How Many Work Days Are in a Year?

A normal year has 365 days and 52 weeks plus one day, which gives 261 weekdays (Monday to Friday) in 2026 and 261 in 2027. Counting out the U.S. federal holidays, that is 250 work days in 2026 and 249 in 2027. If your employer pays for holidays you can still call it about 260 paid days.

2026 has 261 weekdays and 11 federal holidays that land on a weekday, so 250 work days, or 2,000 hours at 8 hours a day.

2027 has 261 weekdays and 12 observed federal holidays, so 249 work days (1,992 hours at 8 hours a day). 2027 has one more observed holiday than 2026 because New Year's Day 2028 falls on a Saturday, so the federal holiday is observed on Friday, December 31, 2027.

A full-time salary is usually figured on 2,080 paid hours (52 weeks × 40 hours), which includes paid holidays. Hours actually worked are lower: 250 work days × 8 = 2,000 in 2026, and 1,992 in 2027, before any vacation or sick leave.

Both, for different questions. 2,080 is paid hours (52 × 40) and is what payroll uses to turn an hourly rate into an annual salary. About 2,000 is hours worked once you take out roughly 10 paid holidays. Use 2,080 to convert pay, and use the work-day count here to plan project time or count billable days.

On average 20.8 work days in 2026 (250 ÷ 12). A single month ranges from about 19 to 23 depending on how the weekends and holidays fall; the month-by-month table above lists each one.

No. Federal law does not require private employers to give any paid holidays. The federal list is the common baseline, but many private employers observe fewer (often 6 to 10) and some use different observed dates, so check your own handbook. Using the federal calendar here is a standard, sourced reference point, not a rule for every workplace.

A leap year has 366 days, but the extra day only adds a work day when it lands on a weekday. 2028 is a leap year that starts on a Saturday, so it has 260 weekdays and 250 work days after 10 federal holidays.