Are you wondering how much 18 dollars an hour is per year?  Maybe you are looking for a new job and hoping to make at least 18 an hour.  

Or maybe you are looking for a sample budget for someone making18 dollars an hour because that’s what you currently make.  

Whatever your reason for researching how much 18 dollars an hour equals per year, I have you covered!

I created this guide to help answer all your questions about making 18 dollars an hour.  Some of the things you will learn after reading this guide are:

  • How much is 18 dollars an hour a year before taxes? After taxes?
  • How much is 18 dollars an hour a month before and after taxes?
  • How much is 18 dollars an hour biweekly and weekly?  
  • What is a sample budget for 18 dollars an hour?
  • What are some jobs that make 18 dollars an hour?
  • What are some tips for living off 18 an hour?

So if you are looking for any of these answers, keep on reading!

8 Valuable Tips to Live Comfortably on $18 an hour

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.  If you click and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.  As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.  You can read my full disclosure here.  

18 Dollars an Hour is How Much a Year?

The following answers are based on working a 40-hour workweek.

How much is 18 dollars an hour before taxes (gross pay)?

A week:

$18 x 40 hours = $720 per week

Every other week (biweekly):

If you get paid biweekly, your paycheck before taxes are taken out will be $1440 ($720 a week x 2).

A month:

This is not as straightforward as calculating what $18 an hour is per year.  This is because some months you will get 4 paychecks and some you will get 5 paychecks.  

Since $720 is what your weekly pay will be, your monthly pay before taxes will be $2880 or $3600.  

$720 x 4 paychecks per month= $2880

$720 x 5 paychecks per month= $3600

Just don’t figure out your monthly pay by dividing your yearly pay by 12 when making your budget.  

This is why:

$720 x 52 = $37,440 divided by 12 months = $3,120.  

See how it is inaccurate?  

The best way to figure out your income for your monthly budget is to determine how many paychecks you will have for the month and base your budget on that number.  

A year:

18 dollars an hour comes to $37,440 per year gross pay.  Here is the math:

$18 x 40 hours per week= $720

$720 x 52 weeks per year = $37,440

How much is 18 dollars an hour after taxes (net pay)?

To give you an idea of what your after-tax pay would be if you made $18 an hour, I used this Salary Paycheck Calculator. 

To keep it simple, I used married filing status in the state of Arizona.  Keep in mind the following numbers are just examples and they don’t include any other payroll deductions you might have.  

So you’ll have to input your own information to get a more accurate net pay.  But this at least gives you an idea of what your after-tax pay might look like. 

A week:

Sample after-tax weekly pay for 18 dollars an hour

Biweekly:

Sample after-tax biweekly pay for 18 dollars an hour

Monthly:

Sample net monthly pay for 18 dollars an hour

Annually:

Sample net yearly pay for 18 dollars an hour

How much is 18 dollars an hour part-time?

If you are thinking about taking a part-time job that pays $18 an hour or you are thinking about cutting your hours back to part-time, then your gross pay (before taxes) would be:

20 hours

Weekly:  $360

Yearly: $18,720

25 hours

Weekly:  $450

Yearly:  $23,400

30 hours

Weekly:  $540

Yearly:  $28,080

How much is 18 dollars an hour a year after a 3% raise?

18.50 an hour

The average pay raise over the past few years has been around 3% to 5%.  That being said, raises vary greatly depending on the industry you work in.  

But, if you are lucky enough to get a 3% raise when you make $18 an hour, your pay per hour will then be $18.54.  

For simplicity’s sake, let’s just say you got a raise and now are making $18.50 an hour.  Your weekly, monthly, and yearly pay for $18.50 an hour would be:

Weekly:  $740

Biweekly:  $1,480

Monthly:  $2,960 (4 weekly paychecks) to $3,700 (5 weekly paychecks)

Yearly:  $38,480

19 dollars an hour

Now let’s just say the following year you got another 3% raise.  Your pay rate would then be $19.10 (18.54 x 1.03 = $19.0962)

Again for simplicity’s sake, let’s say you are making a straight 19 dollars an hour.  This would be your gross pay:

Weekly:  $760

Biweekly:  $1,520

Monthly:  $3,040 (4 weekly paychecks) to $3,800 (5 weekly paychecks)

Yearly: $39,520

Is 18 dollars an hour good?  

