Food Servers, Nonrestaurant in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$29,181
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$5,489
15.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$31,345
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
$34,670
Kept after tax
$29,181
Worth in national money
$31,345
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin sits in the middle of the pack for food servers, nonrestaurant. The median is $34,670, ranking 24 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Wisconsin, this one sits low: 466 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Wisconsin is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $34,670 the take-home is $29,181; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $31,345 would nationally. The average comes to $35,080, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- Wisconsin occupies the middle band for food servers, nonrestaurant: a median of $34,670, ranking 24 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.
- Food servers, nonrestaurant occupies position 466 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.
- Post-tax income for food servers, nonrestaurant in Wisconsin, on $34,670, is $29,181 — equivalent to $31,345 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 $35,080 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,640 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $34,670 |
| Top tenth earn over | $44,080 |
| This salary | $34,670 |
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 | $29,181 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $30,037 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$435 |
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 | $33,605 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$526 |
| 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 $34,670. The published range is $28,640 up to $44,080, 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 $29,181, worked from $34,670. 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 466 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Wisconsin, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $31,345, the adjusted value of that $34,670 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 466 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for food servers, nonrestaurant in Wisconsin the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,640 to $44,080. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Wisconsin take-home of $29,181, on $34,670 for work ranking 466 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 466 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $31,345 — the adjusted value of that $34,670 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 466 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,640 at the bottom tenth to $44,080 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $31,345 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 $29,181.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,640 to $44,080) 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 $31,345 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 $29,181 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.