How Much Can You Earn Making $35 An Hour?

Wondering how much you can make annually if you earn $35 per hour? In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll break down the math to show you exactly how much you can expect to earn per week, month, and year when making $35 an hour.

Calculating Your Annual Salary at $35/Hour

If you earn $35 per hour and work full-time (40 hours per week), you can calculate your annual pre-tax income like this:

$35 per hour
x 40 hours per week
= $1,400 per week
x 52 weeks per year
= $72,800 per year

So if you work a full 40 hour work week year-round, you‘ll earn $72,800 pre-tax at $35 per hour.

However, very few people work 52 straight weeks without any time off. So let‘s factor in some vacation time to get a more realistic number.

Accounting for Vacation Time

The average American worker gets 10 days of paid vacation time per year. That‘s 2 weeks off, or 80 hours.

Accounting for 2 weeks of unpaid vacation time (80 hours), your adjusted annual salary at $35/hour looks more like this:

$35 per hour
x (52 weeks x 40 hours – 80 hours vacation)
= $35 x 2,000 hours
= $70,000

So with 2 weeks vacation factored in, your actual annual salary at $35 an hour will be around $70,000.

Key Salary Benchmarks at $35/Hour

Here are some key salary figures to be aware of if you earn $35 per hour:

Weekly – Earning $1,400 per week based on a 40 hour work week. This decreases to $1,225 per week after taxes (around 15% effective tax rate).
Monthly – Earning around $6,100 per month pre-tax, or $5,300 per month after taxes.
Annually – Earning $72,800 pre-tax based on 40 hours year-round or around $70,000 per year accounting for 2 weeks vacation time. Your after tax annual income would be about $63,500.

Now let‘s compare these figures to key financial benchmarks to evaluate whether $35/hour is considered a "good" wage.

How Does $35/Hour Compare to Average Wages?

At $35 per hour with a full time schedule, you can earn approximately $70,000 per year after taxes. How does that compare to average wages in the US?

The average hourly wage in the US is approximately $27 per hour
The average annual salary is around $51,168

So at $35 per hour, you‘re earning almost 30% higher than the average American worker. You can also expect to earn over 35% more in terms of annual salary compared to average.

This indicates that $35 per hour is well above what the typical American worker earns.

Can You Afford Basic Necessities?

$70,000 per year translates to around $5,300 per month in take-home pay after taxes. Is that enough to afford basics like housing, food, and transportation in most areas?

The typical American household spends:

$1,296 per month on housing (mortgage/rent, utilities, insurance, property taxes, etc)
$411 per month on food (groceries and dining out)
$455 per month on transportation (car payments, insurance, gas, maintenance)

That leaves over $3,100 left per month after paying for housing, food, and transportation. This extra cushion allows you to:

Save over $1,000 per month
Spend $500-700 on discretionary items
Afford emergencies and unexpected expenses

So in most areas, earning $35/hour provides enough income to cover necessities, build solid savings, and enjoy some discretionary spending. You‘d also be able to qualifying for most apartment rentals easily.

However, in very high cost-of-living areas like San Francisco and New York City, $70,000 per year doesn‘t go nearly as far. Housing costs can eat up 50% or more of your gross income in cities like that. So your standard of living would be lower.

Can You Buy a House?

Whether or not you can afford to buy a house at $35/hour depends primarily on two factors:

Your location
Your existing debts

In moderately priced real estate markets, $70,000 per year in income would likely qualify you to purchase a modest starter home in the $250,000-$350,000 price range. However, in expensive coastal cities, that same income won‘t go very far.

Your current debts also impact home affordability. Most mortgage lenders want your total monthly debts divided by gross monthly income to stay under 40%. Otherwise, they may consider you too high of a lending risk.

Let‘s say you earn $70,000 per year, or $5,800 per month gross. That means your total monthly debts (car loans, student loans, credit cards, etc) should stay under $2,320 to comfortably qualify for a mortgage. Any higher than that and qualifying becomes difficult.

So in summary – if you don‘t have too much existing debt and live in an average cost area, buying a home on $35/hour is feasible. But in high cost-of-living areas, you may need a higher income to buy real estate.

Strategies for Living Well on $35/Hour

While $35 an hour translates to a comfortable income for most Americans, you may need some budgeting strategies to make the most of it depending on your goals and location. Here are a few tips:

Stick to a monthly budget to align your spending with your income and priorities after accounting for fixed costs. Apps like You Need a Budget, EveryDollar, and Mint can help.
Pay down high-interest debts first to reduce interest costs and improve cash flow. Consider debt consolidation loans to simplify payments.
Build an emergency fund over time with 3-6 months‘ worth of living expenses. This protects you from having to take on debt for unexpected expenses.
Contribute to retirement accounts like 401ks and IRAs to benefit from compound growth. Take advantage of any employer match.
Consider remote work or relocating if you live in a very high cost area. Even nearby suburbs can offer significant housing savings.
Invest in professional development to boost your skills and increase your earnings potential over time.

The bottom line? At $35 per hour you can live comfortably in most areas as long as you budget wisely and make smart financial decisions. The income provides a lot of flexibility if managed properly.

In Closing

Wondering “how much is $35 an hour a year?” Working full-time with two weeks of vacation, you can expect to earn approximately $70,000 annually pre-tax, or $63,500 after taxes. This salary is nearly 30% higher than the US average.

In moderately priced areas, this income allows you to cover basic necessities, build solid savings, purchase affordable real estate, and enjoy some discretionary spending. With proper budgeting, investing, and debt repayment, you can live very comfortably in most cities on this salary.