Let’s compare 18 an hour to the median household income for 2020.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income was $67,521.

Yearly gross income when making $18 per hour is $37,440.  This is well below the median household income.

However, if you live in a dual-income household and you both make $18 an hour, your total gross income would be well above the median household income for the U.S. at $74,880.  

And the annual earnings for someone making $18 an hour is well above the poverty threshold of $26,200 for a family consisting of 2 adults and 2 children.

Can you survive on 18 dollars an hour?

Now that you know what an $18 per hour pay rate equals out to per week, month, and year, let’s answer the question, “Can you survive on $18 an hour?”

Unfortunately, I don’t have a straightforward answer for you.  The ability to live on $18 an hour depends on many factors.  

Some factors it depends on are:

  • If you have children or other dependents to support
  • The cost of living for where you live
  • Your favored lifestyle (luxurious versus simple)
  • If you have roommates 
  • If you have debt you are repaying
  • If you have any other source of income

Probably the biggest factor for if you can live on 18 dollars an hour is the cost of living for the area that you live in.  

For example, $18 an hour will not go very far in expensive cities like New York or San Francisco.  

But if you live in one of the cheapest cities in the U.S., like Amarillo, TX or Savannah, GA your chances of surviving on 18 dollars an hour are much greater. 

Sample budget for 18 dollars an hour

Here is a sample budget for $18 per hour.  I used the after-tax pay example from above for someone who files as married and lives in Arizona.  

Keep in mind this monthly after-tax pay example does not include any other paycheck deductions that you may have (i.e. health insurance premiums, 401K contributions, HSA, and dependent care account contributions).

Here is where the budget percentages came from. 

Sample monthly budget for 18 dollars an hour

Jobs that pay 18 dollars an hour

Pay rates and salaries vary significantly depending on where you live. So jobs that pay 18 dollars an hour near me will most likely have a different pay rate near you.  

But, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has an occupation finder database you can use if you are looking for a different job with a specific pay rate range. 

I used it to find jobs that have a pay range between $30,000 ($14.42 per hour) to $39,999 a year ($19.23 per hour).  

Here are a few jobs I found in that pay range with the requirement of a high school diploma:

  • Social and human services assistants
  • First-line supervisors of food preparation
  • Woodworkers
  • Concierges
  • Animal trainers
  • Occupational therapy aides
  • Healthcare support workers
  • Medical secretaries and administrative assistants
  • Ophthalmic laboratory technicians
  • Billing clerks
  • Opticians
  • Animal control workers
  • Bill and account collectors
  • Pest control workers
  • Pharmacy technicians
  • Psychiatric aides

tips to live on 18 dollars an hour: woman smiling in front of her laptop

Tips to live on 18 dollars an hour

Here are some tips to help you live more comfortably when getting paid 18 dollars an hour.  

Make a budget and stick to it

You might be so sick of hearing the b-word!  Just about every personal finance guru I know of advocates for creating a budget.  

And for good reason!  Having and sticking to a household budget is so important.  Because if you don’t have a budget, it is so easy to overspend.

And overspending leads to debt.  And debt leads to living paycheck to paycheck.  

If you need help creating your budget, check out Budgeting for Beginners in 6 Easy Steps.

And if you need a bit more help, you can download my free printable budgeting workbook.  Here is what it includes:

  • A cover page for your homemade budget binder
  • A budgeting worksheet to help you organize your income and expenses
  • A budget planner/template 
  • A large list of expense categories to help you create your budget

You can download your free budgeting workbook here.

Reduce household expenses

Working toward reducing your household expenses will help you to live below your means.  And there are lots of creative ways to cut your expenses.  

But addressing a few of your largest monthly expenses is a good way to get results.  Here are some ideas:

Housing or rent

If you rent, maybe you could reduce your housing expense by finding a suitable roommate.  Or consider moving to a cheaper apartment.  

If you own a home and have a mortgage, check to see if it makes sense to refinance to reduce your monthly payment, interest rate, and potentially the length of your loan term.

If you have an extra bedroom, consider renting out the room.  

