Physical Therapist Aides in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$30,803
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$6,017
16.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,087
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
$36,820
Kept after tax
$30,803
Worth in national money
$33,087
State rank
13
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Wisconsin pays physical therapist aides a middle wage of $36,820, ranking 13 of 50 states and sitting about 4.48% above the national middle.
- Against 491 occupations Wisconsin publishes, physical therapist aides lands at 444. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $36,820 you keep $30,803 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $33,087 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $37,400, since top earners drag the number up.
- Wisconsin's median for physical therapist aides is $36,820, about 4.48% above the national figure and 13 of 50 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within Wisconsin, this work ranks 444 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.
- Retained pay in Wisconsin is $30,803 after the full tax stack, from $36,820. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $33,087 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $37,400 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Physical Therapist Aides
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $28,080 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $36,820 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,520 |
| This salary | $36,820 |
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 | $30,803 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $31,765 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$399 |
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 | $35,623 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$482 |
| 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 $36,820. The published range is $28,080 up to $46,520, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $30,803, from $36,820, 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 444 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 $33,087 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 444.
- Reported values are medians; for physical therapist aides in Wisconsin the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $28,080 to $46,520. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- Take-home for Wisconsin is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $30,803 from $36,820. 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 444 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $33,087, worked from $36,820, 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 444 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $28,080 and the top tenth $46,520, 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 $33,087 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 $30,803.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 50 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($28,080 to $46,520) 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 $33,087 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 $30,803 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.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.