Working Days Calculator: Workdays Between Dates and Prorated Pay
Count the actual working days between a start and an end date for a 5-day or 6-day work week, with time off and U.S. federal holidays taken out. You can also prorate a monthly salary for a partial month.
The end date is counted. Working days = the days left after removing weekends, federal holidays and the time off you used.
This uses calendar days. Employers may prorate by working days or by hours instead, so treat the result as a reference.
How to use
How this working days calculator works
This working days calculator counts the days someone actually works between two dates. Enter a start date and an end date, such as a first and last day on the job, choose a 5-day week (Monday to Friday) or a 6-day week (Monday to Saturday), and add any paid time off you used. The tool removes weekends and U.S. federal holidays and shows the working days, the total calendar days, the weekdays left after taking out days off, and the days left after holidays. A small calendar highlights working days, weekends and holidays so you can see exactly how the number was reached. The second tab, Prorated pay, turns a monthly salary into the amount owed for part of a month.
How working days are counted
The end date is counted, so a job that starts on Monday and ends on Friday of the same week covers five days. From there the calculator works in steps: calendar days, then days that fall on a work day for the chosen week type, then days that are not federal holidays, then minus the time off you enter. Take Monday, June 29, 2026 through Friday, July 10, 2026. That period has 12 calendar days and 10 weekdays. July 3 is the observed Independence Day holiday, which leaves 9 working days, and one day of paid time off brings it down to 8 working days. In a 6-day week the Saturday, July 4, would count as a work day, so the same period has 10 working days before time off. If you enter more time off than there are working days, the result is shown as 0 rather than a negative number.
Prorated pay for a partial month
When someone starts or leaves in the middle of a month, their pay for that month is often prorated. This calculator uses the calendar-day method: monthly salary divided by the number of days in that month, multiplied by the days worked, counting both the first and last day. For a $6,000 monthly salary and an employee who works September 10 through 30, the month has 30 days, so the daily rate is $200 and 21 days of work earn $4,200.00. Another common method divides the salary by the working days in the month and pays only for working days actually worked. September 2026 has 21 working days after Labor Day, and 15 of them fall between September 10 and 30, so that method gives $6,000 ÷ 21 × 15 = $4,285.71. Neither is automatically right: the method depends on your payroll policy, any employment agreement and state rules, so use this tool to compare options and ask payroll which one applies.
Which holidays are excluded?
The calculator excludes the eleven U.S. federal holidays, using the day they are observed: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. A holiday that falls on a Saturday is observed on the Friday before, and one on a Sunday is observed on the Monday after. Private employers are not required to give federal holidays off, and many add days of their own, so adjust the time-off field for company holidays or floating days. Holiday data is included for 2024 through 2027; for other years only weekends are removed, and the page tells you so.
Typical working-day numbers
A full-time employee on a 5-day week works about 260 weekdays a year (52 weeks × 5 days), which equals 2,080 hours at 8 hours a day. After the 11 federal holidays, about 249 days remain, and after typical paid vacation and sick days the number of days actually worked is lower still. Months have between 20 and 23 weekdays. These figures help when you convert an annual salary into a daily rate (salary ÷ 260) or when you check a project schedule.
Final paychecks and state rules
There is no single national rule for how a final paycheck must be calculated or when it is due. Some states require payment on the last day of work, others by the next regular payday, and states differ on whether unused vacation must be paid out. For hourly workers, pay is simply hours worked. For salaried employees, proration follows the employer’s policy. This tool shows the arithmetic only; check your state labor department or payroll provider for the rules that apply to you.
Practical ways to use the count
- Notice periods. Two weeks’ notice is normally ten working days on a 5-day week. Enter the date you give notice and the last day you plan to work to confirm.
- Project planning. Count the working days between a kickoff and a launch, then subtract planned time off to see how much real capacity the team has.
- Contractor invoices. Multiply the working days by a daily rate for a quick estimate of a bill for a partial period.
- New hire onboarding. Check how many working days fall in a 30, 60 or 90-day plan.
Frequently asked questions
How do I count working days between two dates?
Enter the start and end dates and choose your work week. The calculator counts every date from the start through the end, removes weekends and federal holidays, and subtracts the time off you entered. The end date is included.
What is the difference between a 5-day and a 6-day week?
A 5-day week treats Saturday and Sunday as days off. A 6-day week treats only Sunday as a day off, so Saturdays count as working days. Some retail, healthcare and hospitality schedules use six days.
How are holidays handled if a holiday falls on a weekend?
The tool uses the observed date. A Saturday holiday moves to the Friday before and a Sunday holiday moves to the Monday after, as for federal employees. For example, July 4, 2026 is a Saturday, so the day off is Friday, July 3.
How does the prorated pay calculation work?
It divides the monthly salary by the number of calendar days in the month and multiplies by the days worked, counting both the first and last day. It is a quick estimate. Your employer might prorate by working days or by hours instead.
Does the calculator include company holidays or half days?
No. It excludes only weekends, U.S. federal holidays and the whole days of time off you type in. Add company holidays to the time-off field, and count a half day as zero or a full day as you prefer.
Can I use it to count business days for shipping or banking?
Yes, as an estimate. Banks follow the federal holiday calendar. Carriers and stock exchanges have their own schedules, so confirm with them for time-critical dates. The Date Calculator also has a business day mode that starts from a date and moves forward N business days.
Is my data stored?
No. All calculations run in your browser and nothing you enter is sent to a server.
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Worth checking after you count working days
Once you know the working days between two dates, you can also look at daily hours, time off and date differences.