How Many Monday-to-Friday Days Are There in a Year?
Most years contain 260 to 262 Monday-to-Friday days before holidays. Learn what controls the exact total and how to calculate it.
A year contains 260 to 262 Monday-to-Friday days before holidays. The exact number depends on whether the year has 365 or 366 days and which weekday the year begins on.
Start With 52 Complete Weeks
Every common year has 365 days:
365 = 52 × 7 + 1
The 52 complete weeks contribute exactly 260 weekdays and 104 weekend days. The one remaining day determines whether the weekday total is 260 or 261.
A leap year has two remaining days:
366 = 52 × 7 + 2
Those two consecutive weekdays can contribute zero, one, or two additional Monday-to-Friday days. The total can therefore be 260, 261, or 262.
Common-Year Results
If January 1 falls Monday through Friday, the extra day is a weekday and the year has 261 weekdays. If January 1 falls Saturday or Sunday, the year has 260.
Leap-Year Results
In a leap year, look at January 1 and January 2:
- If both are weekdays, there are 262 weekdays
- If one is a weekday and one is a weekend day, there are 261
- If they are Saturday and Sunday, there are 260
Holidays Change Workdays
Weekdays are not automatically working days. Public holidays, company shutdowns, vacation, and regional calendars reduce actual days worked. A country with ten weekday holidays might have roughly 250 to 252 standard workdays, but the exact result changes every year because some holidays fall on weekends.
Count an Actual Year
For a precise answer, count dates from January 1 through December 31 whose weekday is Monday through Friday, then remove observed holidays. Decide whether the range includes both boundary dates before calculating.
Individual Weekdays
Each named weekday occurs at least 52 times. One weekday occurs 53 times in a common year; two consecutive weekdays occur 53 times in a leap year. This is why a year can contain 53 Mondays without containing 53 complete Monday-to-Friday workweeks.
Bottom Line
Use 260 to 262 for the number of Monday-to-Friday calendar days. For payroll, staffing, or project planning, calculate the specific year and subtract the applicable holiday calendar.