$31 an hour is $64,480 a year before tax, working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks (2,080 hours). That's $5,373.33 a month, $2,480 every two weeks and $1,240 a week.
Change the hours or weeks in the Salary Converter
$31 an hour, by pay period
| Pay period | 40 hours a week | 30 hours a week |
|---|---|---|
| Year | $64,480 | $48,360 |
| Month | $5,373.33 | $4,030.00 |
| Two weeks | $2,480 | $1,860 |
| Week | $1,240 | $930 |
| Day (8 hours) | $248 | $186 |
With two weeks of unpaid time off, a full-time year at $31 an hour comes to $62,000 (2,000 hours). Paid holidays keep you at $64,480.
How $31 an hour compares
- It's 4.3 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, or $49,400 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 $31 is 5% below that average.
- At the common 30% guideline, $31 an hour supports rent of about $1,612 a month.
Where $31 an hour ranks
$31 an hour is above the median of U.S. hourly pay ($24.51) and below the 75th percentile ($38.71), so roughly 60% 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 $31 an hour
The most common occupations whose national median pay rounds to $31 an hour (May 2025, the latest BLS survey):
- Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters: $30.67 an hour, 466,000 jobs
- Telecommunications Equipment Installers and Repairers, Except Line Installers: $30.72 an hour, 141,000 jobs
- Educational, Guidance, and Career Counselors and Advisors: $30.93 an hour, 353,000 jobs
- Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses: $30.96 an hour, 648,000 jobs
- Industrial Machinery Mechanics: $31.02 an hour, 440,000 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 $31 an hour matched in earlier years
To buy what $31 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 $31 an hour, before tax, using U.S. average prices for September 2026:
- 4.4 minutes for a dozen eggs ($2.27)
- 8.7 minutes for a gallon of regular gas ($4.48)
- 7.9 minutes for a gallon of whole milk ($4.11)
What $64,480 a year buys abroad
Local prices change what a salary is worth. Spent in each country, $64,480 buys what this much would buy in the U.S. (World Bank purchasing power parity):
- United States: $64,480
- Mexico: $109,616
- Spain: $94,141
- Japan: $93,496
- Canada: $71,573
- United Kingdom: $69,638
The dashed line marks $64,480 spent in the U.S.
Compare every country in The Dollar Around the World
Sources
- BLS average prices and average hourly earnings (2026-11-02)
- 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).