iPhone 18 Pro $1,199
45 hours of work
The first week of January, and the next until Monday 2 pm.
Second of ten. In Switzerland the same phone takes 30 hours; in Mexico, 327.
The Hours Index · United States mist.huliwood.com
Three things, in the United States
And you?
I take home a year.
That is the average worker's, after tax. Put in yours for a year, bonuses and extra months' pay included, and the card and the list redo the sums. It stays on this page.
The sums
The average full-time worker in the United States earns $73,520 a year before tax and takes home $55,644 after income tax and social security contributions (OECD, 2025, a single worker without children). Divided by 2,080 working hours, an hour of work pays $26.75.
An iPhone 18 Pro: $1,199 ÷ $26.75 = 45 hours. The first week of January, and the next until Monday 2 pm.
A Tesla Model Y: $39,990 ÷ $26.75 = 1,495 hours. January to mid September.
A Big Mac: $6.22 ÷ $26.75 = 0.23 hours, or 14 minutes.
Before sales tax and fees, as Tesla's US site shows it (Vehicle Price). Before sales tax, as American shops show prices. Hours count 52 weeks of 40, whatever people in the United States actually work. More in what the index leaves out.
Against the other nine
iPhone 18 Pro second of ten
- Switzerland CHF 1,199 30 hours
- United States $1,199 45 hours
- Australia A$2,099 53 hours
- United Kingdom £1,199 58 hours
- Germany €1,449 74 hours
- France €1,479 93 hours
- Japan ¥219,800 104 hours
- Italy €1,489 119 hours
- Spain €1,469 122 hours
- Mexico MX$29,999 327 hours
Tesla Model Y third of ten
- Switzerland CHF 40,990 1,033 hours
- Australia A$58,900 1,474 hours
- United States $39,990 1,495 hours
- United Kingdom £41,000 1,982 hours
- Germany €39,990 2,034 hours
- France €40,990 2,575 hours
- Japan ¥5,587,000 2,634 hours
- Italy €40,990 3,264 hours
- Spain €40,990 3,413 hours
- Mexico MX$799,000 8,716 hours
Big Mac joint third of ten
Sources
Pay: OECD, Taxing Wages 2026: net take-home pay of a single worker without children on 100% of the average wage, 2025 (the OECD's own estimate, as for most countries).
Prices, checked 29 September 2026: Apple, the iPhone 18 Pro with 256 GB; Tesla, the cheapest Model Y on sale; The Economist, the Big Mac index, July 2026 (data, CC BY 4.0).