$30,000 a Year Is HOW Much an Hour? Find Out Here!

Do you earn $30k a year?

Or are you thinking of applying for a job that pays this much?

If so, there may be a few questions on your mind.

Like, $30,000 is how much an hour? Or how much is $30,000 per month? And is $30,000 a good salary?

In this post, I’m going to tackle these questions and others like it.

Let’s dive in.

Interested in a $30000 salary to hourly wage? You might also like these…

How Much Is a $30,000 Salary Per Hour?

$30,000 a year is roughly $14.42 per hour.

I say “roughly” for a few reasons.

Firstly, because that figure assumes you’re working 40 hours each week for the 52 weeks in a year.

In other words, you only earn $14.42 an hour if you work full time and have zero unpaid days off.

If you work part time, it’s going to be much more – depending on the hours you do.

And what about unpaid sick days or other types of unpaid leave?

A whopping 25% of Americans don’t get any paid holidays, which means any time off they take isn’t covered by their employer.

…And we all get sick and/or need a break once in a while.

Finally, this figure only applies if $30,000 is your net income.

For most people earning 30,000 a year, though, that’ll be their gross salary.

The hourly figure will look very different once you deduct taxes, insurance, and pension fund payments!

So, “30000 a year is how much an hour”?

Let’s dig a bit deeper and provide a more realistic answer…

What Is $30K a Year Salary Per Hour?

The average American worked 38.7 hours per week in 2021.

So, with that in mind*, let’s calculate what $30,000 is per hour – assuming their employer offers paid leave and they don’t have to take off more than their allocated amount (this is around 10 days a year, on average).

This time, the $30k hourly rate is $14.91.

Let’s call it $15 per hour, for the sake of simplicity.

But what about tax?

This one’s trickier to calculate.

After all, it depends on where you live!

Different states have different levels of tax, making it hard to offer a definitive answer.

To keep things simple, I’ll use the average tax rate paid by US citizens referred to in this article:

8.2%.

Suddenly, that $30k falls to $27,540.

And your net hourly income would be $13.69**.

*We’re dealing with averages here. The actual answer will depend on how many hours you’re contracted to work!

**Remember, everyone’s situation will be different. With federal tax, state tax, and social security payments all thrown in, your post-tax hourly rate could be significantly lower than this.

How to Calculate 30K a Year As an Hourly Rate

Wondering how to calculate these numbers for yourself?

Let’s dive into the maths. Thankfully, the calculation’s nice and simple.

Here’s the basic formula:

Hourly rate = annual salary ÷ (hours worked per week x total weeks worked per year)

So, here’s how I calculated that initial answer of $14.42 per hour:

Hourly rate = 30,000 ÷ (40 x 52) = 30,000 ÷ 2080.

Which equals $14.42.

And the more realistic, post-tax calculation?

Hourly rate = 27,540 ÷ (38.7 x 52) = 27,540 ÷ 2012.4

Which equals $13.69.

$30,000 Per Year When Working Part Time

Do you earn $30k while working part-time?

Well, to calculate your hourly rate, you’d use the same formula as before, just with a different number of hours plugged into it.

For example, imagine that you earn $30k while working 25 hours a week.

You’d do:

30,000 ÷ (25 x 52)

Which equals 30,000 ÷ 1300.

Which is $23.08 per hour.

Is $30,000 a Good Salary?

Now we know what a $30k salary is per hour, let’s address the next big question:

Is 30k a good salary?

And can you live comfortably earning this amount of money?

Ultimately, the answer to these questions is always going to be subjective.

For example, someone on $20k a year would probably see $30000 as better than good – it’d be incredible! That extra ten grand would make a huge difference.

But someone on $100k would likely have a very different perspective.

Personally, I’d say $30000 is a good salary for a young, single person in an entry-level position. It’s even better if you love what you do to earn it!

The trouble starts when you live in an expensive area and have more than yourself to worry about.

If you live in New York, for instance, then supporting a family on $30,000 is going to be nigh on impossible.

Throw expensive tastes into the mix and you’ll soon be looking for ways to boost your income.

What Jobs Pay $30k a Year?

A wide variety of jobs pay $30,000 a year. Here are a few common ones:

Warehouse workers
Carers
Prep cooks
Quality assurance software testers
Tutors
Entry-level hospitality positions
Customer service reps/agents
Fast food cashiers
Admin assistants

$30000 a Year Is How Much a Month?

Someone who earns $30k a year would earn around $2,500 per month.

…Assuming they work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year.

Here’s the calculation:

Monthly salary = annual salary ÷ months in the year

$30,000 ÷ 12 = $2,500.

However, the same issues apply here regarding tax, unpaid leave, hours worked, pension payments, and so on. Every cent off your 30k paycheque reduces your monthly wage.

$30000 a Year Is How Much a Week?

Someone who earns $30k a year would earn around $577 per week.

Again, this assumes they work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year.

Here’s the calculation:

Weekly salary = annual salary ÷ weeks in the year

$30,000 ÷ 52 = $577.

$30000 a Year Is How Much Bi-Weekly?

Someone who earns $30k a year would earn around $1,154 bi-weekly.

Again, this assumes they work 40 hours a week for 52 weeks a year!

Here’s the calculation:

Bi-weekly salary = annual salary ÷ (weeks in the year ÷ 2)

$30,000 ÷ 26 = $1,154.

Another way to calculate this is simply by multiplying your weekly salary by 2!

$577 x 2 = $1,154.

Interestingly, bi-weekly is one of the most common pay periods used in the US today. That makes this a useful figure to know!