Prepress Technicians and Workers in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$39,544
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$8,866
18.3% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$42,477
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
$48,410
Kept after tax
$39,544
Worth in national money
$42,477
State rank
23
of 45 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Middling, nationally. Wisconsin pays prepress technicians and workers around $48,410 at the midpoint, 23 of 45 states. The interesting numbers on this page are the two below it.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Prepress technicians and workers ranks 334 among 491 occupations Wisconsin publishes pay for.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $48,410 you keep $39,544, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $42,477 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $51,850, because the best-paid pull it up.
- For prepress technicians and workers the Wisconsin median is $48,410, ranking 23 of 45 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.
- Position 334 of 491 in Wisconsin places prepress technicians and workers in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for prepress technicians and workers on $48,410 is $39,544. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $42,477 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 $51,850 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Prepress Technicians and Workers
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $38,020 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $48,410 |
| Top tenth earn over | $66,090 |
| This salary | $48,410 |
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 | $39,544 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $41,077 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$205 |
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 | $46,502 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$248 |
| 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 $48,410. The published range is $38,020 up to $66,090, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Wisconsin's $39,544, worked from $48,410. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 334 of 491.
- One number stands for prices across all of Wisconsin, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $42,477, the adjusted value of that $48,410 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 334 of 491 in the state.
- Reported values are medians; for prepress technicians and workers in Wisconsin the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $38,020 to $66,090. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Wisconsin take-home of $39,544, on $48,410 for work ranking 334 of 491 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 334 of 491 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $42,477 — the adjusted value of that $48,410 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 334 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $51,850 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $38,020 at the tenth percentile, $66,090 at the ninetieth.
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 $42,477 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Into four separate taxes, not one. Federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare apply everywhere, and Wisconsin adds its own income tax on top — which is why $39,544 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
The survey withholds small samples rather than publish an unreliable number. Pay appears for 45 states here, and a missing state means too few reports, not no jobs.
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 $51,850. 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 ($38,020 to $66,090) 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 $42,477 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 $39,544 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 45 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.