	239	2,080

Weekdays = Monday to Friday. Federal holidays that fall on a weekend are observed on the nearest weekday, so 11 always come off.

Why 2,080 hours is the payroll standard

Salary and hourly conversions use 52 weeks × 40 hours = 2,080 hours, which treats holidays and vacation as paid time. If your time off is unpaid, use the working-day count instead: 240 days × 8 hours = 1,920 hours. On $25 an hour that is the difference between $52,000 and $48,000 a year. See the hourly to salary tables.

Frequently asked questions

How many working days are in 2026?

2026 has 261 weekdays (Monday to Friday). Take off the 11 federal holidays and there are 250 working days. With two weeks of paid vacation that becomes 240.

How many business days are in a year?

Either 260, 261 or 262 depending on which weekday 1 January falls on and whether it is a leap year. A 365-day year is 52 weeks plus one day, so it has 260 weekdays plus one extra if that day is a weekday. A leap year has two extra days.

How many working hours are in a year?

261 weekdays × 8 hours = 2,088 hours. Payroll and salary calculations usually round to 2,080 (52 weeks × 40 hours), which is the figure used for hourly-to-salary conversions.

Are federal holidays paid?

Only if your employer chooses to pay them. Federal law does not require private employers to give paid holidays, though most salaried jobs include the major ones. Federal employees get all 11.

How many weeks are in a work year?

52 weeks and one day (two in a leap year). Employers commonly quote 52 paid weeks, or 50 if they exclude a standard two-week vacation.

The 2,080-hour year is the basis of every salary-to-hourly conversion on this site. See hourly to salary, or everything that comes out of a paycheck once the hours become money.