Work Days in a Month Calculator
Count the working days and work hours in any month after weekends, US federal holidays, and your own time off.
Work days in September 2026
21
168 work hours at 8 hours per day
Calendar days
30
Weekend days
8
Weekdays
22
Holidays
1
Federal holidays in September 2026
- Labor DayMon, Sep 7
Setting monthly hour targets for your team? HiveDesk tracks the hours actually worked against them, automatically.
Track it automatically →How Many Work Days Are in a Month?
A typical month has 20 to 23 weekdays. After US federal holidays, most months land between 19 and 22 working days, and the average across a year is about 21. In 2026 the range is 19 to 22: February and November have 19, while March, April, July, and December have 22.
September 2026, for example, has 30 calendar days and 8 weekend days, leaving 22 weekdays. Labor Day on Monday, September 7 removes one, so the month has 21 working days, or 168 hours at 8 hours a day.
The calculator above does this for any month from 2024 to 2030, lists the holidays it removed, and lets you subtract your own PTO. For a full-year view, see the work days in a year calculator.
Work Days in Each Month of 2026
Weekdays are Monday through Friday. Work days subtract the federal holidays observed on a weekday. Work hours assume an 8-hour day.
| Month | Calendar days | Weekend days | Weekdays | Federal holidays | Work days | Work hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | 9 | 22 | New Year's Day (Thu Jan 1), MLK Day (Mon Jan 19) | 20 | 160 |
| February | 28 | 8 | 20 | Presidents' Day (Mon Feb 16) | 19 | 152 |
| March | 31 | 9 | 22 | None | 22 | 176 |
| April | 30 | 8 | 22 | None | 22 | 176 |
| May | 31 | 10 | 21 | Memorial Day (Mon May 25) | 20 | 160 |
| June | 30 | 8 | 22 | Juneteenth (Fri Jun 19) | 21 | 168 |
| July | 31 | 8 | 23 | Independence Day (observed Fri Jul 3) | 22 | 176 |
| August | 31 | 10 | 21 | None | 21 | 168 |
| September | 30 | 8 | 22 | Labor Day (Mon Sep 7) | 21 | 168 |
| October | 31 | 9 | 22 | Columbus Day (Mon Oct 12) | 21 | 168 |
| November | 30 | 9 | 21 | Veterans Day (Wed Nov 11), Thanksgiving (Thu Nov 26) | 19 | 152 |
| December | 31 | 8 | 23 | Christmas Day (Fri Dec 25) | 22 | 176 |
| 2026 total | 365 | 104 | 261 | 11 holidays | 250 | 2,000 |
Independence Day 2026 falls on a Saturday and is observed on Friday, July 3. Dates for state holidays and observances are in our complete list of US holidays.
Work Days in Each Month of 2027
2027 has 261 weekdays but 249 working days, because New Year's Day 2028 falls on a Saturday and its federal observance moves back to Friday, December 31, 2027.
| Month | Calendar days | Weekend days | Weekdays | Federal holidays | Work days | Work hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | 10 | 21 | New Year's Day (Fri Jan 1), MLK Day (Mon Jan 18) | 19 | 152 |
| February | 28 | 8 | 20 | Presidents' Day (Mon Feb 15) | 19 | 152 |
| March | 31 | 8 | 23 | None | 23 | 184 |
| April | 30 | 8 | 22 | None | 22 | 176 |
| May | 31 | 10 | 21 | Memorial Day (Mon May 31) | 20 | 160 |
| June | 30 | 8 | 22 | Juneteenth (Fri Jun 18) | 21 | 168 |
| July | 31 | 9 | 22 | Independence Day (observed Mon Jul 5) | 21 | 168 |
| August | 31 | 9 | 22 | None | 22 | 176 |
| September | 30 | 8 | 22 | Labor Day (Mon Sep 6) | 21 | 168 |
| October | 31 | 10 | 21 | Columbus Day (Mon Oct 11) | 20 | 160 |
| November | 30 | 8 | 22 | Veterans Day (Thu Nov 11), Thanksgiving (Thu Nov 25) | 20 | 160 |
| December | 31 | 8 | 23 | Christmas Day (observed Fri Dec 24), New Year's Day 2028 (observed Fri Dec 31) | 21 | 168 |
| 2027 total | 365 | 104 | 261 | 12 holiday dates | 249 | 1,992 |
How Many Working Days in a Month on Average?
The answer depends on whether you count holidays. A standard year has 260 or 261 weekdays, which works out to about 21.7 weekdays per month. Remove the 11 federal holidays and the year has roughly 250 working days, or about 20.8 per month. Payroll and finance teams usually round this to 21 or 22 depending on their holiday policy.
Weekdays per month
21.7
261 weekdays in 2026 divided by 12
Work days per month
20.8
250 work days in 2026 divided by 12
Work hours per month
173.3
40 hours a week times 52 weeks divided by 12
The month-to-month swing matters more than the average for hourly teams. An employee paid for actual hours earns about 14 percent less in a 19-day February than in a 22-day March, which is why many employers on a monthly or semi-monthly schedule pay salaried staff a flat amount and reserve daily counts for hourly payroll and capacity planning.
Business Days vs Working Days vs Weekdays in a Month
The three terms are often used interchangeably, but they answer slightly different questions. The tables above show weekdays and work days side by side so you can pick the right one.
| Term | What it counts | Typical month | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekdays | Every Monday through Friday, holidays included | 20 to 23 per month | Calendars, quick estimates, "business days" in casual speech |
| Business days | Weekdays minus public holidays | 19 to 23 per month | Banking, shipping, legal deadlines, contract notice periods |
| Working days | Business days minus the days a specific person or team is off | Varies by employee | Payroll, capacity planning, monthly targets |
| Work hours | Working days multiplied by hours per day | 152 to 184 at 8 hours | Hourly payroll, FTE math, monthly budgets |
Counting business days between two specific dates, such as a shipping window or a contract deadline, is a different calculation. Use the business days calculator for that.
