No one wants to be mediocre, not you, me, or your salary. According to the National Compensation Survey, the national mean salary in the United States is $56,310. That works out to $27 per hour.
You have to earn more than $28 per hour to be above average. Why not aim for a job that pays 30 dollars an hour more than the average hourly wage?
This blog will show you everything about making 30 dollars an hour in 2022. We’ll answer the critical question, ‘Can I live off $30 an hour?’ and show you how much you’ll earn each year, month, week, and bi-weekly (before and after taxes).
Finally, we’ll discuss the best occupations that pay $30 an hour. Let’s get started.
30 dollars an hour is how much a year?
The answer is that 30 dollars an hour make $62,400 yearly before taxes.
You can figure out your annual salary before taxes by multiplying 40 hours of work per week by 52 weeks in a year, which equals an average of 2,080 hours per year. $62,400 is the amount you would earn in a year working 2,080 hours before taxes.
If you work 25 hours per week (part-time) and receive $30 per hour, your yearly salary before taxes will be around $39,000.
What if you don’t get paid time off?
Let’s assume you work 50 weeks out of the year (with two weeks off unpaid). And you work an average of 40 hours per week. We’ll multiply 40 hours by 50 weeks to determine your working hours in a year. Your annual working hours would be 2,000.
Your hourly rate is multiplied by the number of hours worked to obtain your yearly compensation. $30 per hour times 2,000 working hours creates $60,000 in annual pay.
How much is 30 dollars an hour every day?
Let’s break it down:
You can make $240 before deductions by working eight hours daily at $30 an hour. After taxes, you’ll receive around $200 if you work full-time. If you work part-time, you’ll receive $150 for every hour, which comes down to $127 after taxes.
How much is 30 dollars an hour every week?
Let’s assume you’re working a 40-hour week to break down your yearly income into weeks. You can see the amounts below.
Before taxes, you would earn $1,200 an hour; after taxes, you would take home around $960 per week. If you worked 25 hours per week, you would make $750 before taxes and about $635 afterward.
How much is 30 dollars an hour bi-weekly?
You’ll make $1,920 every two weeks after taxes if you are paid $30 an hour for 40 hours a week. Working 25 hours a week at $30 an hour would net you $1,500 every two weeks and leave you with around $1,270 after taxes.
How much is 30 dollars an hour every month?
Working 40 hours a week at $30 an hour, you will make $5,200 a month. If you are paid 30 dollars an hour and work 40 hours a week, you will take home around $4,160 each month after paying taxes.
If you work 25 hours a week and get 30 dollars an hour, you will make $3,250 and keep around $2,752.
How much is 30 dollars an hour every year after taxes?
You will pay more in taxes if you make $62,40 a year than if you make $37,000 a year because you will be in a higher tax frame. If you make $62,400 a year, you can expect to pay around 20% in taxes, including federal taxes, social security, and medicare.
The more you earn, the more you will have to pay income taxes if you reside in a country that collects them.
Working full-time (40 hours a week) will earn you $49,920 after taxes while working part-time (25 hours a week) will make you about $33,022 in take-home pay.
Summary table of 30 dollars an hour (working part-time)
Generally, less than 40 hours of work a week in the United States is considered part-time. The chart below uses a workweek of 25 hours at $30 an hour.
| Time frame | No. of working hours | Income before taxes | Income after taxes |
| Daily | 5 | $150 | $125 |
| Weekly | 25 | $750 | $635 |
| Bi-weekly | 50 | $1,500 | $1,270 |
| Monthly | 108 | $3,250 | $2,752 |
| Yearly | 1300 | $39,000 | $33,022 |
Summary table of 30 dollars an hour (working full-time)
Working 40 hours every week is considered full-time in America. The chart below shows how much money one would earn working 40 hours a week at different hourly wages.
| Time frame | No. of working hours | Income before taxes | Income after taxes |
| Daily | 8 | $240 | $192 |
| Weekly | 40 | $1,200 | $960 |
| Bi-weekly | 80 | $2,400 | $1,920 |
| Monthly | 174 | $5,200 | $4,160 |
| Yearly (with unpaid vacation) | 2,000 | $60,000 | $48,000 |
| Yearly (with paid vacation) | 2,080 | $62,000 | $49,920 |
Jobs that pay 30 dollars an hour
We summarized 30 positions that earn between 30 dollars an hour and 39 dollars an hour, making between $62,400 and $81,120 annually.
