The math
Annual pay = hourly wage × hours per week × paid weeks per year. A full-time, year-round job is 40 × 52 = 2,080 hours, so at $7.25 an hour: 7.25 × 2,080 = $15,080. Weekly pay is the wage times weekly hours ($290). Monthly pay is annual pay divided by 12 ($1,256.67), which is a little more than four weekly paychecks, because a year has about 4.33 weeks per month.
A quick shortcut: double the hourly wage and add three zeros to get a rough annual salary. $7.25 becomes about $14,500, which happens to be the exact figure for a 50-week year.
Gross pay vs. take-home pay
Every figure on this page is gross pay, before anything is withheld. This page does not estimate taxes. Take-home pay will be lower after Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes and any federal, state or local income tax that applies. For many low earners it can also be higher over a year than the paycheck suggests, because refundable credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit arrive as a tax refund. That credit, not the wage floor, is the main federal tool that targets low-income working households; see minimum wage vs. EITC.
Why “full-time at the minimum” overstates typical earnings
The $15,080 headline describes a worker who earns exactly $7.25 for 2,080 hours a year. Very few people fit that description. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report Characteristics of minimum wage workers, 2024 (Report 1115, June 2025):
- They are a small group. About 843,000 hourly workers were paid at or below the $7.25 federal minimum in 2024 (82,000 at exactly $7.25 and 760,000 below it), or 1.0% of the 80.3 million workers paid by the hour.
- Most work part-time. Part-time workers made up about 471,000 of those 843,000. Part-time hourly workers were about four times as likely as full-time ones to be paid at or below the federal minimum (2.4% vs. 0.6%).
- Many are young. Workers under 25 were about one-fifth of hourly workers but 43% of those paid the federal minimum or less.
- Many earn tips. About two-thirds worked in leisure and hospitality, almost entirely in restaurants and other food services, where BLS notes that tips may have supplemented hourly wages. The survey's hourly wage figure excludes tips, overtime and commissions.
So for most people paid the minimum, the realistic annual figure is lower than the full-time number because they work fewer hours, and for many it is a first or second job rather than a household's main income. Run the calculator at 20 or 25 hours a week to see what a typical part-time schedule pays.
A wage rate is not an income
That gap is the core of the Friedman-style critique. A minimum wage sets the price of an hour of work; it says nothing about how many hours anyone gets. If a higher floor leads employers to cut hours or hire fewer inexperienced workers, the hourly rate rises while annual income for some workers falls. The hourly rate on a law and the annual income in a household are different things, which is why this site favors tools that target income directly. Compare a wage mandate with household budgets in living wage vs. minimum wage, and try Friedman's alternative in the negative income tax calculator. For where each state's floor sits relative to local wages, see the state-by-state guide to minimum wage laws in 2026.
Frequently asked questions
$7.25 an hour is how much a year?
$7.25 an hour is $15,080 a year before taxes, assuming 40 hours a week for 52 weeks (2,080 hours). That works out to $290 a week and about $1,256.67 a month. With two unpaid weeks off (50 weeks), it is $14,500 a year.
How much is $15 an hour a year?
$15 an hour is $31,200 a year before taxes at 40 hours a week for 52 weeks, or $600 a week and $2,600 a month. At 50 paid weeks it is $30,000.
What is the annual full-time salary at each state's minimum wage in 2026?
At 2,080 hours a year, full-time pay at the minimum ranges from $15,080 in the 20 states that use the $7.25 federal rate to $38,272 in the District of Columbia ($18.40 an hour). Among states, Washington is highest at $17.13 an hour, or $35,630.40 a year. Rates are those in effect on October 11, 2026. See the full table.
Is the annual figure the same as take-home pay?
No. These are gross figures. Take-home pay is lower after Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes and any federal, state or local income tax, and can be higher for low earners who qualify for refundable credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.