Machinists in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$47,615
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$11,495
19.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$51,145
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
$59,110
Kept after tax
$47,615
Worth in national money
$51,145
State rank
26
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Wisconsin is 26 of 51 states for machinists, with a middle wage of $59,110. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Against other work in Wisconsin, this sits in the middle: 263 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $59,110 you keep $47,615, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $51,145 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $57,860, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Wisconsin ranks 26 of 51 for machinists at $59,110. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Machinists ranks 263 of 491 occupations in Wisconsin by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for machinists on $59,110 is $47,615. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $51,145 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 $57,860 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Machinists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $40,600 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $59,110 |
| Top tenth earn over | $76,280 |
| This salary | $59,110 |
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 | $47,615 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $49,675 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$26 |
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 | $56,546 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$32 |
| 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 machinists in Wisconsin earn under $59,110 and half over. The published range runs $40,600 at the tenth percentile to $76,280 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Wisconsin's $47,615, worked from $59,110. 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 263 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $51,145 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 263.
- Figures are distribution medians for machinists in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $40,600 to $76,280; 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.
- The Wisconsin take-home of $47,615, on $59,110 for work ranking 263 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 263 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $51,145, worked from $59,110, 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 263 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $40,600 and the top tenth $76,280, 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 $51,145 in national terms.
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 $47,615.
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 ($40,600 to $76,280) 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 $51,145 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 $47,615 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.