Salary LeftHourly Pay After Taxes: What $15 to $50 an Hour Really Leaves You
By Hassan Kazmi · · 6 min read
$20 an hour is about $41,600 a year before tax, and about $17.12 an hour you actually keep in a state with no income tax like Texas, or $16.54 an hour in California, for a single filer. The gap between your quoted rate and what lands in your bank account is federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, plus state tax where it applies.
Most hourly-to-salary calculators stop at the gross number. This guide goes one step further: the real after-tax rate for common hourly wages from $15 to $50, so you can see what an hourly job actually pays, not just what it's quoted at.
Disclosure: we make Salary Left, the free expense tracker linked below, and the salary calculator behind these figures.
Want your own number? Our salary to hourly calculator converts any rate, and the salary calculator breaks down the after-tax version for any amount and state.
The after-tax hourly rate, for $15 to $50
All figures assume a single filer, standard deduction, no pre-tax deductions, and a standard 2,080-hour work year (40 hours a week, 52 weeks). Texas represents the eight states with no wage income tax; California is one of the higher-taxed states, so this spread covers most of the range you'd see elsewhere.
| Hourly rate | Annual gross | Texas take-home | Texas, per hour | California take-home | California, per hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $31,200 | $27,249 | $13.10 | $26,594 | $12.79 |
| $18.00 | $37,440 | $32,263 | $15.51 | $31,289 | $15.04 |
| $20.00 | $41,600 | $35,606 | $17.12 | $34,411 | $16.54 |
| $25.00 | $52,000 | $43,962 | $21.14 | $42,117 | $20.25 |
| $30.00 | $62,400 | $52,318 | $25.15 | $49,714 | $23.90 |
| $40.00 | $83,200 | $67,361 | $32.39 | $62,772 | $30.18 |
| $50.00 | $104,000 | $81,994 | $39.42 | $75,200 | $36.15 |
A pattern worth noticing: the gap between Texas and California widens as the hourly rate rises. At $15 an hour it's about 31 cents. At $50 an hour it's about $3.27, because California's tax brackets get steeper with income while the federal brackets you'd pay either way are identical.
$20 an hour, by pay period
$20 an hour is one of the most commonly searched rates, often tied to living-wage and entry-level pay discussions. Here's the full breakdown:
| Pay period | Gross pay | Take-home, Texas | Take-home, California |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per year | $41,600 | $35,606 | $34,411 |
| Per month | $3,467 | $2,967 | $2,868 |
| Twice a month | $1,733 | $1,484 | $1,434 |
| Every two weeks | $1,600 | $1,369 | $1,324 |
| Per week | $800 | $685 | $662 |
| Per hour (40 hours a week) | $20.00 | $17.12 | $16.54 |
$30 an hour, by pay period
| Pay period | Gross pay | Take-home, Texas | Take-home, California |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per year | $62,400 | $52,318 | $49,714 |
| Per month | $5,200 | $4,360 | $4,143 |
| Twice a month | $2,600 | $2,180 | $2,071 |
| Every two weeks | $2,400 | $2,012 | $1,912 |
| Per week | $1,200 | $1,006 | $956 |
| Per hour (40 hours a week) | $30.00 | $25.15 | $23.90 |
Why the after-tax rate matters more than the quoted one
A job posting or a pay stub quotes your gross hourly rate, the number before anything is withheld. That's useful for comparing offers against each other, since every employer quotes gross. It's not useful for budgeting, because it's not the number that actually reaches your bank account.
The three things that separate gross from take-home pay, in order of size for most people:
- Federal income tax — based on your taxable income after the standard deduction, taxed in brackets, so it grows faster than your pay as you earn more.
- Social Security and Medicare (FICA) — a flat 7.65% of wages (6.2% + 1.45%), the same percentage whether you earn $15 an hour or $50, up to the Social Security wage base. Our guide to FICA covers exactly how that's split.
- State income tax — zero in states like Texas and Florida, and a meaningful bracket-based amount in states like California, which is why the same hourly rate takes home a different amount depending on where you live.
Turning your real hourly rate into a budget
Once you know what you actually keep per hour, multiply it by the hours you expect to work in a month to get a realistic monthly income, and build a budget around that number instead of your gross rate. Our budget calculator splits any monthly amount into a 50/30/20 plan, and our guide on how to track expenses covers ways to see whether your actual spending matches it.
Sources and limits
- Federal brackets and standard deductions: the IRS's tax year 2026 inflation adjustments (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
- Social Security and Medicare: the Social Security Administration's 2026 fact sheet.
- State rates, brackets and deductions: Tax Foundation's 2026 state income tax rates and brackets, as of February 11, 2026.
- Overtime pay rate: the US Department of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Act overtime rules.
These are estimates for a single filer with wages only, the standard deduction and no dependents, not tax, legal or financial advice. City and county income taxes, overtime beyond the basic 1.5x rate, credits and your actual withholding will change your real number. For your exact pay, check your pay stub or use the IRS withholding estimator.
Frequently asked questions
How much is $20 an hour after taxes?
About $17.12 an hour in a state with no income tax, such as Texas, and about $16.54 an hour in California, for a single filer. That's $41,600 a year before tax, which comes to roughly $35,606 (Texas) or $34,411 (California) after federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare.
How much is $30 an hour after taxes?
About $25.15 an hour in Texas and $23.90 an hour in California, for a single filer. $30 an hour is $62,400 a year before tax, about $52,318 (Texas) or $49,714 (California) after tax.
How much is $25 an hour annually after taxes?
$25 an hour is $52,000 a year before tax. After federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, that's about $43,962 in Texas or $42,117 in California for a single filer, which works out to roughly $21.14 an hour in Texas and $20.25 in California.
Why is my after-tax hourly rate lower than my paycheck suggests?
Your pay stub shows gross pay (before tax) by the hour or the period, but take-home pay is what's left after federal income tax, Social Security (6.2%), Medicare (1.45%), and state tax where it applies. Dividing your actual take-home pay by hours worked gives a lower number than your quoted hourly rate, because none of those taxes are reflected in the rate itself.
Does this change if I'm paid hourly versus salaried?
No. Tax doesn't care how your pay is quoted. An hourly employee and a salaried employee earning the same annual total pay the same federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, assuming the same filing status and state. What differs is whether overtime applies, which generally only covers hourly, non-exempt employees.
What about overtime pay?
This guide assumes every hour is paid at the same rate, which is true for a standard 40-hour week. Under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, non-exempt employees get 1.5 times their regular rate for hours beyond 40 in a week, so overtime hours are taxed the same way but paid at a higher gross rate, which raises your average hourly take-home for that week.