15 an Hour Is How Much a Year? Full Financial Analysis

When working for an hourly salary, we like to know exactly how much we make a year, month, week, or day. Having this knowledge can help us determine the best possible budget and uses for our hard-earned money.

If you make a salary of $15 per hour, you might wonder, 15 an hour is how much a year? You can do the math using a calculator or read on to find out the answer to the per paycheck, per month, per day, and yearly salary breakdown.

15 an Hour Is How Much a Year?

Answering the question, 15 an hour is how much a year can be relatively straightforward. Assuming you work a full 2080 hours per year (40 hours a week x 52 weeks per year, no overtime pay) at $15 per hour, you’ll earn a yearly salary of $31,200 per year. But, of course, this is before paying any taxes like federal income taxes.

However, this is not the amount of money you will take home per hour as you will need to pay your taxes.

The amount of money you’ll owe for taxes can vary based on several things:

Your state
The number of dependents you claim
Filing status (married, single, etc.)
Age
Health Insurance Premiums
401k (or other similar pre-tax accounts) contributions

These are a few factors that can change the amount you pay in taxes. Each will have varying effects on your tax burden. Typically, your tax bracket or tax rate will be the biggest factor determining how much you’ll pay in taxes.

For example, at a 25% rate, you’ll bring home an hourly rate of about $11.25, but again, this could vary based on the above. See below for a simple breakdown of the post-tax analysis of 15 an hour is how much a year.

There are a few states that won’t tax you on your income at all:

States With No Income Tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, New Hampshire, and Tennessee.

15 an Hour Is How Much a Month?

When earning $15 per hour, you’ll have a monthly salary of $2,600 on average, assuming you are working full-time. Of course, some months will have more working days than others.

For budgeting purposes, using $2,600 is a good number. After paying your 25% in income taxes, your monthly income take-home amount is $1950.00.

15 an Hour Is How Much per Paycheck (Biweekly)?

When salaried at $15 an hour and working full-time, you would make $1,200.00 per paycheck\pay period. This is based on being paid every two weeks as that is the most common cadence at which employees are paid.

After deducting taxes (25% tax bracket), your pay will be reduced to $900.00 in take-home wages. $900.00 is an average. As mentioned earlier, other factors could change your actual take-home pay.

15 an Hour Is How Much Weekly?

Breaking down 15 an hour is how much a year, even more, the weekly salary would then be $600.00 per week(40 hours in a week), pre-tax income. So after deducting 25% for taxes, your weekly take-home pay is $450.00 each week.

15 an Hour Is How Much Daily(Eight Hours)?

Every day, you’ll make $120 when earning $15 per hour. $90 is what you’ll take home after taxes are paid.

Simple Post Tax Breakdown of 15 An Hour is How Much A Year

Still presuming you are working 2080 hours a year, here is an analysis of different timeframes for 15 an hour is how much a year. The figures below also assume an income tax rate of 25%(if you are the only income, you’ll likely be in a lower tax bracket). This is how much you will get paid as an hourly salary, daily, weekly, bi weekly, monthly, and yearly.

$15 An Hour	Pretax Income	Post-Tax Income
Yearly (52 Weeks)	$31,200.00	$23,400.00
Monthly (160 Hours)	$2,600.00	$1,950.00
Biweekly (80 Hours)	$1,200.00	$900.00
Weekly (40 Hour workweek)	$600.00	$450.00
Daily (8 Hours)	$120.00	$90.00
Hourly (1 Hour)	$15.00	$11.25

15 an hour is how much a year analysis

As you can see, the federal income tax rate has a significant impact on how much money you’ll bring home.

15 an Hour Is How Much a Year After Taxes?

Keeping with the usual 8-hour workday, 40 hours work week, and 2080 work year, your initial $15 per hour salary turns into roughly $23,4000 in take-home pay. As stated above, your take-home pay can vary based on multiple factors. However, $23,400 is a good place for anyone earning $15 an hour as a wage rate to start when budgeting.

Of course, there are many steps you can take to reduce home much you are taxed (contributing more to 401k retirement plan, HSA, etc.), but typically speaking, the amount above will be your take-home salary.

How Can I Make $15 per Hour?

There are many occupations that can earn you an hourly wage of $15 per hour. In some states, $15 is roughly double the minimum wage, while in others, it’s almost one in the same.

For many of us, a weekend job or side hustle can provide extra income. There are many part-time jobs that will earn you $15 an hour, but it might be slightly more difficult to do the same with a side hustle.

Some common occupations that could pay $15 or close to it are (again, this could vary greatly by state as some have a much higher minimum wage):

Butcher\Deli Workers

Customer Service Center Workers

Mail Clerk

Maintenance Worker

Babysitter

Psychiatric Tech

Landscaper

Cook

Receptionists

Retail Workers

Busboy

Cashier

Bank Teller

Is $15 an Hour a Good Salary?

