Production Workers, All Other in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$35,351
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$7,499
17.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$37,972
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
$42,850
Kept after tax
$35,351
Worth in national money
$37,972
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin sits in the middle of the pack for production workers, all other. The median is $42,850, ranking 22 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Measured against other jobs in Wisconsin, this one sits low: 404 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $42,850 you keep $35,351, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $37,972 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $44,250, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Wisconsin occupies the middle band for production workers, all other: a median of $42,850, ranking 22 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Production workers, all other occupies position 404 of 491 in Wisconsin's occupational wage distribution, in the bottom quartile. National ranking and local ranking answer different questions and frequently disagree; this is the one a resident experiences.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for production workers, all other on $42,850 is $35,351. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $37,972 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 $44,250 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Production Workers, All Other
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,150 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $42,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,420 |
| This salary | $42,850 |
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 | $35,351 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $36,610 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$298 |
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 | $41,283 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$360 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of production workers, all other in Wisconsin earn under $42,850 and half over. The published range runs $33,150 at the tenth percentile to $59,420 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- That $35,351 take-home in Wisconsin comes from $42,850. 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 404 of 491.
- Two cautions on $37,972, the adjusted value of that $42,850 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 404 of 491 locally.
- Figures are distribution medians for production workers, all other in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $33,150 to $59,420; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- Retained pay of $35,351, from $42,850, 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 404 of 491 locally, and the state ranks 22 of 51 for it.
- This $37,972 adjusted figure, worked from $42,850, 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 404 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 404 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 $44,250, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $33,150 at the tenth percentile, $59,420 at the ninetieth.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $37,972.
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 $35,351.
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 $44,250. 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 ($33,150 to $59,420) 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 $37,972 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 $35,351 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.