$70,000 a Year is How Much an Hour?

Knowing your annual salary doesn’t tell you a lot. What you really want to know is how much you make per hour.

In other words, is the job worth your time for $33.65 per hour? It puts things into perspective and helps you decide what you want to do with your life.

So $70000 a year is how much an hour? We show you below. 

Use our salary to hourly calculator to see your exact pay broken down!

$70,000 a Year Is How Much a Month After Taxes?

If you find yourself wondering $70,000 a year is how much a month after taxes, consider this. Your after-tax income is what you bring home, aka the money you have to pay your bills and have fun. This is the most accurate picture of what you earn, but it’s nice knowing the gross amount an employer pays.

Here’s what $70,000 a year looks like after taxes on a monthly basis.

While each state has a different tax rate, we can cover the federal taxes you’d owe. Assuming you’re paid once a month, you’d make $5,833 per month BEFORE taxes. From that amount, you’d pay federal income tax, Social Security tax, and Medicare tax.

In our example, we’ll assume you don’t have any dependents. You’d pay around $863 in federal income tax, $362 in Social Security tax, and $85 in Medicare tax. Those numbers would change if you had dependents or you had any pre-tax deductions such as health insurance or 401K contributions. 

$70,000 a Year Is How Much Paid Biweekly?

If your employer pays you biweekly, you receive 26 paychecks per year. How much you receive depends on a few things. Obviously, your tax rate pays a role, but also the benefits your employer offers. Do you get paid vacation time or is it unpaid?

Your bi-weekly paychecks would be $2,692 before taxes and any other common deductions (pre-tax contributions). Bi-weekly paychecks occur every two weeks. Some months you may get two paychecks and some months you’d get three paychecks. 

The same would be true if your employer paid you twice a month on the same days of the month, such as the 15th and the 30th of each month. 

$70,000 a Year Is How Much a Week?

If your employer pays you weekly, you’d receive 52 paychecks per year. Before taxes and any other deductions/contributions, your weekly pay would be $1,346 per week. You’d receive four or five paychecks a month, depending on the month as some months have five weeks in them.

$70,000 a Year Is How Much a Day?

Sometimes it’s nice to know how much you get paid per day. $70,000 per year is such an ambiguous number. It doesn’t tell you exactly how much your day is worth. On those tough days when your days drag, it may help to know how much you make per day.

In order to calculate this, you must know how many days you work a year. If you work a standard weekday 9 to 5 full-time job, there are 260 working days in 2023. That means you make around $269 per day.

If you work fewer days, but more hours per day or you work more than five days per week, your amount would differ, but the average person makes $269 per day. 

How Much Is $70,000 a Year per Hour?

If you find yourself wondering how much is $70,000 a year per hour, check this out.

Knowing how much you make per hour even if you get paid a salary is important. When you’re looking for a job, it helps to weigh the pros and cons of the job, including the opportunity cost of taking it based on its hourly rate.

If you work a standard 9 to 5 job on the 260 working days in 2023, you’d make $33.65 per hour. This is the same whether you get paid vacation or not – if you don’t get paid vacation, and you work the two weeks, you’d get paid. If you do get paid vacation, you get paid not to work. 

Check Out This Related Article About Earning $34 an Hour

Now if the company pays you benefits, you may want to consider the financial benefit of them. For example, health insurance is a costly benefit. If your employer covers your insurance 100%, that’s a benefit to add to your hourly rate. The same is true if they offer a 401K match or any other financial benefits. 

Even if you don’t receive the pay in hand – you get benefits in lieu of the money, which could help you decide if the job is the right choice. 

$70,000 per Year Breakdown Table

Here’s a quick breakdown of what 70k a year looks like for the average person.

Tools for Living on 70k a Year

How to Make 70k a Year

Today, it’s easier than ever to make $70,000 a year or more if you start a side gig or two. Depending on how busy you want to be, you can add jobs like Uber or Lyft driver, freelance writer, Instacart shopper, or website designer to your repertoire.

If you want something more passive, you can answer surveys on Swagbucks, use cashback sites like Rakuten, or even invest your money. Dividend stocks, ETFs, and even online high-yield savings accounts pay you a little money and every dollar adds up!

If you find yourself looking for jobs that pay 70k a year, and you don’t have a college degree, look at jobs like the ones below. Of course, the list is endless, and now that you know the average hourly salary to make $70,000 a year, you can determine which jobs will get you where you want to be.

Retail Store Manager

Retail store managers are the backbone of retail establishments and can earn $70,000 or more a year. To earn this type of salary, you’ll need experience as a retail associate and assistant manager in the retail industry. Retail store managers often work more than 40 hours a week, but you may earn overtime pay if you’re paid hourly.

Electrician

Electricians are always in high demand, whether you work for a company or start one yourself. With adequate training, including trade school and an apprenticeship, you can easily earn $70,000 in your first couple of years as an electrician.

X-Ray Tech

X-ray techs are the backbone of most specialists and doctors in hospitals. They have an important job and get paid well for it. X-ray techs don’t need a four-year degree and have a high starting salary that allows them to make as much as $70,000 a year with only a few years of experience.

