This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more information.
Are you considering a job that pays $15 an hour but wondering if you can really live on that? Maybe you want to know how much is $15 an hour per year? How much is $15 an hour after taxes?
We’ve put all that information together for you below! Read this guide on making $15 an hour to help you know exactly what to expect.
Spoiler alert: If you just want the answer to what the salary for $15 an hour is, here it is:
Before taxes and other deductions, $15 an hour is $31,200 per year.
But, read on for more information on what making $15 per hour entails.
Table of Contents:
- 15 Dollars an Hour is How Much a Year?
- How Much will you Make Each Week at $15 an Hour?
- What is $15 Per Hour a Month?
- How Much is $15 an Hour Per Day?
- What is $15 An Hour After Taxes?
- What If You Are Given Two Weeks Of Paid Vacation?
- How Many Working Days Are There In 2022?
- How Much Rent Can I Afford on $15 an Hour?
- What Kind of Job Pays $15/Hour?
- Is $15 an Hour Good Pay?
- Is it Possible to Make it on $15 an Hour?
- How to Live on $15 an Hour
- When $15 an Hour Is Not Enough
- Final Thoughts on Earning $15 Per Hour
How Much is $15 an Hour a Year?
You might be wondering how much does 15 dollars an hour make per year.
Before taxes and other deductions, $15 an hour equals $31,200 per year. This is calculated based on a 40-hour workweek.
Forty hours per week multiplied by 52 weeks equals 2,080 hours per year. That amount is just approximate due to paid and unpaid time off, overtime, and other payroll deductions.
Multiplying 2,080 hours per year x $15 = $31,200 per year! So you can expect to make a salary of around $31,000 a year if you are making $15 per hour working.
The current federal minimum wage in the United States is $7.25, and it hasn’t been raised since 2009.
However, recently, politicians have discussed raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour. Most states have their own minimum wage rules, with some requiring far more than $7.25 per hour.
No state’s minimum wage is currently at or over $15/hour, although Washington, D.C., has a $15 minimum wage.
Although, no plan for a federal minimum wage increase to $15.00 an hour has garnered any traction, it remains a contentious and much talked about issue.
Whether you make $15 an hour now, are looking for a job that pays $15 dollars an hour, or are concerned about minimum wage increases, you may have a few questions such about the reality of living on $15 an hour.
Want to know how much $18 an hour is a year? Click here.
How Much Is $15 an hour Weekly?
As we already mentioned, before taxes and other deductions, the conversion of $15 hourly to salary is $31,200 per year.
This is assuming that you work a 40-hour workweek. You’d work 2,080 hours in a year if you worked 52 weeks.
When we perform some more math, we can see the daily, weekly and monthly income you would have from making $15 per hour.
You will make $600 per week ($15 x 40 hours each week) if your job pays $15 an hour. After taxes, your average take home pay would be $530 a week.
More reading: What is the 30/30/30/10 Budgeting Rule?
How Much is $15 an hour monthly?
If you have a job earning $15 hourly, you will make a monthly income of $2,600.
No matter what you make an hour, you can estimate your monthly pay by diving the yearly pay by 12.
So if you are making 15 an hour, your monthly pay will be $2,121.
How Much is $15 an hour monthly After Taxes?
After taxes, $15 an hour would be about $2,121 each month.
How Much Is $15 an Hour a Day?
You income will be $120 a day if you earn $15 hourly. That is based on an 8 hour day. If you are eligible for overtime, then you might make more each day than $120.
For a 10 hour day of working at $15 each hour, you could make $150, or even more if overtime pays time and a half.
Want to know how much $20 an hour is? Click here.
How Much is $15 an Hour Biweekly?
If you make 15 dollars an hour, then you will make $1,200 biweekly before taxes. After taxes, it equals about $1,060.
How Much is $15 an Hour for working 40 hours a week?
Really this is the same answer as what 15 dollars an hour equates to as a full-time salary. If you are working 40 hours each week, then in one year you will make $31,200 before taxes.
How Much is $15 an Hour After Taxes?
You are probably wondering how much $15 an hour is annually after taxes.
On average, the total of federal, state, social security and medicare that will come out of your pay is 18.4%. That means your annual take home pay (for earning $15 per hour) will be $25,450.