See if your salary is comparable:
1. Purchasing agents and buyers
Job role: Make purchases to get needed goods at the most reasonable rates.
Hourly wage: $30.02
Annual salary: $62,450
2. Multimedia artists & animators
Job role: Create special effects, animation, or other visual pictures.
Hourly wage: $30.20
Annual salary: $62,810
3. Loan officers
Job role: Evaluate, approve or recommend approval of commercial, real estate, or credit loans.
Hourly wage: $30.39
Annual salary: $63,210
4. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators
Job role: Suggest alternative resolutions to resolve disputes outside of court (less formal than a court trial).
Hourly wage: $30.41
Annual salary: $63,250
5. Insurance underwriters
Job role: Check applications for insurance coverage and accept or decline them based on the extent of risk involved.
Hourly wage: $30.45
Annual salary: $63,330
6. Diagnostic medical sonographers
Job role: Perform ultrasounds that doctors request for patients.
Hourly wage: $30.60
Annual salary: $63,640
7. Film and video editors
Job role: Edit motion picture soundtracks, film, and video.
Hourly wage:$30.62
Annual salary: $63,680
8. Food scientists
Job role: Examine the composition and properties of food.
Hourly wage: $30.95
Annual salary: $64,370
9. Animal scientists
Job role: Study farm animals’ life cycles and related biological issues.
Hourly wage: $31.02
Annual salary: $64,510
10. Writers
Job role: Write material for scripts, websites, magazines, books, and other publications.
Hourly pay: $31.04
Annual salary: $64,560
11. Urban and regional planners
Job role: Make plans to use land and physical facilities in towns, cities, counties, and urban areas.
Hourly wage: $31.10
Annual salary: $64,680
12. Landscape architects
Job role: Plan and design areas for landscaping assignments.
Hourly wage: $31.69
Annual salary: $65,910
13. Accountants
Job role: Give financial advice based on accounting records.
Hourly wage: $32.42
Annual salary: $71,500
14. Market research analysts
Job role: Evaluate the business potential for an organization’s marketing efforts based on the analysis they conduct in different markets.
Hourly wage: $32.45
Annual salary: $93,000
15. Dental hygienists
Job role: Clean teeth and scan a patient’s mouth, head, and neck for signs of oral disease.
Hourly wage: $32.63
Annual salary: $67,860
16. Speech-language pathologists
Job role: Support individuals who have trouble speaking due to hearing loss, physical conditions, or language barriers.
Hourly wage: $32.86
Annual salary: $75,000
17. Nuclear medicine technologists
Job role: Work with radioactive materials and equipment usually used in nuclear medicine procedures.
Hourly wage: $32.91
Annual salary: $80,500
18. Budget analysts
Job role: Review budget estimates and research budgeting and accounting reports to ensure controlled spending.
Hourly wage: $33.29
Annual salary: $98,000
19. Occupational therapists
Job role: Create rehabilitative programs to assist disabled people in gaining independence.
Hourly wage: $33.98
Annual salary: $75,680
20. Geographers
Job role: Study the Earth and its land, features, inhabitants, and phenomena.
Hourly wage: $34.33
Annual salary: $71,420
21. Psychologists
Job role: Analyze and treat mental disorders; learning disabilities; and cognitive, behavioral, and emotional problems.
Hourly wage: $34.77
Annual salary: $72,310
22. Fashion designers
Job role: Design clothing and accessories, from shoes to clothes to jewelry.
Hourly wage:$35.78
Annual salary: $74,410
23. Operations research analysts
Job role: Report on management and operations problems through engineering and other scientific methods.
Hourly wage: $36.23
Annual salary: $90,000
24. Sociologists
Job role: Study human society and social behavior.
