Nursing Assistants in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$37,071
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$8,059
17.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,819
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
$45,130
Kept after tax
$37,071
Worth in national money
$39,819
State rank
19
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Wisconsin pays nursing assistants around $45,130 at the midpoint, 19 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 491 occupations Wisconsin publishes, nursing assistants lands at 387. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $45,130 you keep $37,071, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $39,819 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $44,600, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- For nursing assistants the Wisconsin median is $45,130, ranking 19 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.
- Within Wisconsin, this work ranks 387 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.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for nursing assistants on $45,130 is $37,071. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $39,819 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 $44,600 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
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Pay band: Nursing Assistants
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $37,900 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $45,130 |
| Top tenth earn over | $50,650 |
| This salary | $45,130 |
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 | $37,071 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,442 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$260 |
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 | $43,423 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$314 |
| 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 nursing assistants in Wisconsin earn under $45,130 and half over. The published range runs $37,900 at the tenth percentile to $50,650 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $37,071, from $45,130, 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 387 of 491 occupations here.
- Two cautions on $39,819, the adjusted value of that $45,130 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 387 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for nursing assistants in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $37,900 to $50,650; 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 $37,071 from $45,130. 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 387 of 491 locally.
- This $39,819 adjusted figure, worked from $45,130, 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 387 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 387 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $37,900 and the top tenth $50,650, so most people doing this work in Wisconsin sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $39,819.
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 $37,071.
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 ($37,900 to $50,650) 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 $39,819 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 $37,071 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.