Healthcare Social Workers in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$53,384
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$13,526
20.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,342
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
$66,910
Kept after tax
$53,384
Worth in national money
$57,342
State rank
21
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin sits in the middle of the pack for healthcare social workers. The median is $66,910, 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 182.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $66,910 you keep $53,384, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $57,342 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $69,510, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Wisconsin occupies the middle band for healthcare social workers: a median of $66,910, 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, healthcare social workers sits at 182 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.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for healthcare social workers on $66,910 is $53,384. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $57,342 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 $69,510 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Healthcare Social Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,280 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $66,910 |
| Top tenth earn over | $91,040 |
| This salary | $66,910 |
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 | $53,384 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $55,901 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$184 |
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 | $63,726 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$255 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 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 healthcare social workers in Wisconsin earn under $66,910 and half over. The published range runs $50,280 at the tenth percentile to $91,040 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $53,384, from $66,910, 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 182 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 $57,342, the adjusted value of that $66,910 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 182 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for healthcare social workers in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $50,280 to $91,040; 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 $53,384 from $66,910. 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 182 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $57,342 — the adjusted value of that $66,910 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 182 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 $69,510, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $50,280 at the bottom tenth to $91,040 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 $57,342 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, $53,384 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 $69,510. 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 is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($50,280 to $91,040) 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 $57,342 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 $53,384 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.