Opticians, Dispensing in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,837
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$7,983
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,568
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
$44,820
Kept after tax
$36,837
Worth in national money
$39,568
State rank
31
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Wisconsin pays opticians, dispensing around $44,820 at the midpoint, 31 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 491 occupations Wisconsin publishes, opticians, dispensing lands at 392. 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 $44,820 you keep $36,837, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $39,568 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $46,000, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For opticians, dispensing the Wisconsin median is $44,820, ranking 31 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 392 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 opticians, dispensing on $44,820 is $36,837. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $39,568 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 $46,000 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Opticians, Dispensing
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $36,680 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $60,320 |
| This salary | $44,820 |
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 | $36,837 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $38,193 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$265 |
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 | $43,132 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$320 |
| 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 $44,820. The published range is $36,680 up to $60,320, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- That $36,837 take-home in Wisconsin comes from $44,820. 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 392 of 491.
- Two cautions on $39,568, the adjusted value of that $44,820 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 392 of 491 locally.
- Reported values are medians; for opticians, dispensing in Wisconsin the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $36,680 to $60,320. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Retained pay of $36,837, from $44,820, 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 392 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 31 of 51 for it.
- This $39,568 adjusted figure, worked from $44,820, 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 392 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 392 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $36,680 and the top tenth $60,320, 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 $39,568 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 $36,837.
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 ($36,680 to $60,320) 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 $39,568 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 $36,837 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.