Hourly wage:$36.63
Annual salary: $76,190
25. Physical therapists
Job role: Create rehabilitative programs that improve patients’ health.
Hourly wage: $36.64
Annual salary: $76,220
26. Architects
Job role: Design buildings, homes, and other structures for various clients.
Hourly wage: $37.93
Annual salary: $78,880
27. Education administrators
Job role: Handle the everyday operations of academic facilities.
Hourly wage: $38.53
Annual salary: $80,140
28. Environmental engineers
Job role: Study environmental issues and develop answers that governments and the general residents can put into practice.
Hourly wage: $38.82
Annual salary: $80,750
29. Civil engineers
Job role: Design and check the construction of large-scale public works, such as bridges and airports.
Hourly wage: $39.03
Annual salary: $81,180
30. Materials scientists
Job role: Research and analyze the structures and chemical properties of various natural and artificial materials.
Hourly wage: $39.59
Annual salary: $82,350
Budget sample for 30 dollars an hour
Your take-home pay amounts are determined in the following manner.
First, you must decide how much you can make on an annual, monthly, and weekly basis. We’ll examine the budget of someone who earns $30 an hour. Remember, your budget must estimate your net pay after taxes.
Using the $5,250 per month net income (varies by state and employer deductions), you can receive a net payment of $4,043 after taxes.
Here’s a sample budget for the same income ($4,043):
| Category | Budget | % of income |
| Income after taxes | $4,043 | |
| Giving | $404 | 10% |
| Saving | $500 | 13% |
| Food | $404 | 10% |
| Utilities | $308 | 7% |
| Housing costs | $1,011 | 25% |
| Transportation | $404 | 10% |
| Health | $202 | 5% |
| Insurance | $404 | 10% |
| Recreation | $202 | 5% |
| Other Spending | $202 | 5% |
| Total | $4,043 | 100% |
It’s clear that this budget allows for saving a decent amount ($500 per month) and would be ideal for a young couple living in an apartment. We suggest investing $500 monthly in your work 401k account or a Roth IRA to achieve the best results.
Use a printable budget template to create your budget.
Can you survive on $30 an hour?
Can you survive on $30 an hour in the United States? Sure, you can live on $30 an hour in America.
According to the 2021 per capita income of $36,430 and the 2021 federal poverty level for an individual of $12,880, you can live on $30 an hour if you earn $62,400 annually.
You’ll be considered above the national average if you earn $62,400 annually. But you need more than 30 dollars an hour if you live in one of the 10 most expensive US cities.
New York City, for example, is the most expensive city in America, and you might not be able to manage on a $30 hourly wage if you live there. After rent, you may only have about $1,500 left to cover the month’s food, transit, and health insurance.
Someone making $30 an hour can live quite nicely as long as they: Don’t have kids, don’t live in a city with high living costs, budget their income, and don’t have a lot of debt, according to the research.
Single parents, families that live on one income, people who live in areas with high living costs, or those who are deeply in debt might find it challenging to live on $30 an hour.
How much can you invest when earning 30 dollars an hour?
Avoiding the money-sucking traps we cited earlier, you should be capable of investing at least 10% of your monthly wage of $4,160. If you rent, set aside at least $1,500 for emergencies ($2,000 if you own your home) or establish a savings account.
You should fully fund your retirement investment accounts if your employer matches them. Anything left over should be invested in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, etc.
Talking about real estate, if you earn $30 an hour and have a credit rating of 670 or higher, you may buy a (modest) house. Purchasing a home on a yearly income of $62,400 might be difficult, particularly if you have to make a sizable down payment.
Fortunately, several mortgage loan programs offer down payment assistance/forgiveness based on the cost of the house and its location.
Wrapping Up
Some people may consider 30 dollars an hour insufficient to survive, mainly if you live in a low-wage location.
Your living situation and spending habits will determine whether you may live a fulfilling life on 30 dollars an hour if you can keep your expenses down.
You can also look for online jobs that pay 30 dollars an hour or more. We hope our guide on how much you can make with 30 dollars an hour helped you get all the information you needed.