However, the full amount you will take home from $15 an hour wages after taxes varies depending on what state you live in.
Workers in the United States everywhere pay federal income taxes and social security, but state and municipal income tax rates differ significantly.
In New York, $15 an hour could only get you roughly $11.80 take home pay. In Texas, if you earn $15 per hour, your take-home income is roughly $12.50 per hour.
After taxes, the $31,200 yearly income for a full-time 15 dollar an hour employee looks different. After taxes, you might make around $25,000, or a little more than $2000 each month.
It would be easier to live on $15 dollars an hour if you were in a state with a low cost of living and no state income tax.
There is no state income tax on earned income in Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
You may want to confirm with an easy-to-use paycheck calculator to get an idea of what your take-home income would be for different pay and states.
To determine whether $15 hourly is a livable yearly salary for you, compare your results to the median monthly rent or the average cost of living in your state.
How Much is $15 an Hour Annually Part TIme?
If you are working exactly half of full-time, so 20 hours a week instead of 40, then you will make $15,600 in a year.
What If You Are Given Two Weeks Of Paid Vacation?
Consider the scenario in which you are paid 15 dollars per hour and receive an additional two weeks of paid vacation.
If you work all year and don’t take any vacations, you’ll get the same outcome. We assumed two weeks of unpaid vacation in the previous instance, so your total year was 50 weeks.
However, if you get paid for two more weeks of vacation (at your usual hourly rate) or if you work for those two weeks, your total year will now be 52 weeks.
If you work 40 hours a week, you’ll have 2,080 hours in a year. Your annual compensation would be around $31,200 if you worked 15 hours each week and get two weeks of paid vacation.
How Many Working Days Are There In 2022?
You may count the exact number of working days this year to be even more precise with the salary calculations for $15 hourly pay.
The year 2022 begins on a Saturday (January 1, 2022) and concludes on a Saturday (December 31, 2022). The year has a total of 365 days, including weekdays and weekends. There are 105 weekend days and 260 weekdays in a year.
Hence, if you worked a regular 8-hour day every weekday and didn’t work any overtime on weekends, you would have worked 2,080 hours in 2022. Then you can convert your hourly wage of $15 to an annual salary of around $31,200.
Remember that most employers provide time off for various holidays, so this should be factored into the equation.
You may be paid $31,200 per year if your firm decides to move you from hourly pay to salary, but you wouldn’t have to work 2,080 hours because some days would be holidays.
So, while your annual income wouldn’t necessarily change, the number of hours you worked over the year may be slightly reduced.
How Much Rent Can I Afford on $15 an Hour?
There is a calculation to determine the standard rent you should be paying based on your salary. Just divide the annual before-tax income by 40.
Using that math, since $15 an hour is $31,200 annually before taxes, $31,200 divided by 40 is $780.
So the rent you can afford on $15 an hour is $780 a month. Depending on the city you live on, it may be challenging to find this. But a roommate situation can certainly make it easier.
Can you BUy a House Making $15 an Hour?
Realistically, probably not. This would be because mortgage lender look at your debt-to-income ratio when determining if they can loan you money for a house.
With an income that low, it is unlikely that you could get approved for a house. But, you could consider saving up 20% down for a small rental property. When you buy a rental, the debt-to-income ratio is offset some by the rent you can show a house will bring in.
So it is not impossible to buy a house on this income!
What Kind of Job Pays $15 an Hour?
All employees at Costco, Target, and Amazon are paid at least 15 dollars an hour.
Walmart pays all warehouse employees at least $15 per hour, but the minimum wage for other positions is $11.
The average hourly compensation at Kroger is $15, but pay varies by region and job description, so many hourly workers earn less.
Other jobs that pay at least $15 hourly include Teachers, Warehouse Workers, Leasing Agent, Recreation Programs Specialists, Library Specialists, and Customer Service Representatives.
You can check out a lot of data on jobs and pay on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And here is a list from Indeed of some jobs that pay at least $15 per hour.
Is $15 an Hour Good Pay?
Although $15 an hour is not considered decent pay, it is more than the minimum wage of $7.25.
