$30 an hour is $62,400 a year working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, before taxes. That's $5,200 a month, $2,400 every two weeks or $1,200 a week.
Yearly pay $62,400
| Period | Pay before tax |
|---|---|
| Year (40 hrs × 52 weeks) | $62,400 |
| Month | $5,200 |
| Every two weeks | $2,400 |
| Week | $1,200 |
| Day (8 hours) | $240 |
| Year at 30 hrs/week | $46,800 |
| Year with 5 hrs/week overtime at 1.5× | $74,100 |
How $30 an hour compares in the trades Government data
In PayByTrade's data, $30 an hour is above the typical pay for 32 of 42 skilled trades and higher than the median in about 69% of the 10,213 trade-and-city combinations BLS publishes. The trades whose typical pay is closest to $30 are electricians ($30.02), telecom equipment installers ($29.93) and brickmasons ($30.27).
Jobs that pay about $30 an hour
- Auto mechanics in Los Angeles, CA: median $30.20 ($62,820 a year)
- Industrial machinery mechanics in Houston, TX: median $30.38 ($63,180 a year)
- Construction laborers in Minneapolis, MN: median $29.79 ($61,970 a year)
- Carpenters in Philadelphia, PA: median $29.70 ($61,780 a year)
- Painters in New York, NY: median $29.53 ($61,420 a year)
- Electricians in Denver, CO: median $30.36 ($63,150 a year)
Where $30 an hour beats the local median Our calculation
For each trade, the share of U.S. metros where $30 an hour is more than the local median:
11 trades pay less than $30 in at least 9 of 10 metros; 3 pay more almost everywhere.
$30 is entry-level pay (between the 10th and 25th percentile) for construction supervisors in Los Angeles, electricians in Chicago, carpenters in Seattle and heavy equipment operators in New York.
It's top pay (above the 90th percentile) for landscapers in New York, construction laborers in Houston, concrete finishers in Dallas and maintenance technicians in Cape Coral.
$30 an hour by state Our calculation
Statewide, $30 an hour beats the median for most trades in 38 of 51 states and D.C. It clears the most trades in Arkansas, South Carolina and Alabama and the fewest in Alaska, Washington and Hawaii.
Where $30 an hour goes furthest Our calculation
The same $62,400 stretches very differently depending on local prices. It goes furthest in Monroe, LA (worth $74,644), Eagle Pass, TX (worth $74,459) and Dothan, AL (worth $74,434), and least in San Francisco, CA ($53,973), Miami, FL ($54,663) and Los Angeles, CA ($54,946). A typical 1-bedroom would take 14% of this pay in the cheapest metro for rent and 65% in the most expensive.
Next steps
Got an offer at $30? See where it lands with the job offer checker, or if you're going independent, work out what to bill with the rate calculator.
$29 an hour · all hourly rates · $31 an hour
Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025. Prices: BEA 2024. Rent: HUD FY2027. Conversions assume pay for every hour listed and no unpaid time off; figures are before tax.