Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists in Wisconsin

Wrenches, screwdrivers and gloves on an organized repair workbench.

May 2025 wages · tax year 2026

You keep

$50,106

after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax

Tax takes

$12,344

19.8% of the whole

Worth, in national money

$53,821

Wisconsin costs less than average

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

$62,450

Kept after tax

$50,106

Worth in national money

$53,821

State rank

21

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 $62,450, ranking 21 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
  • Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Wisconsin reports figures for, this is number 223.
  • Wisconsin is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $62,450 the take-home is $50,106; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $53,821 would nationally. The average comes to $64,150, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
  • Wisconsin occupies the middle band for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists: a median of $62,450, ranking 21 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.
  • In Wisconsin's occupational distribution, bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists sits at 223 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
  • Post-tax income for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in Wisconsin, on $62,450, is $50,106 — equivalent to $53,821 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 $64,150 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.

Compare this career across states

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Pay band: Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists

The state median for this job

50thpercentile, roughly
Lowest tenth earn under$45,250
Half earn under$62,450
Top tenth earn over$82,210
This salary$62,450

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

Compare with
+$2,253take-home per year in Texas
Take-home in Wisconsin$50,106
Take-home in Texas$52,359
Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity+$60

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

Moving to
$0now · $62,450$62,378
$62,378in Texas, for the same life
To match take-home only$59,646
You could take a cut of−$72
Prices in Texas97 vs 93

State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.

Sources and assumptions
  • A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in Wisconsin earn under $62,450 and half over. The published range runs $45,250 at the tenth percentile to $82,210 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
  • In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $50,106, from $62,450, 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 223 of 491 occupations here.
  • One number stands for prices across all of Wisconsin, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $53,821, the adjusted value of that $62,450 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 223 of 491 in the state.
  • Figures are distribution medians for bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $45,250 to $82,210; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
  • Take-home for Wisconsin is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $50,106 from $62,450. 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 223 of 491 locally.
  • Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $53,821 — the adjusted value of that $62,450 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 223 of 491 locally.

Questions people ask

How much does pay for this job actually vary?

Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $45,250 and the top tenth $82,210, so most people doing this work in Wisconsin sit within a fairly tight band.

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 $53,821 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, $50,106 remains.

Can I compare this job across every state?

This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.

What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?

The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($45,250 to $82,210) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Wisconsin rather than a national figure.

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 $53,821 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 $50,106 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.