$30 an Hour is How Much a Year?

Making a $30 hourly wage may sound like more than enough money for you.

But, since looking at an annual salary is sometimes even more helpful, you may want to know: $30 an hour is how much a year?

This article will walk you through converting a $30 hourly rate to an annual income.

In addition, you’ll find some of the best jobs that pay $30 per hour, how to budget when you make this income, and more.

$30 an Hour is How Much a Year?

An employee earning $30 an hour makes $62,400 annually before taxes.

This yearly income is contingent upon the employee working 52 weeks of the year and 40 hours per week.

Here’s how to calculate this.

First, multiply 52 weeks by 40 hours, which equals 2080 yearly hours.

Then, multiply $30 by 2080 hours, which gives an annual salary of $62,400 before taxes.

Per Hour	Per Year	How to Calculate $30 Hourly To Salary
$30	$62,400	52 weeks × 40 hours = 2080 Hours $30 × 2080 hours = $62,400 Gross Annual Salary

30 an Hour is How Much a Year? (In Detail)

The explanation above was brief, and the example shown may not apply to you.

That’s why we’ll go over converting a $30 hourly pay rate to a yearly salary in more detail now.

Keep in mind that you’ll be calculating gross pay, which is before taxes. Then, in the next section, we’ll calculate net pay, which is your income after taxes.

First, figure out how many hours you work weekly.

A typical work week for many Americans is 40 hours, but your weekly hours may be above or below.

Do your hours vary from week to week? If your weekly hours vary, take the average weekly hours.

Then, establish how many weeks you get paid yearly. 

There are about 52 weeks in a year. Do you get paid for all of them? Or perhaps less?

One important thing to note is these are weeks you not only work but also any paid time off you receive.

Paid time off includes:

• Paid sick leave
• Holiday pay
• Vacation pay
• Personal days

To simplify, if you get paid for whatever reason, whether actual working days or paid time off, it will go towards the total yearly weeks paid.

Now, calculate your yearly hours.

To figure out how many hours your work per year, multiply your total hours worked per year by the hours worked each week.

Finally, figure out your gross annual income. 

To calculate your gross annual pay, multiply $30 by the total hours you work yearly.

Quick Formula To Calculate $30 Hourly to Yearly Income

Here’s a quick shortcut to calculate everything.

• (Hours Per Week) × (Weeks Paid Per Year) = Yearly Hours
• ($30 Hourly Pay) × (Yearly Hours) = Yearly Wage Before Taxes

Helpful Tip

This formula will still work for converting a different hourly pay to annual income.

So, for example, if you need to calculate what $20 an hour is, you would multiply $20 by your yearly hours.

Other Ways to Convert $30 Hourly Wages

$30 An Hour Breakdown	Wage	How to Calculate
Daily (8) Hours	$240	$30 × 8 = $240
Weekly (40 hours)	$1,200	$30 × 40 = $1,200
Bi-Weekly (Every 2 Weeks, 80 hours)	$2,400	$30 × 80 = $2,400
Monthly (160 Hours)	$4,800	$30 × 160 = $4,800
Yearly (2080 Hours)	$62,400	$30 × 2080 = $262,400

30 Dollars an Hour is How Much a Year After Taxes?

Now that you know your gross income, below are two ways to figure out your net income. 

• Entering information into a tax calculator
• Using prior-year tax returns and pay stubs

Whether you use the two ways mentioned or another, remember these are just estimates.

Things like deductions, tax credits, and how much you withhold from your paychecks vary from person to person, so projecting your take-home pay amount per year will never be exact.

But, we can try to get a close estimate, which is what we’ll do now.

Income Tax Calculator

Using this income tax calculator is a quick way to find out an estimate of what your take-home salary will be.

It roughly calculates both state and federal tax rates.

Prior Year Paystubs or Tax Returns

Has your tax situation and income mostly stayed the same since the prior year?

If so, using past pay stubs or tax returns will give you a relatively accurate picture of your take-home pay this year.

Example: $30 an Hour is How Much a Year After Taxes?

Let’s run through a quick example using the wage calculator.

Example Details

• In this example, the employee earns $30 an hour, which comes out to a $62,400 gross annual wage.
• Their filing status is single, and they live in Hawaii.

Using the Wage Calculator

• Enter gross income, location, and filing status into the wage calculator.
• Scroll down to see the results.

Example Results

After entering the example information, the calculator gave an estimated take-home pay of $46,785.

In addition, the estimated federal tax was $6,716, and the state tax was $4,126.

As you can see from the example, this is a helpful tool to give you a rough idea of your income after taxes.

