Packers and Packagers, Hand in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,192
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$5,818
16.2% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$32,431
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
$36,010
Kept after tax
$30,192
Worth in national money
$32,431
State rank
27
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Wisconsin pays packers and packagers, hand around $36,010 at the midpoint, 27 of 51 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Against 491 occupations Wisconsin publishes, packers and packagers, hand lands at 454. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Wisconsin is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $36,010 the take-home is $30,192; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $32,431 would nationally. The average comes to $37,180, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- For packers and packagers, hand the Wisconsin median is $36,010, ranking 27 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 454 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.
- Post-tax income for packers and packagers, hand in Wisconsin, on $36,010, is $30,192 — equivalent to $32,431 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $37,180 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
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Pay band: Packers and Packagers, Hand
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,010 |
| Top tenth earn over | $47,700 |
| This salary | $36,010 |
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 | $30,192 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,114 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$412 |
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 | $34,863 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$499 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $36,010 as a midpoint for Wisconsin, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $28,080 and the ninetieth is $47,700 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $30,192, from $36,010, 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 454 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Wisconsin, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $32,431, the adjusted value of that $36,010 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 454 of 491 in the state.
- The Wisconsin median of $36,010 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $28,080 to $47,700. 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 $30,192 from $36,010. 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 454 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $32,431 — the adjusted value of that $36,010 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 454 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $37,180, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $28,080 at the bottom tenth to $47,700 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $32,431 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 $30,192.
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.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Wisconsin is $37,180. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,080 to $47,700) 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 $32,431 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 $30,192 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.