$15 an Hour Is How Much a Year?
$15 an hour is $31,200 a year if you work full-time — 40 hours a week for 52 paid weeks, or 2,080 hours a year. That's about $2,600 a month, $1,200 every two weeks, or $600 a week before tax. Few hourly jobs run exactly 40 hours though: at 30 hours a week the same rate yields $23,400 a year, and overtime at time-and-a-half pays $22.50 an hour. Use the calculator below to set your real hours, and see the part-time table and the federal take-home estimate further down.
$15 an hour breakdown
Prefer the other direction? See $32,000 a year is how much an hour, or use the full Salary Calculator.
$15 an hour part-time and overtime
Hourly pay scales with your schedule, so the "how much a year" answer depends on the hours you actually work. Here's $15 an hour across common weekly schedules (52 paid weeks), plus the overtime rate — most non-exempt workers earn at least time-and-a-half ($22.50/hr) past 40 hours a week under the FLSA.
| Hours per week | Weekly pay | Annual pay |
|---|---|---|
| 20 hrs | $300 | $15,600 |
| 25 hrs | $375 | $19,500 |
| 30 hrs | $450 | $23,400 |
| 35 hrs | $525 | $27,300 |
| 40 hrs (full-time) | $600 | $31,200 |
$15 an hour after taxes
Full-time at $15 an hour ($31,200 a year), estimated federal income tax is about $1,564 for a single filer taking the 2026 standard deduction — an effective rate of 5.0%, with the top dollar taxed in the 12% bracket. That leaves roughly $29,636 in federal take-home pay: about $2,470 a month, or an effective $14.25 an hour. Social Security and Medicare (FICA, about 7.65%) come out of every paycheck on top of that, and most states add income tax of their own — while nine (including Texas and Florida) charge none. Try other filing statuses in the Income Tax Calculator.
Federal income tax only (2026 brackets, standard deduction, full-time hours). Excludes FICA and state/local tax.
Jobs that pay around $15 an hour
These occupations have a national median wage closest to $15 an hour (full-time equivalent), per the Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, May 2024). Actual pay varies widely by state, metro area and experience.
| Occupation | ≈ Median hourly | Median annual |
|---|---|---|
| Fast-food workers | $14.20 | $29,540 |
| Childcare workers | $14.60 | $30,370 |
| Cashiers | $14.76 | $30,710 |
| Housekeepers | $16.08 | $33,450 |
| Retail salespersons | $16.70 | $34,730 |
How $15/hr compares to nearby wages
| Hourly wage | Annual | Monthly | Federal take-home |
|---|---|---|---|
| $16 an hour | $33,280 | $2,773 | $31,466 |
| $17 an hour | $35,360 | $2,947 | $33,297 |
| $15 an hour (this page) | $31,200 | $2,600 | $29,636 |
Take-home is federal income tax only (2026, single filer, standard deduction, full-time hours), before FICA and state tax.
Is $15 an hour good pay?
Benchmarks help here: the typical U.S. full-time worker earns around $60,000 a year — about $28.85 an hour — which puts $15 roughly 48% below the middle of the pack. The federal minimum wage remains $7.25, though most states set higher floors and many cities higher still. Whether $15 an hour feels comfortable depends most on local housing costs, how many hours you're actually scheduled, and who the paycheck supports. Remember these are gross figures — after federal tax, FICA and any state tax, your effective hourly rate is closer to $14.25, so budget from take-home pay rather than the headline rate.