Truck Driver

Truck drivers earn their $70,000+ annual salary. Many over-the-road truck drivers are gone for many days at a time and must meet strict deadlines to transport the products stores, manufacturers, and restaurants need. 

Dental Technician

Dental technicians are the dentists’ right-hand man, helping them with all procedures and sometimes doing most of the work on patients. Dental technicians get paid well, and if you can work your way up to the head position in the office, you can easily earn $70,000 a year.

Factors That Affect Your Take-Home Pay

Unfortunately, your paycheck won’t be as much as you anticipated when you make $70,000 a year. Your gross pay on $70,000 is $5,833 a month, but that’s before income taxes, insurance, and other deductions your employer may take.

Cost of Living

We’ve all seen it recently. The cost of living has increased drastically over the last year. Fortunately, some companies offer Cost of Living (COLA) benefits. This benefit may increase your income in one lump sum or provide a raise moving forward. Unfortunately, not all companies offer this benefit, but it can increase your take-home pay if yours does.

Taxes

Everyone must pay taxes, whether you work for someone or yourself. For example, if you work for a company, they pay the employer portion of your taxes, but you still pay federal and state income taxes and FICA.

Your tax bracket and number of dependents determine how much your employer must withhold from your check. When you file taxes in April, you’ll report the taxes paid, and if you’ve overpaid, you’ll receive a refund.

PTO

Paid time off means you can take vacation or sick days and still get paid. If you have PTO, your check will look the same if you don’t go over your allowed PTO. However, if you don’t and you must take days off, your check will be lower for that pay period to account for the time you took off work.

Insurance

Many employers offer insurance benefits to their employees. Group insurance rates can be much lower than individual policies, so it’s a great benefit. Your employer may cover some of your insurance premiums, but most employees have to pay at least a portion, reducing your take-home pay.

Additional Ways to Boost Your Annual Salary

$70,000 a year is a great salary, but if you want or need more, here are some ways to increase your income.

New Job

If you’ve kept the same job for a while and a raise doesn’t seem likely, consider looking elsewhere. If you have a lot of experience and are good at what you do, you might find the same job for more money at another company.

The internet makes it easy to look for a new job and to see what others think of working there. Sites like Glassdoor and Indeed offer a wealth of information, so we suggest checking there first.

New Career

Consider a new career if you’re tapped out where you work, meaning no company can pay you more than $70,000. There are thousands of possibilities, including owning your own business or starting a new career. 

Before jumping ship, consider what you’ll need to succeed in the new industry. For example, should you go back to school, or is there training you should take? Consider taking care of these needs before quitting your current job, so you don’t have a pay gap.

Side Hustles

If you love your job but want to make more money or need help making ends meet, consider starting a side hustle. You can do just about anything from consulting in your industry, working side jobs if you’re an electrician or plumber, or doing something completely different such as freelance writing, graphic design, selling crafts, or even walking dogs.

Passive Income

It’s always good to have a few passive income streams. This takes the pressure off your primary income and ensures you always have money in your bank account.

Common passive income streams include investment income from owning stocks, bonds, real estate, or royalties from writing a book or creating an online course. Some passive income ideas require work upfront, but you earn money for years moving forward with no work required.

Negotiate a Raise

Your employer may be more open to giving you a raise than you think. But, unfortunately, you won’t know until you ask.

Before you do, prepare what you’ll say. Think of why you deserve the raise and find data points supporting those reasons. Employers like to see what you’ve done for them to back up your negotiations.

Don’t be surprised if your employer counteroffers your suggestion or asks for time to consider it. Consider your bottom line number when negotiating, so you are prepared no matter what they throw your way.

Example Budget for $70,000 a Year

$70,000 is a great annual income, but a budget is always necessary to ensure you don’t overspend. Here’s a budget we like to use:

• 50% on fixed and necessary expenses, including housing, transportation, food, clothes, insurance, and medical expenses
• 20% on fun things or unnecessary spending
• 20% to your savings, investments, or debt payoff
• 10% to charities

$70000 a Year Is How Much an Hour FAQs

Can I Live Off $70,000 a Year?

You can live off $70,000 a year, but if you have a large family or live in a high-cost area, you might need to supplement your income with something else. 

Can You Make $70,000 a Year Without a Degree?

There are many ways to make $70,000 a year without a degree. For example, business owners, retail store managers, and electricians are great ways to earn a $70,000 annual salary.

What’s the Total Number of Working Days in 2023?

In 2023, there are 260 working days if you work a traditional Monday-to-Friday job.

How Do You Calculate Hourly Rate From Annual Salary? 

Knowing how much you exchange each hour you work in dollars is nice. $70,000 a year sounds like a lot, but per hour it comes out to $33.65 an hour, which is a great salary. 

To get that number, take $70,000/52 weeks, and then divide that number by 40 hours (or the number of hours you work) to get your hourly pay.

Is $70,000 a Year a Good Salary?

If you wonder is $70,000 a year is a good salary, consider this. The minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 an hour. If you make $70,000 a year, you make $33.65 per hour – you make more than 4 times the minimum wage.

Now let’s look at the average weekly salary. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that the average American makes $865 a week working full-time. That comes out to $44,980 per year. If you’re making $70,000 you are above the average American. Depending on your financial goals, you may or may not consider adding additional streams of income.