Registered Nurses in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$71,819
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$23,711
24.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$77,144
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
$95,530
Kept after tax
$71,819
Worth in national money
$77,144
State rank
23
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin sits in the middle of the pack for registered nurses. The median is $95,530, ranking 23 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- Within Wisconsin this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, registered nurses ranks 70 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $95,530 you keep $71,819, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $77,144 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $94,690, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Wisconsin occupies the middle band for registered nurses: a median of $95,530, ranking 23 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.
- Ranked against every occupation Wisconsin publishes a median for, registered nurses sits 70 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for registered nurses on $95,530 is $71,819. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $77,144 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 $94,690 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Registered Nurses
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $77,470 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $95,530 |
| Top tenth earn over | $119,860 |
| This salary | $95,530 |
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 | $71,819 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $76,035 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$1,102 |
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 | $89,537 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$1,522 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $95,530 as a midpoint for Wisconsin, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $77,470 and the ninetieth is $119,860 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Wisconsin's $71,819, worked from $95,530. 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 70 of 491.
- Two cautions on $77,144, the adjusted value of that $95,530 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 70 of 491 locally.
- The Wisconsin median of $95,530 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $77,470 to $119,860. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Wisconsin take-home of $71,819, on $95,530 for work ranking 70 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 70 of 491 in the state.
- This $77,144 adjusted figure, worked from $95,530, 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 70 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 70 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $77,470 at the tenth percentile, $119,860 at the ninetieth.
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 $77,144 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 $71,819.
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 ($77,470 to $119,860) 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 $77,144 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 $71,819 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.