How many working days are in a year?
2026 has 250 working days. So does 2027. The count is Monday through Friday, minus the 11 observed federal holidays. A paycheck does not use this number.
260 is the round number. 250 is this calendar.
People multiply 52 weeks by 5 and get 260 working days. That sketch ignores how the year actually falls. 2026 has 261 weekdays. 2027 has 261 as well. Take off the 11 observed federal holidays and both years have 250 working days. The figures at the top of this page are that count. The tables list the holidays that were removed.
January 1, 2026 is a Thursday, so it comes out of the weekday count. July 4, 2026 is a Saturday, so the observed holiday is Friday, July 3, and that Friday is the day removed. A holiday that lands on a weekend is removed once, on the observed weekday.
A federal holiday is not everyone’s day off
This list is the federal holiday set, including Columbus Day and Washington’s Birthday. Many private employers stay open on those two. An office that works both of them has 252 weekdays on the job in these years, before anyone’s vacation. State holidays are extra days off, and they are not removed here. Your own paid time off is not removed here either. Add those when you are planning a real calendar.
In 2027 the table marks Juneteenth, Independence Day, and Christmas on the observed weekday, because each of those holidays falls on a weekend. The count still removes 11 days.
Two different divisions of the same salary
Payroll does not divide a salary by working days. A biweekly paycheck is the annual salary divided by 26, on a short week and on a full one. A $60,000 salary pays $2,307.69 every two weeks. Dividing that same salary by 250 working days gives $240 a day. That daily figure is useful for a project or a vacation day. It is a misleading figure for the deposit.
Hourly workers feel a closed Friday directly, because the day’s wage is missing unless the employer pays the holiday. Salaried workers usually see the same paycheck. The salary take-home table answers the deposit question. The salary-to-hourly calculator answers the rate question. This page is only the calendar.
2026: 250 working days
261 weekdays, minus 11 observed federal holidays. Thursday, January 1.
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| 2026-01-01 | New Year’s Day |
| 2026-01-19 | Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| 2026-02-16 | Washington’s Birthday |
| 2026-05-25 | Memorial Day |
| 2026-06-19 | Juneteenth |
| 2026-07-03 | Independence Day (observed) |
| 2026-09-07 | Labor Day |
| 2026-10-12 | Columbus Day |
| 2026-11-11 | Veterans Day |
| 2026-11-26 | Thanksgiving Day |
| 2026-12-25 | Christmas Day |
2027: 250 working days
261 weekdays, minus 11 observed federal holidays. Weekend holidays are listed on the observed weekday.
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| 2027-01-01 | New Year’s Day |
| 2027-01-18 | Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| 2027-02-15 | Washington’s Birthday |
| 2027-05-31 | Memorial Day |
| 2027-06-18 | Juneteenth (observed) |
| 2027-07-05 | Independence Day (observed) |
| 2027-09-06 | Labor Day |
| 2027-10-11 | Columbus Day |
| 2027-11-11 | Veterans Day |
| 2027-11-25 | Thanksgiving Day |
| 2027-12-24 | Christmas Day (observed) |
Keep reading
Questions
Is the answer 260?
Fifty-two weeks times five is 260. 2026 and 2027 each have 261 weekdays. After 11 observed federal holidays, the count on this page is 250.
Are weekends included?
No. Working days here are Monday through Friday, minus the observed federal holiday if it falls on a weekday.
What if a holiday is on Saturday?
The observed weekday is the one removed. In 2026, July 4 is a Saturday, so Friday, July 3, is the holiday in this count.
Does this include state holidays?
No. Only the federal list for 2026 and 2027 is counted.
How does this relate to salary?
A salary is not divided by working days to get a paycheck. Pay periods follow the payroll calendar. Working days are for planning hours.