After breaking down 15 an hour is how much a year, the next logical question is, “Is $15 an hour good?”. The answer to that depends on a few elements. Some samples of these elements are:

Where you reside
Your debt(if any)
How many kids you have
Being Single or Married(and if your significant other works too)
Other expenses that are necessary

For example, making gross pay of $15 per hour in a low cost of living area such as Kansas, $15 an hour can be good. Yet, if you live in New Jersey (typically a higher cost of living state) have two kids(dependent deductions) and some debt to your name, you should consider discovering ways to bring in more income.

How To Live Off of $15 an Hour

So now that we know the breakdown of 15 an hour is how much a year, day, week, month, and paycheck, the next step is to learn how to live off our hourly wages of $15 an hour? Below are some suggestions to guide you:

You Need A Budget

No matter how much money you earn per hour, having a budget is crucial to living within your means. Having a budget means you’ll keep track of your spending, income, and how you can best utilize every dollar your make. Keep reading for a more detailed breakdown of what a budget for $15 an hour in pay might look like.

Live in a Low-cost Area

Where you live can have a significant impact in how far a salary of $15 per hour will get you. If you can move just a few miles down the road to lower your rent or general cost of living is worth it. If moving a few miles won’t have enough of an impact on rent, you’ll need to consider moving further away.

Pay Off Your Debt

When budgeting your money, paying off any current debt should be one of your top priorities. Paying interest on loans is money you’ll never get back. Look at your interest rates as well. Pay off loans with higher rates, or work with a service that can help you consolidate your loans to a lower overall rate.

Doing this simple step could save you hundreds of dollars a month.

Pump up Your Emergency Fund

Another high priority is having an emergency fund. If you don’t already have one, start one. If you have one, make sure it has at least four to six months’ worth of expenses in it before you stop contributing. Hopefully, you won’t need to dip into these funds often or ever. However, if major unexpected expenses pop up or you have any loss in income, you’ll be happy you have it.

Side Hustles

Ok, so we know 15 an hour is much a year, but even with budgeting and cutting out unnecessary expenses, you still need a bit more at the end of the month. When this is the case, a side hustle is a great way to earn some extra cash. Apps such as InstaCart, DoorDash, GrubHub, and many others let anyone with a car get their side hustle on.

The best part about these side hustles is that you can pick up some extra cash during times that fit your schedule and is convenient for you.

Raise Your Salary

Similar to a salaried employee, sometimes, when earning $15, we simply need to earn more. As an hourly employee, you may be able to earn extra income for overtime hours worked. Many hourly workers can fill up their timesheets with paid overtime hours with overtime rates as much time-and-a-half or even double-time.

If overtime hours aren’t an option, the next best way to earn more money per hour is to simply ask. Before you ask your boss for more money, be ready with a few good reasons as to why you deserve to earn a higher hourly rate of pay. Most companies won’t hand out a higher wage if they don’t have to or if they feel you don’t deserve it.

If your employer doesn’t feel the same way as you and thinks you deserve the higher hourly pay rate, then you should start to look for a new job or occupation that will pay you what you are looking to be compensated for your time.

How to Budget if You Make $15 an Hour

Budgeting is an important piece of the financial puzzle whether you have an income of $15 an hour or $100 an hour. With any income, you’ll need to decide what your necessities are and are simply your wants.

A common budgeting strategy is the 50-30-20 rule. Executing the 50-30-20 rule is a straightforward way to budget your finances and live with less financial stress.

Here’s how the rule works:

Fifty percent of your earnings go toward your necessities
Thirty percent of your earnings go toward wants
Twenty percent of your earnings go toward savings and paying off debt

Here’s how the rule could be executed for a salary of $15 per hour:

$11,700 per year (or $975.00 a month) is for your needs.
$7,020 per year (or $585.00 a month) is for your wants.
$4,680 per year (or $390 a month) is for saving and paying off debt.
Savings of 10% = $198
Rent/ Mortgage + Utilities= $661
Car Insurance= $100
Health Insurance= $100
Cellphone= $50
Internet= $50
Gas= $60
Groceries= $100
Personal & Misc= $100
Entertainment= $50

15 an Hour Is How Much a Year – Final Thoughts

When you break down the question, 15 an hour is how much per year; the easy answer is $31,200, but there is much more to look at. First, you must take taxes into account, and even that can be impacted by numerous factors.

Once you know your hourly, daily, weekly pay, gross monthly wage, and yearly wage, your next step is to begin budgeting your money appropriately.

Using the 50-30-20 rule is just one budgeting strategy, but there are many others. Make sure you can prioritize where your money is going, no matter your hourly wage.