Are you paying PMI (private mortgage insurance) because you put less than 20% down on your home?  

Assess your situation to see if you can get it cancelled.  Check out this article that explains how.  

Utilities

Utility costs can get so expensive, especially with extreme weather temperatures.  But there are lots of ways to save money on your utility bills.  

Here are a few:

  • Install a programmable thermostat
  • Replace old appliances with energy efficient ones
  • Seal air leaks around doors or windows
  • Use cellular shades, insulating curtains, and door draft stoppers
  • Switch to CFL or LED light bulbs
  • Hang some clothes to dry
  • Turn off lights and unplug appliances
  • Wash clothes in cold water
  • Make sure your washing machine and dish washer are full before running
  • Switch out your shower head to one that conserves water
  • Turn down your hot water heater

Check out these other posts for more ways to save money:

Food

Your monthly food expense is probably one of your larger expense categories.  But it is also one of the easiest expenses to reduce.

Meal planning is one of the best ways to reduce your monthly food budget.  If you are interested in learning more about meal planning check out these posts:

If you have tried meal planning, like really, for real tried it, but you just haven’t been successful with it, you may want to try out $5 Meal Plan.  

$5 Meal Plan is a meal plan service that sends you weekly meal plans right to your inbox and the grocery list for the meal plan already done for you!  

All you have to do is check off the things you already have and head to the grocery store to get the rest.

Most of the meals work out to be around $2 per person.  And it’s only $5 a month!  

So if you would like to check it out, they have a free 14-day trial you can sign up for here.  

Then you can see for yourself how much money and time it can save you!

Another great way to save money on food is by using Ibotta.  

Ibotta is a cash-back app that is free to download and use.  It can be used at so many different stores like Walmart, Target, Costco, Whole Foods, Kroger, and lots more!

You just add the grocery offer to your account in the Ibotta app, take a picture of your receipt, and they deposit the money into your Ibotta account.  

Ibotta can also be used with Walmart Grocery Pickup, even though you don’t get a receipt with Grocery Pickup.  That’s how we use it the most.  

Before you start your grocery order on Walmart, you click on Walmart through the Ibotta app.  It redirects you and you start your shopping.  

Once you pick up your groceries the money gets deposited into your Ibotta account.  

If you don’t have Ibotta yet, you can sign up here.

By signing up through my link, you can receive up to $20 in welcome bonuses!  

Also if you use your laptop or desktop, Ibotta has a browser extension you can use instead of an app on your phone. 

You can sign download the browser extension here.  

There are lots of other ways to cut your monthly food costs. Check out some of my other posts for ways to save on food below.

Entertainment

Entertainment is another expense that can quickly get out of hand.  But there are lots of free and cheap ways to have fun and spend time with your family.  

You could create a bucket list of the things you would like to do that cost money.  Then each month pick one or two to do that fit into your entertainment budget.

Fill in the rest of your family time with free or inexpensive activities.  If you are looking for cheap or inexpensive things to do, check out these posts:

person writing with coffee mug in background

Payoff and avoid debt

Paying off your debt and avoiding debt accumulation like the plague will help you live more comfortably on 18 dollars an hour.  

As I mentioned above, accumulating debt leads to living paycheck to paycheck.  And living paycheck to paycheck can be super stressful.  

So after you create a budget and find more ways to cut your spending on your monthly expenses, use that extra money to destroy your debt.  

The key to getting rid of your debt is to develop an action plan to pay it down and then stick to your plan until your debt is gone.  

I know this is easier said than done, especially when money is already so tight.  But I’m going to tell you it is possible!

My husband and I are living proof that paying off a large amount of debt is possible.  And you can do it too.  

Try having a talk with your partner to make sure you are on the same page with your spending habits.  Then develop your plan of action and get started.  

If you would like some more tips for paying off debt and becoming financially sound, check out these posts:

Build an emergency fund

Increasing (or starting) your emergency fund will also help you live more comfortably on 18 dollars an hour.  

Because when you have a good size emergency fund, you can handle those unexpected expenses that can pop up.  

And if you can pay for those expenses without accumulating more debt, you will feel less stressed and overwhelmed with your situation.  

