In the United States, $60,000 a year averages out to be $21.64 an hour after taxes.
That is equivalent to average earnings of $1,731.56 bi-weekly or $45,020.62 a year.
However, how does that hourly rate vary from state to state?
Likewise, how does earnings of $60,000 a year compare to the living wage in each state?
Let’s dive in.
How does $60,000 a Year Break Down by State?
This question can be answered by leveraging a tool like ADP’s Salary Paycheck Calculator.
Using aggregated outputs from ADP’s tool, we can visualize how $60,000 a year breaks down by state.
When looking at the below visualization, keep in mind the following assumptions:
- This assumes that someone is filing their taxes as an individual
- This does not include any local or county taxes
- This does not account for any income deductions (i.e. retirement accounts, health insurance, etc.)
- This assumes you are not exempt from FICA or Medicare
Hover your mouse over each state to see the after-tax information for earnings of $60,000.
Below is an additional visualization ranking which states pay the highest hourly wage when earning $60,000 a year.
Is $60,000 a Year a Good Salary?
In order to answer to this question, we need to define what a ‘good salary’ is.
In our analysis, we will define a good salary as a salary earning more than the annual living wage for a particular state.
Additionally, we will only be looking at this from the perspective of a single individual with no children.
The result is the below visualization.
Hover your mouse over each state to see the difference between a $60,000 salary and the living wage. The darker the color, the larger the difference between the two.
What stood out to me was that no matter what state you are in, a $60,000 salary is above the living wage (when taking into account the previously listed assumptions above).
Below is an additional visualization ranking an individual’s after-tax hourly wage (earning $60,000 a year) compared with each state’s hourly living wage.
Final Thoughts
Everybody’s situation is different.
In this case, we evaluated earnings of $60,000 for one individual under certain circumstances.
However, for a more accurate representation of your situation, you can do the following:
- Calculate your earnings via ADP’s Salary Paycheck Calculator
- Leverage MIT’s Living Wage Calculator to understand your associated living wage
- Compare both numbers
If a salary of $60,000 is not enough for your situation, I would recommend the following:
- Negotiate an internal raise
- Lower your big 3 expenses
- Create passive income streams
- Move to an area with a lower cost of living (more bang for your buck)
Thank you for reading 🙂
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