Budgeting on $15 an Hour

At $15/hour working 40 hours a week, your paycheck gross is $1,200 every two weeks ($31,200/year). After an estimated federal tax and FICA bite, that check comes home at about $1,048 — $2,271/month, or $27,249/year. A realistic budget at this income puts roughly 74% of that toward needs like housing, transportation, food, and healthcare, per BLS spending data.

Your paycheck: gross vs. take-home

Biweekly paycheck math at $15/hr
	Per paycheck (biweekly)	Monthly	Annual
Gross pay	$1,200	$2,600	$31,200
Federal tax + FICA	$152	$329	$3,951
Take-home pay	$1,048	$2,271	$27,249

Assumes 40 hours/week, 52 weeks/year, no overtime, single filer, standard deduction, no state tax. See methodology.

Best and worst state for $15/hour take-home pay

Best vs worst state take-home at $15/hr
	State	Effective rate	Take-home (annual)
Best case	a no-income-tax state (e.g. Texas, Florida, Washington)	0.0%	$27,249
Worst case	Oregon	8.2%	$24,683

A 50/30/20 budget at $15/hour

50/30/20 split at $15/hr
Bucket	Monthly $
Needs (50%)	$1,135
Wants (30%)	$681
Savings (20%)	$454

For the full BLS-anchored category breakdown (housing, food, transportation, healthcare, and more) at this income, see the closest salary page: $30k salary budget ($30,000/year is the closest match to $$31,200/year gross at this hourly rate).

FAQ

How much do I make a year at $15 an hour?

At $15/hour and a standard 40-hour week (52 weeks/year), gross annual pay is $31,200. Take-home pay after federal tax and FICA is about $27,249/year, or $1,048 per biweekly paycheck.

Is $15 an hour a livable wage?

It depends on where you live and your household size. State taxes alone move annual take-home by up to about $2,566 a year, and realistic needs spending at this income runs about 74% of take-home pay per BLS data — see the budget breakdown above.

Last updated July 9, 2026. Figures use current IRS and BLS data — see methodology.