How many hours is a 9 to 5? Common shifts explained

"9 to 5" is shorthand for a full-time day, but the real number of worked hours depends entirely on the lunch break. From clock in to clock out, 9 to 5 spans eight hours. Once you subtract an unpaid meal break, the hours you actually get paid for drop to 7.5 or even 7. That gap matters when you are checking a paycheck, filling in a timesheet, or comparing one shift to another. This guide breaks down what 9 to 5 really means, gives you the same math for other popular shifts like 9 to 6 and 8 to 5, and shows you how to count the hours between any two times, including shifts that run past midnight.

9 to 5 is 8 gross hours, or 7.5 or 7 after lunch

Start with the raw span. From 9:00 in the morning to 5:00 in the afternoon is eight hours on the clock. That is the gross figure, the time between arriving and leaving with nothing taken out. Whether you are paid for all eight depends on your break.

Most employers treat lunch as unpaid, so you subtract it from the gross span to get the hours you are actually paid for:

• 8 hours gross, with no unpaid break, is a paid 8.
• A 30-minute unpaid lunch leaves 8 - 0.5 = 7.5 paid hours.
• A full one-hour unpaid lunch leaves 8 - 1 = 7 paid hours.

Here is the worked version for a standard 9 to 5 with a half-hour lunch: 5:00 PM - 9:00 AM = 8 hours gross, then 8 - 0.5 = 7.5 paid hours. Over a five-day week that is 37.5 paid hours, not 40, which is why many "9 to 5" jobs quietly land below a true 40-hour week. If your break is paid, or you eat at your desk and stay on the clock, you keep the full eight.

Common shifts: gross hours and net after lunch

The table below lists popular shift patterns with two numbers each: the gross span from start to finish, and the net paid hours after a typical 30-minute unpaid lunch. Short shifts under about six hours often carry no required meal break, so their net matches their gross.

Notice that 9 to 6 and 8 to 5 both come to nine gross hours, which is the usual way an employer builds a true 40-hour week: nine on the clock minus a one-hour unpaid lunch leaves eight paid hours, times five days. Meanwhile 9 to 5, 8 to 4, and 10 to 6 are all identical eight-hour spans, just shifted along the day. Pick the start time that suits you and the total is the same.

How to count hours between any two times

The reliable method is to convert both times to a 24-hour clock, then subtract the start from the end. Anything in the afternoon gets 12 added to it, so 5:00 PM becomes 17:00 and 2:30 PM becomes 14:30.

For a plain 9 to 5: 17:00 - 9:00 = 8 hours. When minutes are involved, subtract the hours and the minutes separately. Say you work 9:15 AM to 5:45 PM. That is 17:45 - 9:15 = 8 hours 30 minutes. If the end minutes are smaller than the start minutes, borrow one hour and add 60 minutes before subtracting. For 9:50 AM to 5:20 PM, rewrite 17:20 as 16 hours and 80 minutes, then 16:80 - 9:50 = 7 hours 30 minutes.

Converting minutes to decimal for payroll

Timesheets and payroll systems usually want decimal hours, not hours and minutes. A shift of 7 hours 30 minutes is not 7.30 in decimal, it is 7.5. To convert, divide the minutes by 60:

decimal hours = whole hours + (minutes ÷ 60)

So 7 hours 30 minutes is 7 + 30 ÷ 60 = 7.5. The quarter marks are worth memorizing because they come up constantly: 15 minutes is 0.25, 30 minutes is 0.5, and 45 minutes is 0.75. Odd values still follow the rule, so 20 minutes is 20 ÷ 60 = 0.33 and 10 minutes is about 0.17. Multiply the decimal hours by your hourly rate and you have the gross pay for that shift.

Hours across midnight

Overnight shifts break the simple subtraction because the end time looks smaller than the start time. The fix is to add 24 hours to the finish before subtracting. Take a shift from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM. In 24-hour terms the start is 21:00 and the end is 05:00. Since the end is earlier on the clock, add 24: 5 + 24 = 29, then 29 - 21 = 8 hours.

The same trick handles a 10:00 PM to 6:00 AM shift: (6 + 24) - 22 = 8 hours. If minutes are in play, apply the borrow method from earlier after adding the 24. Whenever the finish time is earlier in the day than the start, you have crossed midnight and this adjustment keeps the count correct.

Frequently asked questions

How many hours is 9 to 5?

From 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM is 8 hours on the clock. With a 30-minute unpaid lunch you are paid for 7.5 hours, and with a full one-hour unpaid lunch you are paid for 7. If the break is paid, all 8 hours count.

How many hours is 9 to 6?

9:00 AM to 6:00 PM is 9 gross hours. Subtract a one-hour unpaid lunch and you get a paid 8-hour day, which is the standard way employers build a 40-hour week across five shifts.

How many hours is 8 to 5?

8:00 AM to 5:00 PM is 9 hours from start to finish. After a one-hour unpaid lunch that is 8 paid hours, and after a 30-minute lunch it is 8.5.

How do I calculate the hours between two times?

Convert both times to a 24-hour clock, then subtract the start from the end. Handle the minutes separately, borrowing 60 minutes from the hours column if the finishing minutes are smaller. For overnight shifts, add 24 to the end time first so the result stays positive.