First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,953
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$6,718
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,396
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
$39,670
Kept after tax
$32,953
Worth in national money
$35,396
State rank
30
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Wisconsin pays this job around $39,670 at the midpoint, 30 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Measured against other jobs in Wisconsin, this one sits low: 422 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $39,670 you keep $32,953, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $35,396 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $43,660, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers the Wisconsin median is $39,670, ranking 30 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers occupies position 422 of 491 in Wisconsin's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers on $39,670 is $32,953. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $35,396 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $43,660 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: First-Line Supervisors of Food Preparation and Serving Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $30,310 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,650 |
| This salary | $39,670 |
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 | $32,953 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $34,055 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$351 |
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 | $38,298 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$425 |
| 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 $39,670. The published range is $30,310 up to $60,650, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Wisconsin's $32,953, worked from $39,670. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 422 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Wisconsin, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $35,396, the adjusted value of that $39,670 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 422 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers in Wisconsin the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $30,310 to $60,650. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Wisconsin take-home of $32,953, on $39,670 for work ranking 422 of 491 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 422 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $35,396 — the adjusted value of that $39,670 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 422 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 $43,660, 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 $30,310 at the bottom tenth to $60,650 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
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 $35,396 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $32,953.
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 $43,660. 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 ($30,310) and the ninetieth ($60,650) 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 $35,396 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 $32,953 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.