Helpers--Carpenters in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$32,809
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$6,671
16.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$35,242
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
$39,480
Kept after tax
$32,809
Worth in national money
$35,242
State rank
32
of 47 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Pay for helpers--carpenters is on the low side in Wisconsin. The middle earner gets $39,480. That is 32 of 47 states, and about 9.82% under the national figure. Whether that matters depends on what things cost here.
- Against 491 occupations Wisconsin publishes, helpers--carpenters lands at 427. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $39,480 you keep $32,809 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $35,242 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $40,340, since top earners drag the number up.
- For helpers--carpenters, Wisconsin sits in the lower band at $39,480, ranking 32 of 47 and trailing the national median by about 9.82%. Nominal rankings routinely invert once tax and regional price level are applied, so this position should not be read as the conclusion.
- Within Wisconsin, this work ranks 427 of 491 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- Retained pay in Wisconsin is $32,809 after the full tax stack, from $39,480. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $35,242 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $40,340 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Helpers--Carpenters
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $26,750 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $39,480 |
| Top tenth earn over | $56,880 |
| This salary | $39,480 |
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 | $32,809 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $33,902 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$354 |
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 | $38,120 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$428 |
| 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 helpers--carpenters in Wisconsin earn under $39,480 and half over. The published range runs $26,750 at the tenth percentile to $56,880 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $32,809, from $39,480, 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 427 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 $35,242, the adjusted value of that $39,480 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 427 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for helpers--carpenters in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $26,750 to $56,880; 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 $32,809 from $39,480. 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 427 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $35,242 — the adjusted value of that $39,480 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 427 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $26,750 at the bottom tenth to $56,880 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Wisconsin is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $35,242 in national terms.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Wisconsin adds its own income tax on top — which is why $32,809 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
A blank is a suppression, not a zero. 47 states have a published figure for this work; the others had too few responses to release one.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($26,750) and the ninetieth ($56,880) 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 $35,242 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 $32,809 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 47 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.