What Is $29 an Hour as an Annual Salary?

An hourly wage of $29 translates into a specific annual income. This article will break down how an hourly rate converts to an annual gross salary and detail the various deductions that reduce this amount to your take-home pay. It will also provide context by comparing this income level to broader financial benchmarks.

Calculating Your Annual Gross Income

To determine your gross annual income from an hourly wage of $29, a standard calculation is used. Assuming a typical full-time work schedule of 40 hours per week for 52 weeks in a year, you would multiply your hourly rate by the number of hours worked per week, and then by the number of weeks in a year. This calculation results in an annual gross income of $60,320. This figure represents your total earnings before any amounts are subtracted.

Understanding Deductions and Your Net Pay

While $60,320 is your gross annual income, your net pay will be less due to various deductions. These deductions fall into mandatory and other common categories. Employers are required to withhold certain taxes from your paycheck, which are sent to the appropriate government entities.

Mandatory deductions include FICA taxes, federal income tax, and potentially state income tax. FICA, or the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, funds Social Security and Medicare programs. For 2025, employees contribute 6.2% of their wages to Social Security, up to a wage base limit of $176,100, and 1.45% to Medicare. Federal income tax withholding is calculated by your employer based on information from your Form W-4, including your filing status and any adjustments.

State income taxes are collected by most states. For those states that do, rates can vary, and withholding is also performed by your employer based on factors similar to federal income tax. Beyond these mandatory withholdings, other common deductions can further reduce your net pay. These often include contributions for health insurance premiums and retirement contributions, such as to a 401(k) plan. Your net pay is simply the remaining amount after all these deductions are subtracted from your gross income.

Placing Your Income in Perspective

An income of $29 per hour, translating to a gross annual salary of $60,320, stands considerably above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Many states also have their own minimum wage laws, often exceeding the federal rate, but $29 an hour remains significantly higher than most state-mandated minimums.

Comparing this income to national benchmarks provides further context. The median individual income in the United States was $50,200 in 2024, with median weekly wages for full-time workers in the first quarter of 2025 at $1,194. The median household income in the U.S. was approximately $80,020 in 2024. This suggests that a $60,320 annual salary for an individual places them above the median for individual earners and within range of the median for many households.