Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$24,581
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$3,989
14.0% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$26,403
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
$28,570
Kept after tax
$24,581
Worth in national money
$26,403
State rank
37
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $28,570, ranking 37 of 51 states — about 14.92% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Measured against other jobs in Wisconsin, this one sits low: 486 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $28,570 you keep $24,581, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $26,403 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $29,710, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Wisconsin ranks 37 of 51 for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers, with a median of $28,570 — about 14.92% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers occupies position 486 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 lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers on $28,570 is $24,581. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $26,403 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 $29,710 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Lifeguards, Ski Patrol, and Other Recreational Protective Service Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $22,920 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $28,570 |
| Top tenth earn over | $35,710 |
| This salary | $28,570 |
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 | $24,581 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $25,136 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$537 |
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 | $27,894 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$649 |
| 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 $28,570. The published range is $22,920 up to $35,710, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $24,581, from $28,570, 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 486 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $26,403, the adjusted value of that $28,570 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Wisconsin. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 486 of 491 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers in Wisconsin the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $22,920 to $35,710. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Wisconsin is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $24,581 from $28,570. 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 486 of 491 locally.
- This $26,403 adjusted figure, worked from $28,570, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 486 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 486 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $29,710, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $22,920 at the bottom tenth to $35,710 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 $26,403 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $24,581 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.
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 $29,710. 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 ($22,920 to $35,710) 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 $26,403 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 $24,581 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.