$38 an hour is $79,040 a year before tax, working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks (2,080 hours). That's $6,586.67 a month, $3,040 every two weeks and $1,520 a week.
Change the hours or weeks in the Salary Converter
$38 an hour, by pay period
| Pay period | 40 hours a week | 30 hours a week |
|---|---|---|
| Year | $79,040 | $59,280 |
| Month | $6,586.67 | $4,940.00 |
| Two weeks | $3,040 | $2,280 |
| Week | $1,520 | $1,140 |
| Day (8 hours) | $304 | $228 |
With two weeks of unpaid time off, a full-time year at $38 an hour comes to $76,000 (2,000 hours). Paid holidays keep you at $79,040.
How $38 an hour compares
- It's 5.2 times the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, or $63,960 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 $38 is 17% above that average.
- At the common 30% guideline, $38 an hour supports rent of about $1,976 a month.
Where $38 an hour ranks
$38 an hour is above the median of U.S. hourly pay ($24.51) and below the 75th percentile ($38.71), so roughly 75% 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 $38 an hour
The most common occupations whose national median pay rounds to $38 an hour (May 2025, the latest BLS survey):
- Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators: $37.50 an hour, 324,000 jobs
- Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents: $37.82 an hour, 490,000 jobs
- Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists: $37.87 an hour, 900,000 jobs
- First-Line Supervisors of Mechanics, Installers, and Repairers: $38.39 an hour, 618,000 jobs
- First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers: $38.42 an hour, 812,000 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 $38 an hour matched in earlier years
To buy what $38 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 $38 an hour, before tax, using U.S. average prices for September 2026:
- 3.6 minutes for a dozen eggs ($2.27)
- 7.1 minutes for a gallon of regular gas ($4.48)
- 6.5 minutes for a gallon of whole milk ($4.11)
What $79,040 a year buys abroad
Local prices change what a salary is worth. Spent in each country, $79,040 buys what this much would buy in the U.S. (World Bank purchasing power parity):
- United States: $79,040
- Mexico: $134,368
- Spain: $115,398
- Japan: $114,608
- Canada: $87,734
- United Kingdom: $85,363
The dashed line marks $79,040 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).