A wage of 17 dollars an hour is a bit over $37,000 a year before taxes are deducted from the paycheck. You can live on this salary if you have a solid budget in place with a smaller family. Taking on a side gig to increase your income is ideal to give you room to save, pay off debt, and still enjoy fun activities.
What You Need to Know
| The formula for Calculating Yearly Salary is $17 per hour x 2,080 per year = $35,360 before taxes You would make: Daily: $97 Weekly: $680 Biweekly: $1,360 Monthly: $2,947 |
NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. Read the disclosure for details.
Are you considering starting a job that makes 17 dollars an hour and wondering how much you would make over the course of a year at this wage?
You need to calculate your income by starting with how much you make each day, week, month, and then a year to figure this out.
You need to calculate your pay before taxes are taken out, and then after they are deducted from your paycheck to know what your final annual salary is.
When you work a job that pays a regular hourly rate, it’s not always clear how much you will actually make each month or year.
Read on for our comprehensive guide that breaks down the most frequently asked questions about this topic, including step-by-step details on how much you will make each week, month, and the year before and after taxes are taken deducted.
We also put together a sample budget to give you a head start with creating your own budget, and a list of jobs that pay $17 per hour.
Keep in mind that the numbers will likely vary slightly due to using various methods of calculation. This is because there are several ways to compute income, and although each way is correct, it will create small differences in the calculation.
For example, the average monthly income may differ based on whether it is calculated using four weeks in a month or the total number of days and hours worked in a month.
Another example is how accurate the tax deduction estimates are, as well as whether or not social security and medicare deductions are subtracted from the 17 dollars an hour pay.
Let’s get started!
How much is the yearly salary at 17 dollars an hour?
$17 an hour is $35,360 a year (before taxes.)
If you make $17 an hour, how much is your yearly pay? You’ll have to multiply your base pay of $17 by the total number of hours you work in a year.
Assuming you work 52 weeks of the year and you work full-time, that would be an average of 40 hours a week you are working.
This is how we calculated the yearly salary:
Work week = 40 hours
Weeks in a year = 52
Hours worked per year = 2,080
Total annual income = $35,360
40 hours/week multiplied by 52 weeks is 2,080 hours/year. Multiply your hourly salary by the number of hours worked in a year.
$17 per hour multiplied by 2,080 hours worked in a year equates to a total annual income of 35,360 per year.
How much is $17 an hour monthly?
Before you figure out how much money you’ll make a month if you make $17 per hour, you must first determine how many hours you work each day.
Take note the hours you work in any given month can change since each month can have more or fewer working days in them.
To calculate how many hours you work each month, simply divide the number of hours you work in a year by the number of weeks in a year (52).
To figure out how many hours you will work in a given month, divide the total hours you work in a year by 12 (months). This will give you the answer for the total average number of working hours each month.
We know from the previous calculations your annual income is $35,360.
Since there are 12 months in a year, divide 35,360 by 12 for a monthly pay of approximately $2,947 (before deductions.)
Keep in mind this figure is based on working 40 hours a week throughout the year.
Would you like to attract more money into your life? Here is your golden ticket to bring your financial goals to reality: 265 Money Affirmations to Bring Wealth into Your Life Today
What would you earn each week making hourly pay of $17?
If you want to break your hourly wage into a weekly salary, take $17 an hour multiplied by the number of hours you work in that given week.
For example, if you work 8 hours a day and 5 days a week, that is a total of 40 hours per week.
40 (hours/week) x 17 (dollars an hour) = $680 a week
Another example, assuming you work 6 hours a day and 5 days a week, that is a total of 30 hours per week.
30 (hours/week) x 17 (hourly pay) = $510 a week
If you work part-time, that would be 20 hours per week (hours per day and days per week can vary.)
20 (hours/week) x 17 (hourly wage) = $340 a week
Would you like to cut your grocery bill in half? Cheapest Groceries List: 70 Best Foods to Buy on a Low Budget
How much is $17 an hour biweekly?
What is biweekly pay?
Biweekly can mean every other week (which is twice a month) or twice a week.
Depending on which scenario is the agreement between you and your employer will make a difference in the amount of money you take home.
To calculate the correct pay, divide the monthly total income by 2 if you are paid twice a month (biweekly salary.)
If the payment agreement is twice a week, divide your monthly income by 4 (weeks in a month), and then divide that number by 2 (number of times you are paid per week.)
Calculate your personal income at $17 an hour
How does unpaid leave affect how much I earn?
Unpaid leave means you are not paid for the time you do not work, which is the opposite of paid time off, which means you are paid when you are not working. This is also known as paid vacation.
If you take time off and you are not paid for that time, it is subtracted from your total annual income.
