$18 an hour is $37,440 a year before tax, working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks (2,080 hours). That's $3,120.00 a month, $1,440 every two weeks and $720 a week.
Change the hours or weeks in the Salary Converter
$18 an hour, by pay period
| Pay period | 40 hours a week | 30 hours a week |
|---|---|---|
| Year | $37,440 | $28,080 |
| Month | $3,120.00 | $2,340.00 |
| Two weeks | $1,440 | $1,080 |
| Week | $720 | $540 |
| Day (8 hours) | $144 | $108 |
With two weeks of unpaid time off, a full-time year at $18 an hour comes to $36,000 (2,000 hours). Paid holidays keep you at $37,440.
How $18 an hour compares
- It's 2.5 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, or $22,360 more a year at full time. Many states and cities set a higher minimum.
- Production and nonsupervisory workers averaged $32.54 an hour in September 2026 (BLS), so $18 is 45% below that average.
- At the common 30% guideline, $18 an hour supports rent of about $936 a month.
Where $18 an hour ranks
$18 an hour is above the 10th percentile of U.S. hourly pay ($15.00) and below the 25th percentile ($18.07), so roughly 25% of workers earn less.
All occupations, May 2025 (BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics). BLS publishes set percentiles; the share in between is our estimate.
Jobs that pay about $18 an hour
The most common occupations whose national median pay rounds to $18 an hour (May 2025, the latest BLS survey):
- Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners: $17.71 an hour, 2.2 million jobs
- Stockers and Order Fillers: $17.95 an hour, 2.8 million jobs
- Cooks, Restaurant: $17.98 an hour, 1.4 million jobs
- Receptionists and Information Clerks: $18.27 an hour, 910,000 jobs
- Security Guards: $18.28 an hour, 1.3 million jobs
A median is the middle: half the people in that job earn more, half earn less. Pay also varies with state, experience and employer.
What $18 an hour matched in earlier years
To buy what $18 an hour buys in September 2026, you'd have needed:
Adjusted with the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Minutes of work for everyday prices
At $18 an hour, before tax, using U.S. average prices for September 2026:
- 7.6 minutes for a dozen eggs ($2.27)
- 15 minutes for a gallon of regular gas ($4.48)
- 14 minutes for a gallon of whole milk ($4.11)
What $37,440 a year buys abroad
Local prices change what a salary is worth. Spent in each country, $37,440 buys what this much would buy in the U.S. (World Bank purchasing power parity):
- United States: $37,440
- Mexico: $63,648
- Spain: $54,662
- Japan: $54,288
- Canada: $41,558
- United Kingdom: $40,435
The dashed line marks $37,440 spent in the U.S.
Compare every country in The Dollar Around the World
Sources
- BLS average prices and average hourly earnings (2026-11-03)
- U.S. Department of Labor: federal minimum wage history
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025 national estimates)
- BLS Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) and World Bank International Comparison Program, as used on our methodology page
General information, not financial advice. Pay before tax; your take-home pay depends on taxes and deductions (try the Paycheck Calculator).