Many financial experts advocate for having a 3-6 month emergency fund.  You could take some of that extra money from cutting your expenses and use it to boost your emergency fund.

iphone sitting on top of gray and white marble colored notebook

Ways to increase your income if 18 dollars an hour isn’t enough

Maybe you would like to earn more than 18 dollars an hour because you don’t think that pay rate is cutting it for you.  

Luckily there are plenty of ways for you to make extra money.  Some are pretty easy too! Here are a few ideas.

Sell your stuff

This is probably the quickest way to make extra money.  Just go through your home to find things you no longer want.  

Try to find items that are of some value that someone else would be excited to own.  Determine the best way to sell the items. Then get them listed/up for sale. 

Here are some different places you could sell your stuff:

  • Yard sale 
  • Craigslist 
  • Poshmark
  • Facebook Marketplace
  • ThredUp
  • eBay

Start a side hustle

Side hustles have become so popular.  Side hustles are ways to earn extra money while still working a full-time job.  

There are tons of different side hustles to explore.  Try to find one that you enjoy that will fit into your schedule nicely.  

This will help you stay motivated and consistent so you can make the extra money you want to make.  

Here are a few side hustle ideas:

  • Flip furniture
  • Walk dogs or dog sit
  • Babysit
  • Teach private lessons (sports, music instruments, singing, swimming, cooking, etc)
  • Start a blog
  • Tutor
  • Mow lawns/landscaping
  • Interior design
  • Sell baked goods
  • Freelance writing

And so many more!  For more ideas, check out these blog posts:

Realistic Ways to Make an Extra $500 a Month

50+Ways to Make Extra Money

Take surveys

Taking surveys won’t make you rich, but you could definitely earn enough to fill up your gas tank, pay extra on a bill, put into savings, or use toward whatever you need to.  

The best thing about taking surveys is that you can do them from the comfort of your couch!  Here are 2 great survey companies:

Survey Junkie

Survey Junkie is an online market research community.  When you participate in Survey Junkie, you get to share your opinion to help brands improve their products.  

After you complete surveys, you will earn virtual points that you can trade in for Paypal cash or e-Giftcards for places like Amazon or Target.  

You can sign up for Survey Junkie here.  

Swagbucks

With Swagbucks, you earn points that you can trade in for PayPal Cash or gift cards just by taking surveys, shopping online, watching videos, and playing games. 

You can earn gift cards for your favorite brands like Amazon, Walmart, Visa, Target, and more!

Many Swagbucks members earn between $25 to $100 per month that they can use to save for a vacation, use for fun money, or cover expenses.  

If you would like to check out or sign up for Swagbucks, you can do so here!  

Ask for a raise or work overtime

Another way to increase your earnings when you make 18 dollars an hour is to ask for a raise. 

Above I gave you examples of what you could earn by getting two 3% cost of living raises while making 18 an hour.  

But what if you could get an even larger raise just by asking?

If you know you have been doing an awesome job at work and you are an asset to your employer, use that to your advantage when asking for a raise.  

You could try pointing out all of the stellar qualities that make you stand out as an employee to make it impossible for your boss to say no.  

Or you could ask to work overtime to make some extra money.  If you get paid time and a half for overtime pay, you would be making $27 dollars an hour if your regular pay rate is $18 an hour!

Find a part-time job

If you have exhausted your other options and need to make more money to supplement your $18 an hour pay, finding a part-time job may be the way to go.  

However, if you can, try to be somewhat picky about what part-time job you take.  

For example, finding a part-time job that pays 8 dollars an hour when you make $18 an hour at your day job is probably not a great idea.

You might quickly realize that busting your hump for less pay when you are already tired from working your day job may not be worth it.  

Final Thoughts 

Now that you know how much 18 dollars an hour is per year, you can make decisions regarding your budget and your spending habits that will help you reach your money goals.

And if making $18 dollars an hour does not provide enough yearly income, there are many ways to save money on your expenses and to increase your income that will allow you to live the life you want to live.

What is your favorite side hustle? Please let me know in the comments!

$18 an hour: Jobs and How to Live Comfortably

Chris

Written by

Chris

I went from checking my bank balance before every grocery run to building a $10K emergency fund. Now I share the exact strategies that worked—no jargon, no judgment.