Most jobs pay hourly, meaning you have to do some math to find your annual salary.
Luckily, this isn’t quite as difficult as it sounds. We take you through the details of determining what earning $30 an hour means for your weekly and annual income.
We will also examine whether you can live on a salary of $30 an hour and some fantastic jobs that pay $30/hour, even if you don’t have a degree.
30 Dollars An Hour Is How Much In A Year?
Based on the average number of working days in a year and a 40 hours work week, $30 an hour translated into a salary of $62,400 per year before any tax deductions.
The math is pretty simple. You need to take the number of hours you work (on average 40 hours) and multiply that by the number of weeks in a year (which is usually 52).
This means you work a total average of 2,080 hours in a year. You need to multiply the annual work hours by $30.
This will give you a yearly salary of $62,400 before taxes.
The calculation is slightly different when you are working part-time. Let’s say you work 25 hours per week at a $30 an hour rate.
This means you will earn around $39,000 annually before any tax is deducted.
These calculations are just a very close estimate of the actual salary. The exact figure depends on how many hours you work in a year.
You can calculate your exact salary if you take the yearly figure of days and then deduct any number of days that you are not working, such as weekends and bank holidays.
Typically, if you factor in any bank holidays and weekends, you get closer to an annual salary of $60,000 based on $30 and a forty hours work week.
However, this can vary depending on how many work days there are in a year.
How Much Is $30 An Hour Monthly?
Based on our annual calculation, you can also break down your income into monthly increments.
If you work a 40-hour week for $30 an hour, you can expect to earn $5,200 per month before taxes.
Working part-time for 25 hours a week, then a $30 hourly rate will earn you $3,250 gross per month.
How Much Is 30 Dollars An Hour Per Week?
Sometimes it’s not just worth knowing what you earn in a year, but it’s easier to budget with a weekly salary.
With a similar calculation above based on 40 hours per week, you can earn around $1,200 per week with an hourly salary of $30.
Those who are working part-time can expect to earn a weekly gross income of $750.
How Much Is $30 Per Hour Bi-weekly?
Instead of weekly or monthly, some employees get paid every two weeks. This means that you can expect to earn around $2,440 every two weeks based on a 40 hours work week and an hourly rate of $30.
If you work 25 hours a week part-time, you will earn $1,500 every two weeks.
How Much Is $30 An Hour Per Day?
You can further break this calculation into a daily rate apart from the annual, monthly, or weekly salary.
The majority of full-time workers work 8 hours per day. Multiply 8 hours with the $30 hourly rate; you will get $230 per day before tax deductions.
If you work part-time for 5 hours per day, you are looking at $150 a day before taxes.
How Much Is $30 A Year After Taxes?
While knowing your annual gross income is good, it’s much more interesting to see your actual income after all the taxes are deducted.
You are in the higher tax bracket with a salary of $62,400 per year. This means you will be paying 20% income taxes, including social security, federal taxes, and medicare.
Some individual states also collect income taxes, so if you live in one of these states, you can expect to pay even more tax.
Based on 20% income tax deductions in most states, you will earn a net income of $49,920 per year.
Part-time workers on 25 hours per week can expect a take-home income of $33,022 per year.
Can You Live Off $30 An Hour?
The easy answer to this is: yes. In America, you can live off 30 dollars an hour.
Living standards are measured by the federal poverty level, which is a fraction of what an employee who earns $30 earns.
This means that with an annual salary of $62,400, you are in the category above the national average.
However, this depends very much on your lifestyle, location, and living situation. Living in one of the country’s most expensive cities may prove difficult to live on 30 dollars an hour.
For example, if you live in New York City or Los Angeles, you can expect to pay a significant chunk of your salary towards rent (typically for a tiny space).
But it isn’t just rent that affects your living standard. Also, transportation, food, and insurance can be more expensive in these areas.
We found that several factors impact whether you can live on an income of $30 per hour.
Many singles can live very comfortably with this hourly rate as long as they do not have any children or debt. They also need to budget carefully and ensure they live in a city with relatively low housing costs.
