2026 has 261 weekdays, which is 2,088 work hours at 8 hours a day. If you get the 11 US federal holidays off, that drops to 250 working days and exactly 2,000 hours.
Below are the month-by-month numbers, the 2026 holiday dates, and what they mean for hourly pay and salary.
2026 work hours at a glance
| Days | Hours (8 h/day) | |
| All weekdays (Mon–Fri) | 261 | 2,088 |
| After 11 US federal holidays | 250 | 2,000 |
| Standard full-time year used by payroll (52 × 40) | — | 2,080 |
Work hours by month in 2026
This table assumes an 8-hour day and the 11 US federal holidays off. If your employer gives different holidays, adjust the holiday column.
| Month | Weekdays | Federal holidays | Working days | Work hours |
| January | 22 | 2 | 20 | 160 |
| February | 20 | 1 | 19 | 152 |
| March | 22 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| April | 22 | 0 | 22 | 176 |
| May | 21 | 1 | 20 | 160 |
| June | 22 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| July | 23 | 1 | 22 | 176 |
| August | 21 | 0 | 21 | 168 |
| September | 22 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| October | 22 | 1 | 21 | 168 |
| November | 21 | 2 | 19 | 152 |
| December | 23 | 1 | 22 | 176 |
| Total | 261 | 11 | 250 | 2,000 |
Work hours in October, November and December 2026
How many work hours are in October 2026?
168 hours. October 2026 has 22 weekdays; take off Columbus Day (Monday, October 12) and you get 21 working days × 8 hours. If your employer stays open on Columbus Day, as
many private employers do, it's 176 hours.
How many work hours are in November 2026?
152 hours. November 2026 has 21 weekdays and two federal holidays: Veterans Day (Wednesday, November 11) and Thanksgiving (Thursday, November 26), leaving 19 working days × 8 hours. If you work on Veterans Day, it's 160 hours; with no holidays off, 168.
How many work hours are in December 2026?
176 hours. December 2026 has 23 weekdays; Christmas Day falls on Friday, December 25, leaving 22 working days × 8 hours. Without the holiday it's 184 hours.
March, April, July and December are the longest months at 176 hours. February and November are the shortest at 152, because each loses days to holidays.
US federal holidays in 2026
All 11 federal holidays fall on weekdays in 2026. Independence Day (July 4) is a Saturday, so it's observed on Friday, July 3.
Private employers choose their own holiday schedule, and federal law doesn't require them to pay for holidays. According to the US Department of Labor, holiday pay is generally a matter of agreement between employer and employee. Check your own company's calendar.
Why payroll uses 2,080 hours, not 2,088
Most salary and hourly calculations use 2,080 hours a year: 52 weeks × 40 hours. It's a convenient standard, but the real number of weekdays changes from year to year.
2026 has 261 weekdays because it starts on a Thursday and isn't a leap year, so it has 53 Thursdays. 2025 and 2027 also have 261 weekdays.
Here's how the choice changes the hourly value of a $60,000 salary:
| Hours used | Hourly value of $60,000 |
| 2,080 (payroll standard) | $28.85 |
| 2,088 (all 2026 weekdays) | $28.74 |
| 2,000 (after 11 paid holidays) | $30.00 |
If your holidays are paid, your salary doesn't change. What changes is how much you earn for each hour you actually work. To compare offers or convert a rate, use the Hourly to Salary Calculator.
Part-time and other schedules
Multiply your weekly hours by 52 to get a yearly total:
| Hours per week | Hours per year (× 52) |
| 20 | 1,040 |
| 25 | 1,300 |
| 30 | 1,560 |
| 37.5 | 1,950 |
| 40 | 2,080 |
Because 2026 has one extra weekday, a Monday-to-Friday schedule gets one more working day than the 52-week figure. For a 40-hour week, that's 2,088 hours instead of 2,080.
Count working days for any dates
In Excel or Google Sheets, NETWORKDAYS counts the weekdays between two dates:
• =NETWORKDAYS(DATE(2026,1,1), DATE(2026,12,31)) returns 261
• Add a range with your holiday dates as the third argument and it returns 250
• Multiply by your daily hours, for example × 8, to get work hours
Or skip the formula: the free Business Days Calculator counts working days between any two dates and lets you add your own holidays. If you track hours for payroll, our guide How to Calculate Hours Worked for Payroll shows how to turn clock times into decimal hours.
This article uses US federal holidays and an 8-hour workday. Holiday schedules vary by employer, state and country.
Sources: US Office of Personnel Management, 2026 federal holidays · US Department of Labor, Holiday Pay · Microsoft Support, NETWORKDAYS function
