Bartenders in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$20,583
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$2,877
12.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$22,109
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
$23,460
Kept after tax
$20,583
Worth in national money
$22,109
State rank
44
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- The nominal figure here is modest. Wisconsin pays bartenders a middle wage of $23,460, 44 of 51 states and about 31.68% below the national middle. Hold that thought until the adjusted numbers.
- Within Wisconsin this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, bartenders ranks 491. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Wisconsin is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $23,460 the take-home is $20,583; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $22,109 would nationally. The average comes to $26,970, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Wisconsin's $23,460 median for bartenders places it 44 of 51 states, about 31.68% below national. Because both the tax and price adjustments tend to favor lower-nominal states, this ranking is the least stable of the three reported here.
- Against every occupation Wisconsin reports, bartenders ranks 491 of 491, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- Post-tax income for bartenders in Wisconsin, on $23,460, is $20,583 — equivalent to $22,109 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $26,970 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Bartenders
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $17,200 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $23,460 |
| Top tenth earn over | $39,040 |
| This salary | $23,460 |
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 | $20,583 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $20,929 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$571 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $23,039 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$674 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Wisconsin earn less than $23,460. The published range is $17,200 up to $39,040, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $20,583, from $23,460, 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 491 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 $22,109 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 491.
- Reported values are medians; for bartenders in Wisconsin the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $17,200 to $39,040. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Wisconsin is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $20,583 from $23,460. 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 491 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $22,109, worked from $23,460, 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 491 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 $26,970, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $17,200 and the top tenth $39,040 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Wisconsin sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $22,109 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Wisconsin's own levy, $20,583 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
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 $26,970. 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 ($17,200) and the ninetieth ($39,040) 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 $22,109 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 $20,583 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.