$15,000 a Year Is How Much an Hour?
$7.21an hour · $7.21 an hour, 40 hours a week
Adjust weeks, unpaid leave and paid holidays
53 in some payroll calendars
Reduces hours paid
Days paid but not worked
| Period | Amount | Periods |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $7.21 | per hour worked |
| Daily | $57.69 | per working day |
| Weekly | $288.46 | 52 a year |
| Biweekly | $576.92 | 26 a year |
| Semi-monthly | $625 | 24 a year |
| Monthly | $1,250 | 12 a year |
| Yearly | $15,000 | gross |
| Hours a week | Weekly | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | $288.40 | $1,249.73 | $14,996.80 |
| 37.5 | $270.38 | $1,171.63 | $14,059.50 |
| 35 | $252.35 | $1,093.52 | $13,122.20 |
| 30 | $216.30 | $937.30 | $11,247.60 |
| 20 | $144.20 | $624.87 | $7,498.40 |
$15,000 a year is $7.21 an hour before tax, based on a 40-hour week and 52 paid weeks — 2,080 hours in total. The same salary comes to $1,250 a month, $576.92 every two weeks, $625 twice a month, and $288.46 a week.
Is $7.21 an hour legal where you work?
The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour and has not moved since July 2009 — the longest stretch without a rise since the Fair Labor Standards Act passed in 1938. $7.21 an hour sits below that floor, which most employers are not allowed to do.
Federal law is only the floor. Most states set their own minimum above it, and some cities go higher again, so a rate that is lawful in one state can be unlawful an hour's drive away. $7.21 is below Washington's $17.13, the highest state minimum in the country. Check your own state before treating this figure as settled.
How $7.21 an hour compares
- It is below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, which most employers have to meet.
- It is below the US median, at 23% of the median full-time wage.
- It is under Washington’s minimum wage of $17.13, the highest state floor in the country, so this rate would not be legal there.
Federal minimum wage $7.25, in effect since July 2009 (U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division). Median earnings from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Usual Weekly Earnings, second quarter 2026 — median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers. The hourly equivalent of $31.28 is that weekly figure over 40 hours, which is a derivation rather than a separately published median hourly wage. Highest state minimum: Washington, effective 1 January 2026.
How this is worked out
The default assumes 40 hours a week over 52 weeks, which is 2,080 paid hours a year. Yearly pay is the hourly rate multiplied by those hours; monthly is the year split twelve ways.
Biweekly and semi-monthly are not the same thing. Biweekly means every two weeks, which is 26 pay periods a year. Semi-monthly means twice a month, which is 24. That is why those two rows differ above, and why two months of the year carry a third biweekly cheque.
Every figure here is gross — before income tax, payroll tax and deductions.
Common questions
How much is $15,000 a year a month?
$15,000 a year is $1,250 a month before tax, at 40 hours a week. That is the yearly total of $15,000 divided by twelve, not four weekly cheques — a month averages about 4.33 weeks, so four weeks of pay at $288.46 comes to less than a month's share.
What is $15,000 a year after taxes?
Every figure on this page is gross, before income tax, payroll tax and deductions. Take-home from $15,000 depends on your state, filing status, pre-tax deductions and local taxes, and those move the result by thousands — so no single after-tax number would be true for most readers. Social Security and Medicare alone take 7.65% of wages from an employee before any income tax applies.
Is $7.21 an hour above minimum wage?
$7.21 an hour is below the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which has not changed since July 2009. Most states set a higher minimum than the federal floor, and $7.21 is below Washington's $17.13, the highest state rate in force.
Can my employer pay me $7.21 an hour?
Only if it meets the minimum that applies where you work, which may be a state or city rate rather than the federal $7.25. Tipped roles follow different rules: the federal cash wage for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour, and if tips do not lift the total to the full minimum, the employer has to make up the difference.
How much is $7.21 an hour a week?
$288.46 a week at 40 hours, and $576.92 for a two-week pay period. Hours in this range are often variable, so a week with cut shifts reduces that directly — there is no salary underneath to hold the total steady.