How many business days are in a year?

A US year has between 249 and 251 business days in the years 2024 to 2030, once weekends and federal holidays are taken out. In 2026 the number is 250.

Start with the weekdays

A common year has 365 days: 52 full weeks plus one extra day. A leap year has 366 days, so it has two extra days. Each full week has five weekdays, which gives 260. The extra day or days add another weekday only when they fall between Monday and Friday, so a year has 260, 261 or 262 weekdays depending on the day it starts.

For example, 2026 starts on a Thursday and has 261 weekdays. 2028 is a leap year that starts on a Saturday, so both extra days are weekend days and it has only 260.

Then take out federal holidays

There are 11 federal holidays. When one falls on a weekend, the day off moves to the Friday before or the Monday after, so it still removes a weekday. That is why most years lose exactly 11 business days to holidays.

The exception is New Year's Day on a Saturday. Its day off moves back to December 31 of the year before. In 2028, New Year's Day falls on a Saturday, so the day off is Friday, December 31, 2027. That gives 2027 12 holiday days off and 2028 only 10.

Business days by year, 2024 to 2030

These counts use the federal holiday calendar. Your own employer may give fewer or more days off, and state holidays are not included. Holidays follow today's federal rules for every year, except Juneteenth, which counts only from 2021, when it became a federal holiday.

Counting business days for a deadline

A yearly total is useful for planning, but most questions are about a shorter span, such as 30 business days from a given date. The Business Days Calculator counts forward or backward and lists every holiday it skips, and Days Between Dates counts the business days between any two dates.