$50,000 Per Year Is How Much an Hour?

For some people, a job that earns $50,000 per year sounds like an excellent opportunity to lead a secure life and grow wealth. For others, living off a $50,000 salary seems impossible.

Several factors influence how people perceive income levels. Someone living in a place like Irvine, California, which has a monthly cost of living over $3,000, would probably struggle to save money with a $50,000 salary. If you live in a place like Wichita, Kansas, which has a monthly cost of living of around $1,219, a $50,000 salary could fund a very pleasant lifestyle and leave money available for saving and investing.

Since many variables can influence answers to questions like “$50,000 per year is how much an hour?” and “How can I make my money work harder for me?” let’s take a closer look at wages, taxes, and financial expectations.

Is $50,000 a Good Salary?

The most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the median weekly income for a full-time employee in the U.S. comes to about $990. That translates to $51,480 per year ($990 * 52 weeks = $51,480).

From this perspective, $50,000 is a decent salary. It isn’t a high salary, but it isn’t low, either. Depending on your area’s cost of living index, you will find that $50,000 gives you plenty of money or causes you stress as you try to make ends meet.

A $50,000 salary starts to look better when you compare it to the median and average earnings of all workers. According to Census data, the real median earnings of all workers was $41,535 in 2020. That’s actually less than 2019 median earnings ($42,065).

The median household income, which often includes more than one source, was $67,521 in 2020, a 2.9% decrease from the previous year.

If you make $50,000 and live with someone who earns at least $18,000, you are doing just as well as most Americans.

How Much Do I Make a Week If I Earn $50k a Year?

You will need to earn about $962 per week to make a salary of $50,000 per year ($50,000/52 = $961.54). Keep in mind that this amount does not include federal, state, and local taxes.

If you want a take-home pay of $50,000, you will need to earn considerably more. We’ll take a closer look at how taxes impact your take-home pay below.

How Much Do I Make a Month If I Earn $50k a Year?

If you look at your monthly pay, you will need to make about $4,167 per month to earn $50,000 a year ($50,000 / 12 months = $4,166.67).

Again, this does not take taxes into consideration.

$50,000 a Year Is How Much Biweekly?

Most people get paid biweekly by their employers. If you want to earn $50,000, you should get a biweekly check for about $1,924 ($50,000 / 26 weeks = $1,923.08).

How Much Is $24 an Hour Annually?

The amount of money that you earn annually from a job that pays $24 per hour depends on how many hours you work during the year. A full-time employee logging 40 hours per week can expect to earn $49,920 a year ($24 * 40 hours * 52 weeks = $49,920).

Someone working a part-time job will not make nearly as much. Let’s say a part-time worker logs 20 hours per week on average. That person can expect to make $24,960 per year ($24 * 20 hours * 52 weeks = $24,960).

For someone working 20 hours per week to make $50,000 a year, they would need to get paid just over $48 an hour ($50,000 / 52 weeks / 20 hours = $48.08).

Can You Live on $50k a Year?

Whether you can live on $50k a year depends on things like the cost of living in your city, whether you provide financial support to others (such as a spouse and children), and how well you budget your money.

With $50,000 a year, a frugal person who doesn’t support anyone else could quickly accumulate significant savings. The same amount of money won’t go as far for someone who supports a family of four and doesn’t follow a budget.

Yes, most people can live on $50,000 a year. How well they live, however, depends on a long list of variables. If you want help tracking your budget, lots of free apps can help you out. Among the best is Personal Capital’s mobile app.

$50k a Year Is How Much an Hour After Taxes?

People earning $50,000 a year don’t actually take home that much money. A chunk of it goes to paying taxes.

Federal Taxes

An individual making $50,000 who doesn’t claim any dependents and uses the standard deduction ($12,550 for 2020) will pay about $4,296 in federal taxes.

After federal taxes, your hourly wage comes to about $22 (assuming you work a 40-hour week).

Unfortunately, that isn’t the end of federal taxes. You also pay taxes for FICA (Federal Insurance Contributions Act). At $50,000, your FICA tax comes to about $3,825. Now, your hourly rate equals about $20.13.

State Taxes

Depending on where you live, you will also need to pay state taxes. States that do not charge personal income tax include:

• Alaska
• Florida
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Washington
• Wyoming

Other states charge income tax rates established by legislators, which means the rates can vary significantly from place to place.