How to Calculate Work Days in a Month
You can work it out by hand in under a minute with a calendar:
Count the calendar days
Months have 28, 29, 30, or 31 days. February has 29 only in a leap year (2028 is the next one).
Subtract the weekend days
Count the Saturdays and Sundays. A month has 8, 9, or 10 weekend days depending on which weekday it starts on. What is left is the weekday count, always 20 to 23.
Subtract holidays that land on a weekday
Use the observed date. When a fixed-date holiday such as July 4 falls on a Saturday it is observed the Friday before; on a Sunday it moves to the Monday after. Holidays on a weekend do not reduce the count further.
Subtract planned time off
For an individual employee, remove vacation, sick days, and any company closure days to get their actual working days for the month.
The formula
Work Days = Calendar Days - Weekend Days - Weekday Holidays - PTO
Example (November 2026): 30 calendar days - 9 weekend days - 2 holidays (Veterans Day and Thanksgiving) - 0 PTO = 19 working days, or 152 hours at 8 hours a day.
Work Hours in a Month
Multiply the working days by the hours in a standard day. At 8 hours, a 21-day month is 168 hours and a 22-day month is 176. Teams on 10-hour or 12-hour shifts work fewer days for the same hours, which is why the calculator lets you change the hours per day.
For salaried budgeting, the conventional monthly figure is 173.33 hours: 40 hours a week times 52 weeks, divided by 12. That number ignores holidays and month length, which is fine for a flat salary but overstates hours for an hourly employee in a short month. The full-year picture, including the 2,080-hour standard and how PTO changes it, is in how many work hours are in a year.
To turn a monthly hours figure into head count, the FTE calculator divides total hours by the hours one full-time employee works in the same period.
Why the Monthly Count Matters
Hourly payroll
An hourly employee on a monthly pay schedule earns 152 hours of pay in February 2026 and 176 in March. Knowing the count in advance avoids surprises in labor cost forecasts and in employee take-home pay.
Capacity planning
A contact center with 40 agents has 40 times 21 agent-days in a typical month. Multiply by productive hours per day, subtract shrinkage, and you have the capacity to set service-level targets against.
Monthly targets and quotas
A sales or ticket-handling quota that stays flat across a 19-day month and a 23-day month is 20 percent harder in the short one. Pro-rating targets by working days keeps them fair.
Project scheduling
A task estimated at 30 working days that starts on November 1, 2026 finishes in mid-December, not at the end of November, once holidays are counted.
Whatever the plan says, the hours actually worked are what payroll needs. Automatic time tracking records real clock-in and clock-out times so the month-end total is measured, not estimated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many working days are in a month?
Most months have 20 to 23 weekdays. After US federal holidays, the count falls to 19 to 23 working days. Across a whole year it averages out to about 20.8 working days per month (250 work days divided by 12) or 21.7 weekdays per month before holidays. Use the calculator above for an exact figure for any month.
How many business days are in a month?
A business day is a weekday that is not a public holiday, so the business-day count for a month equals the working-day count in the tables on this page: 19 to 23 in 2026 depending on the month. March, April, July and December 2026 have 22 business days, while February and November have 19.
How many work days are in September 2026?
September 2026 has 30 calendar days, 8 weekend days and 22 weekdays. Labor Day falls on Monday, September 7, so there are 21 working days, or 168 work hours at 8 hours a day.
What is the average number of work hours in a month?
At 40 hours a week the average is 173.33 hours per month, calculated as 40 hours times 52 weeks divided by 12. Counting actual working days at 8 hours each, 2026 ranges from 152 hours in February and November to 176 hours in March, April, July and December.
Do federal holidays count as work days?
Not for most employers. The 11 US federal holidays are non-working days for federal offices, banks and the majority of private businesses, so the tables on this page subtract them when the observed date falls on a weekday. If your company works through Columbus Day or Veterans Day, add those days back. Private employers are not required to observe federal holidays.
Which month has the most working days?
In 2026, March, April, July and December each have 22 working days after federal holidays. In 2027, March has 23, the most of any month in either year, because it has 23 weekdays and no holiday.
Which month has the fewest working days?
February is usually the shortest because it has only 28 days and Presidents’ Day. In 2026, February and November both have 19 working days, and January 2027 and February 2027 also have 19.
How do I calculate work days in a month with PTO?
Start with the weekdays in the month, subtract any federal holidays that fall on a weekday, then subtract the PTO or vacation days you plan to take. Enter your PTO days in the calculator above and it does the subtraction for you and converts the result to hours.
Why does December 2027 have two holidays?
Christmas Day 2027 falls on a Saturday, so it is observed on Friday, December 24. New Year’s Day 2028 falls on a Saturday as well, so its federal observance moves back to Friday, December 31, 2027. That leaves December 2027 with 21 working days instead of 23.
Related Calculators
Work Days in a Year
Weekdays, holidays, and work days for every year from 2024 to 2030.
Business Days Calculator
Count business days between two dates, or add business days to a date.
Weekends in a Year
Count the Saturdays and Sundays in any year.
Work Hours Calculator
Add up daily and weekly hours with breaks and overtime.
Time Card Calculator
Weekly or biweekly time card with overtime rules and pay.
Biweekly Pay Calculator
Convert a salary or hourly rate into a biweekly paycheck.
Also see: Three-paycheck months in 2026 and 2027
Track Every Working Day Automatically
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