Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$49,153
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$12,017
19.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$52,798
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
$61,170
Kept after tax
$49,153
Worth in national money
$52,798
State rank
45
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin is among the lower-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $61,170, ranking 45 of 51 states — about 22.2% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. This job ranks 238 among 491 occupations Wisconsin publishes pay for.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $61,170 you keep $49,153, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $52,798 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $62,330, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Wisconsin ranks 45 of 51 for stationary engineers and boiler operators, with a median of $61,170 — about 22.2% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 238 of 491 in Wisconsin places stationary engineers and boiler operators 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 stationary engineers and boiler operators on $61,170 is $49,153. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $52,798 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 $62,330 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $51,040 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,170 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,120 |
| This salary | $61,170 |
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 | $49,153 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,330 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$24 |
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 | $58,461 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$29 |
| 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 stationary engineers and boiler operators in Wisconsin earn under $61,170 and half over. The published range runs $51,040 at the tenth percentile to $78,120 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $49,153, from $61,170, 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 238 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 $52,798, the adjusted value of that $61,170 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 238 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for stationary engineers and boiler operators in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $51,040 to $78,120; 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.
- Take-home for Wisconsin is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $49,153 from $61,170. 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 238 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $52,798 — the adjusted value of that $61,170 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 238 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $51,040 and the top tenth $78,120, so most people doing this work in Wisconsin sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $52,798 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 $49,153 of this wage survives to your account.
Can I compare this job across every state?
This occupation is published everywhere — all 51 of them — so comparing states measures real differences rather than gaps in the data.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($51,040 to $78,120) 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 $52,798 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 $49,153 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.