Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,550
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$7,890
17.8% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$39,260
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
$44,440
Kept after tax
$36,550
Worth in national money
$39,260
State rank
21
of 46 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. Wisconsin is 21 of 46 states for this job, with a middle wage of $44,440. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Within Wisconsin this is lower-paid work. Of 491 occupations the state publishes figures for, this job ranks 396. That is the bottom quarter locally, whatever the national comparison says.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $44,440 you keep $36,550, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $39,260 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $43,640, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Wisconsin ranks 21 of 46 for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood at $44,440. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Against every occupation Wisconsin reports, sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood ranks 396 of 491, in the lowest quartile of the state's distribution. That position is set by the local labor market and is independent of how the state compares nationally for this work.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood on $44,440 is $36,550. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $39,260 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 $43,640 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $33,220 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $44,440 |
| Top tenth earn over | $55,930 |
| This salary | $44,440 |
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 | $36,550 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,888 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$271 |
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 | $42,776 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$328 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $44,440 as a midpoint for Wisconsin, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $33,220 and the ninetieth is $55,930 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $36,550, from $44,440, 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 396 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 $39,260, the adjusted value of that $44,440 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 396 of 491 in the state.
- The Wisconsin median of $44,440 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $33,220 to $55,930. 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 $36,550 from $44,440. 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 396 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $39,260 — the adjusted value of that $44,440 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 396 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $33,220 at the bottom tenth to $55,930 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
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 $39,260 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 $36,550 of this wage survives to your account.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 46 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($33,220 to $55,930) 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 $39,260 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 $36,550 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 46 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.