40 hours of making $15 each hour equals $600 a week, significantly less than the $989 median weekly wages of full-time workers in the United States.
Depending on your needs and financial position, $15 per hour can be a dependable salary. To make ends meet, you’d still need to budget and spend money prudently.
Can you Live off $15 an Hour?
Can you get by when you are making $15 an hour pay? Maybe, maybe not.
You can make ends meet at $15 an hour, but it may be challenging depending on your location’s cost of living, your lifestyle, and your present personal and financial situations.
15 dollars an hour may work for an individual, but families may not be able to make ends meet unless they have another source of income. Even as a single person, getting by on 15 an hour may not. be possible.
It will also be influenced by where you live and how you manage your finances. The cost of living in some cities is a lot more than others.
If you’re a single person, living on $15 an hour requires being frugal and thrifty, planning your finances, and keeping a strict budget. Plus, you should still be trying to save money each month.
You may need to have an extra job or side hustle to increase your income so you can make it more easily.
Try these 40 Cheapest Foods to Buy When You’re Broke if your budget is tight.
Tips To Live on $15 an Hour
Financial freedom is unlikely to happen, unless you live within your means, whether you make $15 an hour or $150 an hour.
Insufficient pay isn’t always the issue. Money issues are caused by a lack of planning and spending money extravagantly.
Here are some tips to help you make ends meet on $15 an hour:
Create a Budget:
Start monitoring your expenditures, choosing a budget strategy, and creating your first budget if you haven’t already. Regardless of your yearly pay, creating and keeping to a budget is one of the most effective strategies to improve your financial status.
Your first step is to download a printable budget template.
Avoid Getting Into Debt:
Generally, carrying credit card balances and just making minimal payments can cost hundreds of dollars in interest. Make every effort to pay off your debt as soon as possible and avoid more debt.
Spend Prudently:
Housing and food are likely to consume a large portion of your salary. If at all possible, find methods to save money on rent and create a food budget that you can keep to.
Save Judiciously:
Saving money is crucial, and even on a low salary, you can save money if you make it a priority.
Don’t get caught up with the numbers. Saving something is preferable to saving nothing. Establish the practice of saving, then increase your savings when you have the opportunity.
When $15 an Hour Is not enough
If your hourly wage is $15, you may find it difficult to make ends meet. You need some tips on how to make more money if $!5 an hour isn’t enough a year to make ends meet.
You could also experience economic exhaustion if you’ve been living on a limited budget for an extended period. You can become tired of not having any fun money or disposable cash!
These are strong indicators that you should create strategies to boost your annual revenue.
The quickest approach to boost your income is to get a raise. However, this may not be attainable.
You can also look for a second job to supplement your income. Consider a low-cost side hustle or gig economy job. Here are a few ways to make some extra cash:
- Respondent will pay you money to participate in interviews with companies looking for consumer research. I’ve made as much as $!00 an hour for this.
- You can earn a little extra taking surveys and watching videos with Swagbucks
- FlexJobs is. a site where you can look for extra part time jobs
- Look for freelance opportunities on Upwork
There are many ways you can earn extra each day.
Or, you can opt for finding a job that pays even more like $30 an hour.
Final Thoughts on Earning $15 Per Hour
Now that you have some idea of what making $15 an hour looks like after taxes each day, week and month, you can understand if it will work for you.
If you are single and living in a more affordable city, you can possibly live off of $15 each hour pay. However, with inflation on the rise and a financial future you need to build for yourself, it may be less than ideal.
And, if you have a family to support it most likely won’t be enough. But, you can live frugally and find ways to make extra money to make it work!
Next Smart Money Posts
How to Stop Overspending Money
How to Save Money for a Downpayment
10 Simple Ways to Save Money Fast
7 Tips for Guilt Free Shopping
21 Free Printable Budget Templates
How Much is $18 an Hour Per Year?
Here are my favorite budgeting and saving apps:
Rakuten for cash back on shopping. Use this link to make a $30 welcome bonus.
iBotta for special offers and cash back on groceries.
Acorns which takes your spare change from purchases and invests it for you to help you make even more money.
Personal Capital for money management. Get a money dashboard, free analysis and personalized wealth advice.