Librarians and Media Collections Specialists in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$53,358
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$13,512
20.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$57,314
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
$66,870
Kept after tax
$53,358
Worth in national money
$57,314
State rank
21
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Wisconsin is 21 of 51 states for this job, with a middle wage of $66,870. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Wisconsin reports figures for, this is number 183.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $66,870 you keep $53,358, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $57,314 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $68,360, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Wisconsin ranks 21 of 51 for librarians and media collections specialists at $66,870. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- In Wisconsin's occupational distribution, librarians and media collections specialists sits at 183 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 librarians and media collections specialists on $66,870 is $53,358. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $57,314 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 $68,360 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: Librarians and Media Collections Specialists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $46,350 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $66,870 |
| Top tenth earn over | $85,970 |
| This salary | $66,870 |
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 | $53,358 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $55,873 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$183 |
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 | $63,694 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$253 |
| 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 librarians and media collections specialists in Wisconsin earn under $66,870 and half over. The published range runs $46,350 at the tenth percentile to $85,970 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $53,358 take-home in Wisconsin comes from $66,870. It is the no-frills case: single filer, standard deduction, nothing set aside before tax. Real circumstances almost always reduce the tax. City and school-district taxes are not counted at all. Locally the work ranks 183 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $57,314 uses one figure for the whole of Wisconsin. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 183.
- Figures are distribution medians for librarians and media collections specialists in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $46,350 to $85,970; 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.
- Retained pay of $53,358, from $66,870, assumes a single Wisconsin filer with the standard deduction and no elective deferrals. Pre-tax retirement or HSA contributions, dependants and itemized deductions all reduce it further; local income taxes, excluded here, would increase it in the states that levy them. This occupation ranks 183 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 21 of 51 for it.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $57,314, worked from $66,870, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Wisconsin address, on work sitting at 183 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $46,350 and the top tenth $85,970, so most people doing this work in Wisconsin sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $57,314 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 $53,358 of this wage survives to your account.
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 ($46,350 to $85,970) 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 $57,314 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 $53,358 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.