$50,000 per year is how much an hour? There are a couple answers to that question. The simple answer is a $50,000 per year salary is $24.04 per hour.
The calculation is as follows:
- $50,000 per year in a 52-week year, assuming a 40-hour workweek
- $50,000 divided by 52 equals $961.54
- $961.54 divided by 40 hours equals $24.04 per hour.
That’s the simple answer because it’s before taxes, health insurance, and a variety of other deductions and contributions. In other words, it’s the gross income, not net income. There are a lot of variables that can impact net income, making it much more complicated to calculate than gross income.
Net Income
Net income depends on a very wide range of factors. That includes, but is not limited to:
- State income tax
- Some states don’t have a state income tax
- States with a state income tax have varying rates
- Amount paying into state disability
- Amount paying into social security
- Local taxes
There are also other deductions and contributions such as:
- Medical, dental, vision insurance
- State pension contributions
- Private disability insurance
- 401k, 403b, 457b, etc. contributions
There are a lot of variables. You may be impacted by all of the costs above, or very few of them. Some people don’t even know about some of these costs until they look closely at their paycheck deductions.
Paycheck Calculator
A good tool easily available to anyone is a paycheck calculator like this one from Smart Asset. To use the calculator, input your salary and then add all the deductions and pre-tax contributions you plan on making. You can manually adjust items like state disability, state tax amount, pre-tax contributions, etc.
The calculator will provide you with an expected monthly paycheck amount that can then be broken down into an hourly amount. It’s a really good tool that’s very simple and easy to use.
Where Does a $50,000 Per Year Salary Rank?
The median salary in the United States for the first quarter of 2021 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was $989. Multiply that by a 52-week year and that equals $51,428. A $50,000 per salary would rank just under the mean.
Jobs That Pay $50,000 Per Year
Data taken from Jobted.com list the following types of jobs paying around $50,000 per year. Keep in mind that this data is national, and there will be regional differences.
- Firefighter: $48,532
- Electrician: $47,800
- Medical Office Manager: $49,870
- Project Coordinator: $52,780
- Building Inspector: $51,034
- School Counselor: $51,200
- High School Teacher: $51,640
These are just some of the jobs listed. For the complete list, follow this link. Not on this list was freelance work, which has varying salaries depending on level of expertise, services provided, and amount worked.
Is $50,000 Per Year a Good Salary?
Before we answer this question, we need to quantify what “good” is. This is a subjective question with a lot of variables:
- Exactly what does “good” mean?
- What are the cost of goods where you live?
- Average housing costs where you live?
- What are your long term financial goals?
Due to the high number of variables, we’ll have to answer these questions generally.
In general, $50,000 per year is enough to make a good living. That’s assuming you live in an area with a reasonable cost of living.
For example, for someone living in an area where housing costs are $1,500 per month, $50,000 per year is a good salary. However, someone living in an expensive city like New York or San Francisco is going to struggle making a $50,000 per year salary.
Data pulled from Zumper.com indicates the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in New York City is $2,985. That means rent alone is going to eat up a large portion of monthly income.
If you’re someone with a financial goal of saving over 50 percent of your income and retiring early, you’re probably going to want to try and make more than $50,000 per year. Even for a very frugal person, it’s hard to have that high of a savings and investment rate on a $50,000 per year salary.
Ultimately Your Opinion Is What Matters
Ask someone if they think $50,000 per year is a good salary and you’ll get varying opinions. Some will say it’s a great salary, others will say it’s average, others will say it’s not good at all. In personal finance, those opinions really don’t matter.
What matters is your opinion. If a $50,000 per year salary is good for you, then it’s a good salary. Maybe you have a job that has flexibility and you’re able to pick up your kids from school every day and work from home. Or maybe it allows you to do contract work and work a flexible schedule.
If $50,000 per year allows you to meet your personal, career, and personal finance goals—then it’s a good salary for you. That doesn’t mean it will always be a good salary for you. Maybe you’ll want to go into more demanding work with a higher salary when the kids get older. Or maybe you’ll find another opportunity that better fits your needs.
Think of it as an evolution. What is good today may not be good next year, or the year after that. Keep a growth mindset and keep creating opportunities for yourself. Allow those answers to change as you evolve and improve your life.
All $50,000 Per Year Salaries Are Not Created Equal
There is more to a $50,000 per year salary than the gross income. Especially in a W2 job, two of the biggest factors are medical insurance and paid time off. Compare these two jobs:
Job Number One:
- $50,000 per year salary
- Four weeks of paid time off per year and one-week sick leave
- Health insurance including medical, dental, vision: $100 and $50 per dependent monthly
Job Number Two:
- $50,000 per year salary
- One week paid time off per year, three-days sick leave
- Health insurance including medical, dental, vision: $250 and $150 per dependent monthly
Both jobs are the same gross salary, but the benefits make job number one much more attractive and financially beneficial. Job number one has four whole weeks of paid time off versus one week for job number two. That means the hourly rate will be higher for job one because the employee is literally working less hours.
Job number one provides health insurance at a much better rate than job number two. A family of four with three dependents on the health plan would pay $250 per month for health insurance. That same family would pay $700 per month in health insurance with job number two.
Assuming both medical plans are the same quality, job number one saves the employee and their family $450 per month. Over the year that equals $5,400. That’s a big difference in net pay, and certainly a factor that needs to be considered all other things being equal.
Summary
A $50,000 per year salary equals $24.04 per hour gross income. That’s just a small piece of the puzzle though. The more important number is net income— which greatly varies based on employer benefits, cost of living and housing, and much more. All $50,000 per year salaries are not created equally.
A $50,000 per year salary in a city where average rent or house payment is $1,200 goes a lot further than in a city where $2,400 is the average rent or house payment. Same for a job that pays most/all medical benefits versus a job that has a high employee contribution.
This post included the hourly wage for a $50,000 per year salary along with many of the variables that will determine whether that’s a sustainable wage or not. Ultimately, you make the final decision based on these factors, and other relevant factors in your life.
What factors impact your net income?
