Substitute Teachers, Short-Term in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$36,181
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$7,769
17.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$38,863
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
$43,950
Kept after tax
$36,181
Worth in national money
$38,863
State rank
12
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin is one of the better-paying states for substitute teachers, short-term. The middle earner takes $43,950, which ranks 12 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 5.47% above the national middle.
- Measured against other jobs in Wisconsin, this one sits low: 400 of 491 occupations with published pay, in the bottom quarter.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $43,950 you keep $36,181 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $38,863 at national prices. Averages run higher here, $47,660, since top earners drag the number up.
- Wisconsin ranks 12 of 50 states publishing a median for substitute teachers, short-term, at $43,950 — about 5.47% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Substitute teachers, short-term occupies position 400 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.
- Retained pay in Wisconsin is $36,181 after the full tax stack, from $43,950. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $38,863 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $47,660 exceeds the median, so the upper tail is doing the work.
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Pay band: Substitute Teachers, Short-Term
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $35,740 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $43,950 |
| Top tenth earn over | $59,890 |
| This salary | $43,950 |
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 | $36,181 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $37,494 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$279 |
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 | $42,316 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$338 |
| 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 substitute teachers, short-term in Wisconsin earn under $43,950 and half over. The published range runs $35,740 at the tenth percentile to $59,890 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $36,181, from $43,950, 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 400 of 491 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $38,863 uses one figure for the whole of Wisconsin. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 491 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 400.
- Figures are distribution medians for substitute teachers, short-term in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $35,740 to $59,890; 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 $36,181 from $43,950. 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 400 of 491 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $38,863, worked from $43,950, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Wisconsin address, on work sitting at 400 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 $47,660, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $35,740 and the top tenth $59,890, so most people doing this work in Wisconsin sit within a fairly tight band.
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 $38,863.
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 $36,181.
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 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
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 $47,660. 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 ($35,740 to $59,890) 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 $38,863 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 $36,181 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 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.