Work Hours in a Year

2026 in numbers

1. 2026 has 365 days. Without its 104 Saturdays and Sundays, that leaves 261 weekdays.
2. 11 U.S. federal holidays fall on weekdays, leaving 250 working days.
3. At 8 hours a day that’s 2,000 hours worked, or 2,088 paid hours if holidays are paid.
4. Take off 15 days of vacation and sick leave and it’s 1,880 hours.

Why it isn’t always 2,080 hours

work hours = (weekdays − holidays − days off) × hours per day

2,080 is 40 hours × 52 weeks, the figure payroll uses. But a year is 52 weeks plus one day (two in a leap year), so it has 260, 261 or 262 weekdays depending on where the weekends fall. Holidays only reduce the count when they land on a working day; one that falls at a weekend is moved to an observed weekday, so it still counts. Choose “Don’t subtract holidays” to see total paid hours instead.

The federal holidays are only required days off for federal employees. Most private employers give about six, so open Which holidays to untick the ones you work, or tap Typical private employer: in 2026, that adds 40 hours.

Work hours by year, month and schedule

For a Monday-to-Friday, 8-hour schedule in the U.S. “Hours incl. holidays” counts paid federal holidays, which is closer to what a salaried employee is paid for.

“Per year” uses 52 weeks. The holidays column takes out 11 days at that schedule’s average day.