Work calendar · 6 min read

How many work days are in 2026?

2026 has 261 weekdays (Monday through Friday). After subtracting the 11 US federal holidays that fall on weekdays, working days drop to approximately 250 days. Here's the full month-by-month breakdown plus the holiday list for payroll and project planning.

The summary

Working days by month, 2026

MonthTotal daysWeekdaysFederal holidays (weekday)Working days
January31222 (New Year's, MLK)20
February28201 (Presidents' Day)19
March3122022
April3022022
May31211 (Memorial Day)20
June30221 (Juneteenth)21
July31231 (Independence Day, observed)22
August3121021
September30221 (Labor Day)21
October31221 (Columbus/Indigenous Peoples')21
November30212 (Veterans Day, Thanksgiving)19
December31231 (Christmas)22
Total36526111250

2026 US federal holidays

HolidayDateDay of week
New Year's DayJanuary 1, 2026Thursday
Martin Luther King Jr. DayJanuary 19, 2026Monday
Presidents' DayFebruary 16, 2026Monday
Memorial DayMay 25, 2026Monday
JuneteenthJune 19, 2026Friday
Independence DayJuly 4, 2026 (Saturday) — observed Friday July 3Saturday/Friday
Labor DaySeptember 7, 2026Monday
Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples' DayOctober 12, 2026Monday
Veterans DayNovember 11, 2026Wednesday
ThanksgivingNovember 26, 2026Thursday
Christmas DayDecember 25, 2026Friday

Working hours in 2026

Based on 250 working days:

If you take 2 weeks of PTO: 240 days × 8 = 1,920 hours.
If you take 3 weeks of PTO: 235 days × 8 = 1,880 hours.

Why these numbers matter for payroll

Salaried employees: paychecks per pay period

Hourly employees

For estimating annual income at a given hourly rate:

Comparing 2026 to other years

YearWeekdaysFederal holidays on weekdaysNet working days
2024 (leap year)26210252
202526111250
202626110–11250–251
202726110251
2028 (leap year)2609251

The variation is small — usually 250–252 working days per year — but it affects salaried employees' effective hourly rate (more working days = lower effective hourly).

State and local holidays

The 11 federal holidays don't include state-specific holidays (Patriots' Day in Massachusetts, Cesar Chavez Day in California, etc.) or religious holidays (Good Friday, Yom Kippur, Diwali). Many employers add 1–3 of these to their PTO calendar.

Use a calculator for exact dates

Our Working Days Calculator tells you exactly how many business days fall between any two dates, with optional US federal holiday exclusions. The Date ± Days tool finds dates X working days after a starting date — useful for project deadlines.


Published May 2026. Spot an error? Email contactus@calculatehours.net.

Tools mentioned

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