Working days · 2026
261 weekdays across the year, 250 once federal holidays come out.
How Many Working Days Are in 2026?
2026 has 261 weekdays and 250 working days after U.S. federal holidays. Here is the full month-by-month breakdown, plus how to count business days for any range.
If you run payroll, plan projects, or manage paid time off, one number matters more than the 365 days on the calendar: how many of them are working days. For 2026 the answer is 261 weekdays, or 250 working days once you remove the U.S. federal holidays that fall on a weekday.
Below is the full breakdown, why the two numbers differ, and how to count business days for any date range you care about.
The short answer
- Total days in 2026: 365 (2026 is not a leap year)
- Weekend days: 104 (52 Saturdays + 52 Sundays)
- Weekdays (Mon–Fri): 261
- U.S. federal holidays on a weekday: 11
- Working days: 250
Your own number may differ. Companies observe different holidays, some give the day after Thanksgiving off, and other countries have entirely different public-holiday calendars. Treat 250 as the U.S. federal baseline and adjust from there.
Working days by month
This table counts every Monday through Friday in each month, then subtracts the federal holidays that land on a weekday.
| Month | Weekdays | Federal holidays | Working days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 22 | New Year’s Day, MLK Day | 20 |
| February | 20 | Washington’s Birthday | 19 |
| March | 22 | — | 22 |
| April | 22 | — | 22 |
| May | 21 | Memorial Day | 20 |
| June | 22 | Juneteenth | 21 |
| July | 23 | Independence Day (observed Jul 3) | 22 |
| August | 21 | — | 21 |
| September | 22 | Labor Day | 21 |
| October | 22 | Columbus Day | 21 |
| November | 21 | Veterans Day, Thanksgiving | 19 |
| December | 23 | Christmas Day | 22 |
| Total | 261 | 11 | 250 |
By quarter
- Q1 (Jan–Mar): 61 working days
- Q2 (Apr–Jun): 63 working days
- Q3 (Jul–Sep): 64 working days
- Q4 (Oct–Dec): 62 working days
Why 261 weekdays and not 260?
A common year has 365 days. Divide by 7 and you get 52 weeks plus one extra day. That leftover day takes the weekday of January 1. In 2026, January 1 is a Thursday, so 2026 has 53 Thursdays and 52 of every other weekday — giving 261 weekdays instead of the flat 260 you would get in a “perfect” 364-day year.
In a leap year the leftover is two days, which can push the weekday count to 262. This is exactly why you cannot assume “about 260” and move on: the real number shifts by one or two every year depending on which weekday January 1 lands on and whether it is a leap year.
The 2026 U.S. federal holidays
| Holiday | Date | Weekday |
|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | Jan 1 | Thursday |
| Martin Luther King Jr. Day | Jan 19 | Monday |
| Washington’s Birthday | Feb 16 | Monday |
| Memorial Day | May 25 | Monday |
| Juneteenth | Jun 19 | Friday |
| Independence Day | Jul 4 (Sat) | observed Fri, Jul 3 |
| Labor Day | Sep 7 | Monday |
| Columbus Day | Oct 12 | Monday |
| Veterans Day | Nov 11 | Wednesday |
| Thanksgiving Day | Nov 26 | Thursday |
| Christmas Day | Dec 25 | Friday |
Independence Day falls on a Saturday in 2026, so the federal government observes it on Friday, July 3. That is why July still loses one working day even though July 4 itself is a weekend.
Counting business days for any range
The whole-year total is useful for planning, but most real questions are narrower: How many business days until the project deadline? How many working days of notice is that? How long is a “10 business day” refund window in real dates?
For those, count the range directly rather than pro-rating the annual figure:
- Count every day from the start date to the end date.
- Subtract Saturdays and Sundays.
- Subtract any holidays your organization observes that fall on a weekday.
Our Business Days Between Dates calculator does the first two steps automatically — pick a start and end date and it excludes weekends for you. Because public holidays vary by country, region, and employer, it does not subtract them automatically; use the list above to adjust for the U.S. federal calendar, or your own company’s holiday schedule.
Key takeaways
- 2026 has 261 weekdays and 250 U.S. federal working days.
- The weekday count is 261, not 260, because January 1, 2026 is a Thursday.
- Q3 is the “longest” working quarter (64 days); Q1 is the shortest (61 days).
- Always count a specific range for deadlines and notice periods instead of dividing the annual total.