$18 an Hour
A $18/hour job pays $720 a week on a 40-hour schedule before taxes. That lands right in the range where a second job or steady overtime can start to change a budget instead of just covering it.
What this wage actually looks like
A common warehouse and production wage. Extra OT hours move this number fast, so the real question is what lands after tax.
- Gross is not take-home. Federal and state withholding, FICA, and deductions come out before you see the money. The overtime calculator shows the split.
- 40 hours is an assumption. Shift work rarely delivers exactly 40. Run your real hours and any differentials through the shift calculator for a truer number.
- One missed shift is $144.00. That is what an hours cut, a sick day, or a schedule change actually costs you at this rate.
Worth knowing
Useful for deciding whether a second job is worth it: add the second job gross to this, then subtract the taxes, commute, and childcare the extra hours cost.
Free tools to run next
Use the Paycheck Health Score Quiz to find your next move, and the free Paycheck Protection Checklist to review a full paycheck before payday.
This page is for planning and comparison only. Actual take-home depends on tax filing status, state tax, and deductions.
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