For example, assuming you work 50 weeks in a year because you took 2 weeks off of unpaid leave, and you worked 40 hours a week (during the 50 weeks), your average annual income would be $34,000.
50 (weeks) x 40 (hours each week) = 2,000 work hours in a year
2,000 x $17 = $34,000
Is $17 an hour good pay?
The amount of money you need to make depends on your lifestyle, how much debt you carry, where you live, and so many other factors.
A $17 hourly wage could be considered good money for some people, and a challenge to live a quality life for others.
In either situation following a budget will help you stay on track to meet your financial goals.
According to the US Census Bureau, $35,977 was the average personal income in 2019.
At 17 dollars an hour, which is an annual income of $35,360, you are several hundred dollars short of making the money that the average worker makes in the United States.
According to the federal government, in 2021, the poverty guideline for a single person was $12,880 in the District of Columbia, and all states except Alaska and Hawaii.
The poverty guideline in Alaska is $16,090 and in Hawaii, it is $14,820.
In comparison to the poverty numbers, the salary of $17 an hour is a respectable income.
Jobs that earn $17 an hour
After reading the above guide, you are now able to calculate your daily salary, weekly income, monthly salary, and annual salary.
The next step is to explore jobs that pay in the $17 hourly wage range. When researching for positions, it is also helpful to explore if overtime pay is available.
If you want to find a job making 17 an hour there are various options available.
First, make the decision if you need your total working hours to be full-time job or part-time, then go to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to start your job search.
Another resource for gathering entry-level job information, how-to guides on employment, interview tips, resume writing, etc., is College Grad.
This is the comprehensive database I used with my high school and college students, as well as many parents when they entered the job market or needed a new position.
It is also great for help finding a summer side hustle or a temporary position before starting college.
- Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA)
- Panera Bread shift supervisor
- Fast food department manager
- Correctional Officer
- Customer Service Representative
- Hospitality industry positions (cook, hotel housekeeper)
- Utilities industry positions (equipment repairer, public utilities)
Side hustles to earn $17 an hour:
- Pet sitter/walker
- Tutor
- Babysitter
- Amazon season package sorter
- Lyft driver
- Doordash delivery driver
Can you live off $17 an hour?
The best way to determine if you can live comfortably on $17 an hour is to create a realistic budget and fill in the numbers.
There are numerous opinions on how to calculate your budget category percentages.
Following are the suggested budget percentage breakdowns from Ramsey Solutions:
Dave Ramsey Suggested Budget Percentages
Budget Category | Percentage |
Giving | 10% |
Saving | 10% |
Food | 10-15% |
Utilities | 5-10% |
Housing | 25% |
Transportation | 10% |
Health | 5-10% |
Insurance | 10-25% |
Recreation | 5-10% |
Personal Spending | 5-10% |
Miscellaneous | 5-10% |
Dave Ramsey Suggested Budget Percentages | |
 Source: Ramsey Solutions | |
Using these percentages as a guideline, plug your numbers into the sample monthly budget worksheet below (it’s free!) with your monthly income and see how close they match.
Can you live off $17 an hour?
It may not be easy to live on $17 an hour if you are trying to support a family, save money for emergencies, and build a solid financial future.
But with a solid financial strategy, it is possible.
Tips to lower your housing expense:
- Move into a one-bedroom apartment or even go smaller to a studio unit
- Find one or two roommates and split the cost of rent in half or three ways
Tips to reduce other living costs:
- Buy food from the grocery store so you are limiting spending on eating out.
- Shop at discount warehouses such as Costco.
- If you live in a place that offers free grocery pickup, opt for this so you are purchasing exactly what you need and not going inside the store.
- Reduce entertainment costs (skip going to movies and concerts.)
- Shut off cable and other TV plans and opt for an antenna to get local channels for free
You can live on $17 an hour with proper budgeting and planning.
Looking for more creative ways to save money? 160 Best Frugal Living Tips to Save Money Starting Today
17 Dollars an Hour is How Much a Year [Key Takeaways]
The base salary of $17 an hour is a good starting point for an entry-level position.
However, depending on your personal circumstances such as your lifestyle or location you may not consider it good money because it is not enough to live on comfortably.
Keep in mind that there may be working overtime hours or side gigs if you need to make a higher weekly salary.
Even a second job at minimum wage pay can help to balance your budget and increase your income to a good salary if you need an extra income boost.
More from Smart Mom HQ
- Why You Shouldn’t Use Instafeet to Sell Feet Pics [and what to use instead in 2024]]
- Why You Shouldn’t Do the 100 Envelope Challenge [and what to do instead in 2024]
- Why was My Debit Card Declined When I Have Money [and How to Fix It in 2024]
- Why is it Bad Luck to Put Your Purse on the Floor?
Sources used in this post