A single resident of Kentucky making $50,000 per year pays about $2,368 in state income taxes. That brings your take-home hourly pay to about $19.

A resident of New York can expect to pay about $2,297 in state income tax. ($19.02 per hour)

In California, this resident would pay about $1,535 in state income tax. ($19.39 per hour.)

In Illinois, this person would pay about $2,360 in state income tax. ($19 per hour.)

Local Taxes

Local taxes vary so much that it’s impossible to cover them here. In many large, expensive cities, you will not pay local taxes on $50,000.

That amount of money doesn’t meet the threshold for local taxes because it costs so much to live in the cities.

In towns with lower costs of living, you could expect to pay anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.

How Much Is $50k a Year Compared to All Americans?

$50,000 a year is pretty close to what the median American earns. Defining the specific amount individuals earn becomes difficult because most organizations report household incomes instead of individual incomes.

Statistics show that:

• 9.4% of households earn less than $15,000.
• 8.7% of households make $15,000 to $24,999.
• 8.1% of households earn $25,000 to $34,999.
• 11.6% of households make $35,000 to $49,999.
• 16.5% earn $50,000 to $74,999.
• 12.2% make $75,000 to $99,999.
• 15.3% make $100,000 to $149,999.
• 8% of households earn $150,000 to $199,999.
• 10.3% make $200,000 and over.

What Types of Jobs Pay $50,000 a Year?

Plenty of jobs pay $50,000 or more per year. In many cases, you don’t even need a degree to earn $50,000. Some options to explore include:

• Web developer
• Property manager
• Firefighter EMT
• Internal wholesaler
• Sanitation supervisor
• Claims adjuster
• Sales representative
• Aircraft mechanic
• Commercial truck driver
• Electrician
• Plumber
• Pipe welder

How to Make More Than $50k a Year

If you want to make more than $50,000 a year, you have several ways to reach that goal.

Earn a Degree

Earning a college degree doesn’t ensure that you will make more than $50,000 a year. However, it does make it much more likely that you can increase your earning potential.

On average, people with high school diplomas make $1.304 million over their lifetimes. Those with bachelor’s degrees make nearly double that at $2.268 million.

Learn a Skilled Trade

Skilled labor jobs tend to pay much more than unskilled labor positions. Learn a skilled trade by joining a trade school or apprentice program.

Many people with skilled trades also have unions that help ensure they get paid well and work in safe conditions.

Pick Up a Side Gig

If you have an hourly job, your employer might not let you work more than 40 hours a week. If you work too many hours, they will have to pay you a higher rate for overtime. Many companies don’t want that additional expense, so they pay close attention to scheduling.

You can still pick up a side gig that lets you earn extra money. Think about skills you already have, such as graphic design, playing music, or teaching. Plenty of websites exist to connect highly skilled freelancers with clients. Your earnings are only capped by the amount of work you’re willing to do.

Make Your Money Work Harder Than You Do by Investing

Does the idea of working more hours sound impossible, or at least very undesirable? Americans already spend more time working than people in other developed countries, so it makes sense that you don’t want to add more hours to your schedule.

You don’t need to work harder. Instead, you can invest to make your money do the work for you.

Investing can lead to long-term and short-term gains. You want to ensure that your investment strategy sets you up for long-term growth so you have enough money to retire. At the same time, you need short-term, money-making investment strategies that generate income over the next few months, quarters, and years.

Invest in Dividend-Paying Stocks

Dividend-paying stocks give you one of the most reliable ways to increase your earning potential by making your money work harder for you.

Dividend stocks pay out regular amounts of cash that you can decide to reinvest or put into your checking account. Reinvesting the money leads to faster financial growth because you will own more stock, which means you will get paid more.

Taking the payout as cash, though, can help pay your living expenses. In other words, you can earn more money without working more hours.

Some of the most popular dividend stocks include:

• Target Corp. (TGT)
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)
• PepsiCo Inc. (PEP)
• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
• Discover Financial Services (DFS)

Explore more dividend-paying stocks to find affordable options that still offer significant payouts.

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The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Financhill has a disclosure policy. This post may contain affiliate links or links from our sponsors.