$12 an Hour Is How Much a Year? [Is It a Good Wage?]

$12 an hour is how much a year? This question may cross your mind whether you have a full-time job, a side hustle, or a possible job opportunity that pays 12 dollars in hourly wages.

Armed with the answer, you can manage your personal finance better, make informed financial decisions, and plan for your future.

Assuming you work a 40-hour week, your yearly salary making 12 dollars per hour will be approximately $24,960 before taxes.

Currently, 30 states are already paying above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour with some of the top ten states paying hourly wages of over $14 an hour. Does exceeding the federal minimum wage make it enough to meet your daily or monthly expenses? We will find out about this in a bit.

$12 an Hour Is How Much a Year Before Taxes?

To calculate what is $12 annually, you’ll have to figure out:

The number of hours worked every day
The number of working days per week
The number of working weeks in a year.
Overtime hours
How much tax do you pay
Whether you go for an unpaid or paid vacation.

Full-time work typically translates to 35-45 hours a week with the average person working 40 hours a week. Further, most companies allow a full-time employee two weeks of paid vacation out of the total 52 weeks in a year.

Assuming you work 40 hours per week x 52 weeks, you work a total of 2080 hours per year. Your equivalent annual salary based on $12 an hour amounts to $24,960 per year.

Yearly pay: 40 hrs x $12 x 52 weeks= $24,960

How Much Is 12 Dollars an Hour Monthly?

Again, assuming you are working full-time for the entire 12 months you will be making approximately $2080 per month. We arrive at this by dividing the annual salary by 12 months.

Monthly pay: $24960/12= $2080

To get a more accurate number, note the number of hours you work in a month and multiply that by $12 since some months have fewer or more days than others.

How Much is $12 an Hour Bi-Weekly?

Most companies in the United States pay bi-weekly, so it’s good to know how much you will receive every two weeks. If you work full-time—40 hours a week, you will make $960 bi-weekly gross pay.

Bi-weekly pay: $12 x 40 x 2= $960

$12 Hourly pay Is How Much a Week?

Calculating how much weekly income you’d make working 40 hours a week at a $12 hourly wage is pretty straightforward and equals $480.

Weekly pay: $12 x 40= $480

$12 Hourly Wage is How Much Per Day?

For a standard 8-hour workday, you will earn $96 per day.

Daily pay: 8 hrs x $12= $96

At a glance…

$12 per hour is how much daily	$96
$12 per hour is how much weekly	$480
$12 per hour is how much biweekly	$960
$12 per hour is how much monthly	$2080
12 per hour is how much per year	$24,960

However, it’s worth mentioning that not all jobs provide two weeks of paid time off. In case you decide to go on unpaid vacation, you will be working 2000 hours a year and will earn an annual income of $24,000 before taxes.

On the other hand, you will make more money in overtime pay if you work overtime.

$12 an Hour Is How Much a Year After Taxes?

While $24,960 sounds like a good starting pay, it is the amount you get before any taxes or deductions; simply your gross pay.

Your annual net pay or take-home pay is the money that hits your bank account after taxes and deductions. This amount varies depending on factors such as your status—single or married, your taxable income, tax adjustments, tax deductions, and the state you reside in.

Income tax and deductions on salaries vary from one state to another. In fact, there are 9 states that don’t levy any income tax (listed below). Notably, you will still need to pay federal taxes in these states.

Alaska,
Florida,
Nevada,
New Hampshire,
South Dakota,
Tennessee,
Texas,
Washington, and
Wyoming.

NOTE: New Hampshire taxes interest and dividends, according to the Tax Foundation.

Further, some states have deductions that don’t apply to others.

For example, in states like New York, you will have to pay state disability insurance and family leave insurance but the same won’t be required in other states like Kansas.

All these factors determine what your take-home pay will be.

Let’s use an Income Tax Calculator to calculate a sample annual salary after taxes in a state where most of these deductions apply, New Jersey.

With a yearly salary of $24,960, a resident of New Jersey will pay a total tax of $3,721 which accounts for a 14.9% tax rate. The $12 per hour yearly pay after taxes will, therefore, be $21,239.

Annual income after taxes: $24,960-$3,721= $21,239

While living in Washington you will be taxed at 12.7%. That means that your net pay will be $21,790 per year.

How Much Is 12 Dollars an Hour Monthly After Taxes?

At the same rate of 14.9% of the gross income, you will earn $1,770 after taxes.

Monthly income after taxes: $2080-$330= $1,770.

How Much Is 12 Dollars an Hour Bi-Weekly After Taxes?

At $960 gross pay, you will earn $817 after a 14.9% tax deduction.

Biweekly salary after taxes: $960-$143= $817

$12 Hourly Wage is How Much a Week After Taxes?

With a 14.9% tax rate, a $480 per week wage equals to $408 net pay.

Weekly income after taxes: $480-$71.55= $408

$12 an Hour is How Much a Year Part-Time?