State Income Tax 

In our example, we used Hawaii, which has a state income tax. However, these states below do not have a state income tax.

• Alaska
• Florida
• Nevada
• New Hampshire: Taxes dividends and interest but has no state income tax
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Washington
• Wyoming

So, if you reside in one of these states, the calculator will show “$0” in the tax column.

Jobs That Pay $30 an Hour

You may already make $30 an hour and are curious as to what other jobs pay the same.

Or perhaps you don’t make $30 an hour yet and want to know what type of jobs to check out. All these jobs below have a $30 hourly rate of pay.

The table cites data from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, including estimated average wages taken from every state and the District of Columbia. 

$30 an Hour Jobs Table

$30 an Hour Jobs	Hourly Average Wage
Interior Designers	$30.08
Food Service Managers	$30.75
Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents	$30.38
Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors	$30.33
Social Workers, All Other	$30.29
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists	$30.43
Judicial Law Clerks	$30.16
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Postsecondary	$30.35
Drafters, Engineering Technicians, and Mapping Technicians	$30.01
Mechanical Drafters	$30.12
Electro-Mechanical and Mechatronics Technologists and Technicians	$30.71
Mechanical Engineering Technologists and Technicians	$30.47
Calibration Technologists and Technicians	$30.19
Curators	$30.71
Librarians and Media Collections Specialists	$30.86
Set and Exhibit Designers detail	$30.27
News Analysts, Reporters, and Journalists	$30.40
Occupational Therapy Assistants	$30.56
First-Line Supervisors of Protective Service Workers, All Other	$30.73
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	$30.47
Electricians	$30.44
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	$30.46
Radio, Cellular, and Tower Equipment Installers and Repairers	$30.05
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment	$30.88
Fabric and Apparel Patternmakers	$30.81
Railroad Brake, Signal, and Switch Operators and Locomotive Firers	$30.31

How Does Earning $30 an Hour Compare to the National Minimum Wage?

The federal minimum wage rate, found in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), is $7.25.

You can find more details about minimum wage laws from the U.S Department of Labor.

Also, the state minimum wage can be higher because they can set their minimum wage rate.

$30 Hourly Rate Compared To Federal Minimum Wage Table

Federal Minimum Wage	Wage	Percentage Increase
$7.25 Per Hour	$30 Per Hour	314%

As you can see from the table above, someone making $30 on an hourly basis makes 314% more than federal minimum wage workers who earn $7.25 hourly.

Is $30 an Hour a Good Salary?

After seeing that $30 an hour is quite a bit higher than the federal minimum wage, you may think making $30 an hour is a good salary.

Unfortunately, while interesting to compare the two, it doesn’t tell us if $30 is an excellent hourly wage or not.

The comparison is not that useful because the federal minimum wage is meager for most people and is far from a living wage in the United States.

If the federal minimum wage doesn’t help determine if $30 is a good salary, what does?

Determining if making $30 an hour or around $62,400 is a good salary isn’t a black and white question.

It’s a grey area because it’s different depending on the circumstances listed below.

• How much your cost of living is, which is primarily determined by your home state
• Your amount of annual expenses and debt 
• How many people make up your household
• If you have kids or not

You can probably imagine that for someone who lives in an expensive state like Hawaii, has a high amount of debt, and is the only person in their household, earning $30 an hour is not a good salary.

But, for someone living in a cheap state like Arkansas, who has little debt and has two people contributing to the household, $30 an hour is an excellent salary.

We can talk in hypotheticals all day, but I want you to know if getting paid $30 per hour is a good salary for your situation.

Doing this might be a little time-consuming, but it’s pretty simple.

How to Determine if $30 an Hour is a Good Salary

1. Make a list of every expense you have in a year.
2. Add up the amounts of all your expenses combined.
3. Subtract your total expenses from your annual income after taxes. If you haven’t already, look at the previous section to figure this out.

Now it’s time to dig a little deeper.

• Do you have money left over, or are you left with a negative number?
• Is there enough money left to put into savings and not just live paycheck to paycheck?

If you have money leftover and enough to build your savings, making $30 an hour is a wonderful salary.

However, if you’re left with a negative number or break even with little money to add to your savings, getting paid $30 an hour isn’t enough for you.

That’s okay, though; in the following sections, we’ll talk about how to budget to stretch your current salary, plus ways to make more than $30 an hour.

Sample Budget – $30 an Hour Salary

With so many ways to create a budget, it can get pretty confusing.

However, the 50/30/20 budgeting method is a good starting point.

The 50/30/20 budget divides your monthly income into the following categories:

• Needs: 50%
• Wants: 30%
• Savings & Paying Down Debt: 20%

Needs 

Needs are things you can’t live without to survive.

