Occupational Therapists in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$69,796
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$22,594
24.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$74,972
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
$92,390
Kept after tax
$69,796
Worth in national money
$74,972
State rank
43
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin is among the lower-paying states for occupational therapists. The middle earner takes $92,390, ranking 43 of 51 states — about 7.91% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Wisconsin. It ranks 78 out of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $92,390 you keep $69,796 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $74,972 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $91,150.
- Wisconsin ranks 43 of 51 for occupational therapists, with a median of $92,390 — about 7.91% 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.
- Within Wisconsin, occupational therapists ranks 78 of 491 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in Wisconsin is $69,796 after the full tax stack, from $92,390. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $74,972 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $91,150 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Occupational Therapists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $73,610 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $92,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $110,950 |
| This salary | $92,390 |
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 | $69,796 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $73,826 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,001 |
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 | $86,662 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,383 |
| 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 $92,390. The published range is $73,610 up to $110,950, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $69,796 take-home in Wisconsin comes from $92,390. 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 78 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Wisconsin, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $74,972, the adjusted value of that $92,390 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 78 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for occupational therapists in Wisconsin the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $73,610 to $110,950. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $69,796, from $92,390, 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 78 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 43 of 51 for it.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $74,972 — the adjusted value of that $92,390 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 78 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $73,610 at the bottom tenth to $110,950 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 $74,972 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
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 $69,796.
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 ($73,610 to $110,950) 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 $74,972 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 $69,796 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.