Is 60k a good salary in the US?
When looking for a new job, it’s typical to try to figure out if it will be a good salary or wage. So you see one that will pay $60,000 per year? But how much is that an hour? And is that even a livable wage?
Well, I think that’s a great salary to have! Here’s the whole breakdown:
How much is $60000 an hour?
Assuming you work 40 hours every single week of the year (52 weeks), you would be working 2080 hours per year. That would mean a salary of $60,000 a year equals $28.85 an hour.
$60,000 per year breaks down to:
- $28.85 per hour (Annual ÷ 2080 hours)
- $230.80 per day (Hourly x 8 hours)
- $1,153.84 per week (Annual ÷ 52 weeks)
- $2,307 biweekly (Weekly x 2)
- $5,000 per month (Annual ÷ 12 months)
However, after taxes, $60000 would be reduced to $44,800 – $49,000 per year depending on the state you live in. Your total take-home paycheck would be:
- Weekly paycheck= $861.53 to $942.30
- Biweekly paycheck= $1,723.07 to $1,884.61
- Monthly paycheck= $3,733.33 to $4,083.33
Whoa! That’s a $350/month difference between the highest and lowest taxed states. Meaning, that one person could be paying $4,200 extra per year in taxes. To make the most of your salary, you might want to live in a state that does not tax your income.
States that don’t tax wages: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, Wyoming, New Hampshire, and Tennessee (per Investopedia)
Similar Wages
$29 an hour is how much a year? If you make $29 per hour, your yearly salary would be about $60,320 before taxes. After taxes, that amount would be reduced to $44,900 to $49,300 per year.
$30 an hour is how much a year? If you make $30 per hour, your yearly salary would be about $62,400 before taxes. After taxes, that amount would be reduced to $46,200 to $50,800 per year.
Also, $65000 a year is how much an hour?
$65,000 per year breaks down to:
- $31.25 per hour (Annual ÷ 2080 hours)
- $250 per day (Hourly x 8 hours)
- $1,250 per week (Annual ÷ 52 weeks)
- $2,500 biweekly (Weekly x 2)
- $5,416.66 per month (Annual ÷ 12 months)
However, after taxes, $65000 would be reduced to $47,900 – $52,500 per year depending on the state you live in. Your total take-home paycheck would be:
- Weekly paycheck= $870.90 to $954.54
- Biweekly paycheck= $1,741.81 to $1,909.09
- Monthly paycheck= $3,991.66 to $4,375
Is $60,000 a year a good salary?
$60,000 per year is a really good salary to live comfortably on. However, everyone’s situation and finances are different.
What counts as a good income depends on where you live, the cost of living in that area, your family size, etc. My family of 2, we live on half of that amount. I wrote about it here in a post of how we lived on $2,500 per month in California.
$60000 a year budget
I’ve already said that I consider $60,000 per year a really good salary; however, that may not hold true for everyone’s lifestyle.
If I made that amount per year, this is how I would budget my cost of living. I will base it on the lower after-tax monthly paycheck of $3,733.33.
- Savings of 20%= $747
- Rent/ Mortgage + Utilities= $1,244 (⅓ of income)
- Car Payment= $200
- Car Insurance= $100
- Health Insurance= $200
- Cellphone= $50
- Internet= $50
- Gas= $100
- Groceries= $150
- Personal & Misc.= $200
- Entertainment= $100
- Total = $3141 with $592 leftover
This salary would give a lot of people extra money to play around with. However, you could also possibly live well on half of that amount and save or invest the rest.
How to Live on $60,000 a Year
Regardless of income, the most important thing is to live below your means. The main reason why people end up in debt is that they are spending more than they earn; that is not good if you want to live a life of financial freedom.
The 4 main steps to being financially secure with your income are to:
- Create a budget
- Save money: Remember, save first then spend.
- Lower your expenses
- Pay off debt fast: Paying the minimum results in crazy interest fees.
