Architects, Except Landscape and Naval in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$73,739
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$24,771
25.1% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$79,206
Wisconsin costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Wisconsin — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$98,510
Kept after tax
$73,739
Worth in national money
$79,206
State rank
23
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin sits in the middle of the pack for this job. The median is $98,510, ranking 23 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within Wisconsin this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, this job ranks 53 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $98,510 you keep $73,739 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $79,206 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $102,000, since top earners drag the number up.
- Wisconsin occupies the middle band for architects, except landscape and naval: a median of $98,510, ranking 23 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Ranked against every occupation Wisconsin publishes a median for, architects, except landscape and naval sits 53 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Retained pay in Wisconsin is $73,739 after the full tax stack, from $98,510. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $79,206 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $102,000 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Architects, Except Landscape and Naval
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $66,710 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $98,510 |
| Top tenth earn over | $143,330 |
| This salary | $98,510 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Wisconsin | $73,739 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $78,132 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,197 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $92,265 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,654 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $98,510 as a midpoint for Wisconsin, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $66,710 and the ninetieth is $143,330 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $73,739, from $98,510, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 53 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $79,206 uses one figure for the whole of Wisconsin. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 53.
- The Wisconsin median of $98,510 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $66,710 to $143,330. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Wisconsin is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $73,739 from $98,510. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 53 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $79,206, worked from $98,510, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Wisconsin address, on work sitting at 53 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $102,000, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $66,710 at the bottom tenth to $143,330 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Wisconsin is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $79,206 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Wisconsin then takes its own share, leaving $73,739.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Wisconsin is $102,000. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($66,710) and the ninetieth ($143,330) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Wisconsin's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $79,206 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $73,739 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Wisconsin income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.