$28 an hour is $58,240 a year before tax, working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks (2,080 hours). That's $4,853.33 a month, $2,240 every two weeks and $1,120 a week.
Change the hours or weeks in the Salary Converter
$28 an hour, by pay period
| Pay period | 40 hours a week | 30 hours a week |
|---|---|---|
| Year | $58,240 | $43,680 |
| Month | $4,853.33 | $3,640.00 |
| Two weeks | $2,240 | $1,680 |
| Week | $1,120 | $840 |
| Day (8 hours) | $224 | $168 |
With two weeks of unpaid time off, a full-time year at $28 an hour comes to $56,000 (2,000 hours). Paid holidays keep you at $58,240.
How $28 an hour compares
- It's 3.9 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, or $43,160 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 $28 is 14% below that average.
- At the common 30% guideline, $28 an hour supports rent of about $1,456 a month.
Where $28 an hour ranks
$28 an hour is above the median of U.S. hourly pay ($24.51) and below the 75th percentile ($38.71), so roughly 55% 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 $28 an hour
The most common occupations whose national median pay rounds to $28 an hour (May 2025, the latest BLS survey):
- Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks: $28.01 an hour, 153,000 jobs
- Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers: $28.19 an hour, 2.1 million jobs
- Machinists: $28.24 an hour, 287,000 jobs
- Correctional Officers and Jailers: $28.34 an hour, 381,000 jobs
- Bus Drivers, Transit and Intercity: $28.39 an hour, 159,000 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 $28 an hour matched in earlier years
To buy what $28 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 $28 an hour, before tax, using U.S. average prices for September 2026:
- 4.9 minutes for a dozen eggs ($2.27)
- 9.6 minutes for a gallon of regular gas ($4.48)
- 8.8 minutes for a gallon of whole milk ($4.11)
What $58,240 a year buys abroad
Local prices change what a salary is worth. Spent in each country, $58,240 buys what this much would buy in the U.S. (World Bank purchasing power parity):
- United States: $58,240
- Mexico: $99,008
- Spain: $85,030
- Japan: $84,448
- Canada: $64,646
- United Kingdom: $62,899
The dashed line marks $58,240 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).