These include monthly mortgage or rent payments, food, utilities, minimum debt payments, and other necessary expenses.

Wants 

Wants, unlike needs, are not essential and are just extra expenses. Some examples of wants are eating out, going to the movies, buying a new purse even if you already have two, and going on vacations.

Savings & Paying Down Debt

This category will ensure you’re building up your savings account, saving you stress in an unforeseen event or emergency.

Making extra debt payments is part of this category but making your monthly minimum payments is part of the needs category.

$30 Hour Annual Salary Budget Sample

Here’s an example of the dollar amounts for each category. Remember, this will be different because your income after taxes may vary.

In case you forgot about our example person mentioned earlier, they make $30 an hour living in Hawaii, and their tax filing status is single.

That makes their net annual income $46,785 and their net monthly income $3,899.

So their monthly budget will breakdown like this:

• Needs (50%): $1,949.50
• Wants (30%): $1,169.70
• Savings & Paying Down Debt (20%): $779.80

Helpful Tips

• The percentage breakdowns are just a suggestion. You can change the percentages to fit your financial situation.
• You may find you need more allocated to the needs category. If this is the case, lowering your wants percentage is best.

Remember, no one way of budgeting is best; it comes down to what works for you.

If this type of budget doesn’t resonate with you, another popular and effective option is Dave Ramsey’s zero-based budget method.

Whatever budget you choose, using budgeting apps is a great way to keep track of your progress for the month. 

How To Make More Than $30 Per Hour

Making $30 an hour comes to about a $60,000 gross income. Based on your finances, this may be a fantastic salary or not enough to cover all your bills.

For this reason, let’s discuss how you can make more money. If you’re happy with your current income and feel like it’s enough for you to live comfortably, you may want to skip this section.

But for everyone else, here’s how to increase your income.

1. Already employed? Check to see if a wage increase is an option.

A simple way to make more money is to ask for a raise. Tell your employer how you add value to the company and see if you’re eligible for a pay increase.

 2. Add another income stream.

If you already work 40 hours a week, you may be short on time to pick up some side work; luckily, there are plenty of passive ways to make money.

One easy way to make some money is to use Swagbucks. Swagbucks pays you to watch videos, shop, and take surveys online.

You can earn gift cards to your favorite retailers and grocery stores or redeem Paypal gift cards for cash.

Right now, Swagbucks will give you a $5 bonus just for signing up.

Now you won’t earn much money doing this, but it’s a simple and easy way to make a little extra money.

Another option is to freelance on the side. Becoming a freelancer in your area of expertise can help boost your existing income

Below are some other great ideas for making extra money.

• 11 Easy Side Hustles
• 18 Amazing Passive Income Ideas
• 14 Best Work From Home Ideas

3. Take overtime opportunities if possible.

If it’s doable and you think you won’t get burnt out, jump on any overtime pay opportunities.

Not all employees are entitled to overtime hours. Certain workers are exempt from receiving overtime compensation.

Overtime work may not even be something you want to do. Working eight hours a day is hard enough, and adding more hours can be even more difficult.

If you can swing it, paid overtime can increase your paycheck by a significant amount.

4. Find a higher-paying job.

While not the easiest option on the list, if you’ve already cut expenses and can’t get by making $30 an hour, finding a higher-paying job might be a good option.

Before seeking employment elsewhere, you may want to see if there are any internal opportunities you are qualified for that offer more pay.

If there isn’t much growth in your company and you’ve already approached them about a raise, it may be time to look for other employment.

Here are some high-paying job ideas:

• Tips For Making a Six-Figure Salary (Plus Six-Figure Job Ideas)
• 15 Best Paying Occupations 

5. Use money savings apps to lower your expenses.

While you won’t be increasing your income, saving more money will make you feel like you’re making more.

Using a cashback app like Ibotta or Rakuten when you shop is a great way to get some money back on everyday purchases.

There are many other savings apps you can use too.

Final Thoughts: 30 Dollars an Hour is How Much a Year?

An employee earning $30 an hour will make $62,400 a year, assuming they get paid for 52 weeks and work 40 hours weekly.

Your annual income might be different if you make $30 an hour, depending on the number of hours worked.

This article showed you to calculate this but if you still have any questions, feel free to comment below.

We also determined that $30 an hour is a good salary for someone depending on their financial situation and ability to save money.

Finally, we covered jobs that pay $30 an hour and ways you can make more than $30 an hour if you want to do so.

Read Next:

• Free Money Guide: 18 Ways To Get Free Cash
• $50k Yearly is How Much Hourly