Nurse Practitioners in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$95,094
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$36,886
27.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$102,145
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
$131,980
Kept after tax
$95,094
Worth in national money
$102,145
State rank
24
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Wisconsin pays nurse practitioners around $131,980 at the midpoint, 24 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 491 occupations Wisconsin reports, nurse practitioners comes in at 17 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $131,980 you keep $95,094, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $102,145 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $135,160, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For nurse practitioners the Wisconsin median is $131,980, ranking 24 of 51 states reporting. Mid-band nominal positions are the ones most frequently reordered by the adjustments, because no large wage premium exists to absorb a state's tax or price level.
- Nurse practitioners ranks 17 of 491 occupations by median in Wisconsin, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for nurse practitioners on $131,980 is $95,094. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $102,145 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 $135,160 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Nurse Practitioners
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $106,320 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $131,980 |
| Top tenth earn over | $166,260 |
| This salary | $131,980 |
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 | $95,094 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $101,474 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$2,279 |
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 | $122,646 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$3,240 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $131,980 as a midpoint for Wisconsin, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $106,320 and the ninetieth is $166,260 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $95,094, from $131,980, 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 17 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $102,145 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 17.
- The Wisconsin median of $131,980 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $106,320 to $166,260. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Wisconsin is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $95,094 from $131,980. 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 17 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $102,145, worked from $131,980, 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 17 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $106,320 at the tenth percentile, $166,260 at the ninetieth.
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 $102,145 in national terms.
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, $95,094 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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($106,320 to $166,260) 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 $102,145 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 $95,094 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.