If you are living with your partner or family members, and you are the only breadwinner in the household, then this can be much more difficult, as your income needs to be split.
However, if you and your partner earn thirty dollars per hour and have children, this is definitely manageable.
Can You Buy A House With An Income Of $30 An Hour?
High living costs are one of the main reasons many people struggle to live on a low salary.
Although working full time for $30 an hour isn’t considered a low income by the law, could you buy a house with this income?
There are many dependent factors here, meaning there is no straightforward answer.
This mostly depends on the house prices in your area, your credit score (which should be above 670), and your debt-to-income ratio (which should be lower than 43%).
Many factors influence whether you can save for a reasonable down payment for your modest home.
If you are interested in buying a home with a salary of 30 dollars an hour, then it’s best to do your research.
Check out different mortgage loan options and read up on the fees you will need to pay in addition to the house price.
Can You Invest If You earn 30 Dollar An Hour?
As mentioned above, earning 30 dollars an hour isn’t considered below the poverty line. In fact, it is well above the national average.
This means that you will be able to invest some of your money in savings or funds. You can invest around 10% of your monthly salary if you avoid any of the usual money pitfalls.
There are a few options on how you can invest your money. You can invest it in savings accounts, bonds, stocks, or even real estate.
Many people also put some money in a retirement investment account to build up a retirement fund.
The Best Tips For Living On 30 Dollars An Hour
If you currently earn $30 an hour, you may already know what you need to do to maintain your living standard.
Here are some of our top tips on what you should do to live on $30 an hour comfortably.
Keep Your Living Expenses Low
Expenses, such as rent, utilities, and food bills, are the most significant amounts of money you will be spending every month.
This means that you need to keep these expenses as low as possible for a good living standard.
Stick To A Budget
Budgeting for every regular and irregular expense is essential when you want to live well with $30 an hour.
Your budget can be divided into 70% for monthly expenses, 20% for savings and retirement, and 10% for any debt repayments.
You can add this to your savings pot if you don’t have any debt.
Create a list with your expenses for the year, and match this with your income. It’s also good to look at where you spend most of your money and then try to reduce this expense.
Avoid Debt
Once you are in debt, it can be very difficult to pay it off, especially if your expenses are relatively high.
That’s why you must avoid creating any debt unless absolutely necessary. For many, it’s better to have a long-term goal, such as buying a house.
The Best Ways To Make More Money
If your monthly income of $4,160 isn’t enough to keep your living standard, then there are some easy steps that you can take to boost your income.
Ask For A Raise
Asking doesn’t cost anything, and you may be surprised how flexible many employers are.
Sell Things You Don’t Use
We all have things around our home that we haven’t used in a long time. If you need cash, then sell the things you don’t need.
You will also find that it frees up a lot of space in your home. We even spoke to people who said they sold so much of their clutter that they managed to the downside!
Start A Side Hustle
There are plenty of weekend jobs or evening jobs available. You can clean homes, walk dogs or drive for Uber.
Many of us also dream of having our own business, so why not take the plunge and consider starting your dream business?
But you don’t have to run your business to earn extra cash. Looks for surveys, freelance writing, online blogging, or other options for you to get some spare money.
Jobs That Pay 30 Dollars An Hour
Now that you know you can live relatively well with 30 dollars an hour, what jobs usually pay this salary?
There are surprisingly many, including manual labor and skilled jobs.
Many jobs, such as railroad workers or fire inspectors, do not require a specific degree.
However, some of these professional careers, such as multimedia artist, animator, fashion designer, or web designer, will need some creative skills.
Also, accountants, bloggers, and appraisers often earn a minimum wage of $30 an hour.
Finding the right job can be difficult, but it must be something you want to do and enjoy.
Final Thoughts
At first, 30 dollars an hour does not sound like a lot of money, and it certainly doesn’t sound like you could live on it.
However, we found that $30 an hour is an income that allows you a decent lifestyle, depending on where you live and your expenses.
Your spending habits can make a big difference in your ability to afford necessities like food.
If you live frugally, you can afford to buy a modest home or invest some of your income for future retirement and savings.