Typically, working for 30 hours or less per week falls in the part-time category. How much annual salary you make working part-time at an hourly pay of $12 can vary from one person to another based on hours worked.

To give you an idea of what this means, we will use a sample of 25 hours per week to calculate the weekly, biweekly, monthly, and yearly part-time income.

Here’s the calculation:

$12 an Hour is How Much a Week (Part-time)	$12 x 25 hrs = $300 per week
$12 an Hour is How Much Bi-Weekly (Part-time)	$12 x 25 hrs x 2= $600 biweekly
$12 an Hour is How Much a Month (Part-time)	$12 x 25 hrs x 52 wks/12= $1300 per month
$12 an Hour is How Much a Year Part-time	12 x 25 hrs x 52 wks = $15,600 per year

12 Dollars an Hour Jobs

So, what jobs pay a $12 hourly pay, here is a list to explore.

Job Name	Job Description	Pay Scale
Virtual Assistant	Making and receiving calls, managing emails, arranging appointments, making travel preparations	$10-$20
Phone Operator	Making outgoing calls, directing calls to relevant recipients using a switchboard, receiving calls, receiving and passing along messages.	$7.25-$21.05
Delivery Driver	Delivering packages, Cross-checking orders before and after delivery, loading and unloading packages, and handling questions and complaints from clients.	$12.26-$18.03
Sales Clerk	Works in the sales department to welcome customers, restock shelves, handle transactions, and collect shipments.	$8.42-$15.65
Personal Care Assistant	Assistance with personal care activities including hair and body grooming, movement, feeding, and additional duties such as running errands, and household chores.	$12- $16

Is $12 Hourly Rate a Good Wage?

$12 dollars hourly wage is hardly a good wage!

If you are earning this much, you are making way below the current average salary of every state, the least of which is $23.86 per hour.

What would make 12 dollars an hour good pay is if it is one of several income streams. Otherwise, you would have to earn above average in your state of residence to consider your income a good wage.

Can You Live Off $12 Hourly Wage?

If you live alone, you might be able to live off $12 an hour, but you will still have to do some serious stretching of your budget. You probably won’t be able to afford your own car, eat out or travel for leisure.

Just so you know, the $12 hourly rate doesn’t even meet the cut for the states with the lowest living wage even for individuals (the lowest being $14 per hour).

If you have a family to support, you cannot rely on a $12 hourly income to provide for their needs. You will need other sources of income to make ends meet.

Can You Buy a House Making $12 an Hour?

If you don’t have any additional income such as from your partner or spouse apart from your $12-hour salary, then you might not be able to take out a mortgage.

Before you take out a mortgage, you will need to put down a certain amount in the down payment, before banks can consider your mortgage application.

Unless you get some money in a lump sum – say buy selling something or inheritance – saving towards a down payment on a house after your monthly expenses can be challenging on a $12 an hour salary, and may take you years to achieve.

On the other hand, if you can make ends meet and still manage to save at least a 5-10% down payment, you’ll still need a good credit history and keep getting a stable income to be able to apply for a mortgage.

If you’re looking for an apartment, you may be wondering how much rent you can afford. While your income, debt, and expenses all play a role in determining how much rent you can afford, it’s important to calculate your budget before beginning your search.

Use our rent affordability calculator to see how much rent you can afford.

$12 an Hour: Example Budget

Expense	Budget
Income	$1770 (net pay)
Debt Repayment	$200
Housing Plus Utilities	$600
Food & Groceries	$400
Healthcare	$150
Transport (fuel, etc.)	$150
Misc Expenses	$100
Savings	$1770 – $1600 = $170

Tips to Live on $12 Hourly Wage

Here are a few key tips to live on $12 an hour.

1. Spend Wisely

This encompasses every decision you make to buy only what you need and spend way below your means. It could be doing your own shopping instead of dialing a delivery, buying in bulk whenever you can, using cash instead of a credit card, sticking to your monthly budget, and making your own food instead of eating out.

2. Start Saving

Even if you’re making $12 an hour, you should save something.

In the beginning, it might not be as much as you would want to save but you have to start somewhere. Savings add up quickly and may come in handy on a rainy day or that day when you want to boost the down payment for your mortgage.

Learn how to save money fast on a low income.

3. Make Passive Income

You can either work two jobs or work remotely when you get home from your regular $12 an hour day job. The internet has made it possible for millions of people to work remotely from the comfort of their homes.

In fact, some jobs such as video and content creation pay much more than $12 an hour.

Check out these well-paying side hustle ideas.

$12 Dollars an Hour: Conclusion

A job that pays 12 dollars gives you a gross income of $24,960 and a net income of about $21,239. This amount can vary slightly from one individual to another based on factors I discussed earlier.

Even a single person cannot live comfortably off this income. If this is your wage, you want to negotiate a better rate, look for a different job, or find a side hustle.

We are always on the lookout for comments, ideas, tips, and reactions from you so feel free to leave your comments below.