How Many Work Days Are in a Year? 2025, 2026 and 2027 (US)

Short answer: A year has 260 or 261 weekdays (Monday to Friday), depending on which day it starts. 2025, 2026 and 2027 each have 261 weekdays. After the US federal holidays that fall on weekdays, there are 250 working days in 2025, 250 in 2026 and 249 in 2027. A full-time employee at 40 hours a week is usually counted at 2,080 hours a year.

Calendar showing working days per year — Weekdays and working days per year, US federal holidays removed.

Working days by year

Year	Weekdays	Federal holidays on weekdays	Working days	Hours (8h/day)
2025	261	11	250	2,000
2026	261	11	250	2,000
2027	261	12	249	1,992

Why 12 in 2027: Juneteenth (Saturday) is observed Friday, June 18; Independence Day (Sunday) is observed Monday, July 5; Christmas (Saturday) is observed Friday, December 24; and New Year’s Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, so it is observed on Friday, December 31, 2027. That puts two New Year’s observances in 2027. See work days in 2026 by month and US federal holidays 2026.

How to count work days

Count the weekdays: 52 full weeks give 260, plus 1 or 2 extra days depending on the year.
Subtract the holidays your company actually closes for. Private employers do not have to observe all federal holidays.
Subtract PTO for each employee if you need days actually worked.

Between two dates, use the business days calculator.

2,080 hours: the payroll standard

Payroll and HR usually treat a full-time year as 52 weeks × 40 hours = 2,080 hours, regardless of the calendar. To turn an annual salary into an hourly rate, divide by 2,080. Paid holidays and PTO are part of those 2,080 hours.

Shift teams count differently

Plants, hospitals and retail stores run weekends and holidays, so they count scheduled shifts, not weekdays. See types of work schedules, and track real days worked with the EZTime time clock.

Frequently asked questions