Surgical Technologists in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$58,028
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$16,092
21.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$62,331
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
$74,120
Kept after tax
$58,028
Worth in national money
$62,331
State rank
16
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin is one of the better-paying states for surgical technologists. The middle earner takes $74,120, which ranks 16 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 14.65% above the national middle.
- Against other work in Wisconsin, this sits in the middle: 155 of 491 occupations with published pay. Solidly ordinary for the state, which is not the same as ordinary nationally.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $74,120 you keep $58,028, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $62,331 would elsewhere. The average is lower, $72,530, so pay clusters nearer the top than usual.
- Wisconsin ranks 16 of 51 states publishing a median for surgical technologists, at $74,120 — about 14.65% 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.
- Surgical technologists ranks 155 of 491 occupations in Wisconsin by median pay, in the middle bands. Within-state and national positions are separate measurements and a job commonly sits in different quartiles on each.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for surgical technologists on $74,120 is $58,028. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $62,331 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 $72,530 falls below the median, a left skew that is uncommon in wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Surgical Technologists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $59,410 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $74,120 |
| Top tenth earn over | $86,670 |
| This salary | $74,120 |
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 | $58,028 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $60,973 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$415 |
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 | $69,933 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$574 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Wisconsin earn less than $74,120. The published range is $59,410 up to $86,670, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Wisconsin's $58,028, worked from $74,120. 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 155 of 491.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $62,331 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 155.
- Reported values are medians; for surgical technologists in Wisconsin the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $59,410 to $86,670. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Wisconsin take-home of $58,028, on $74,120 for work ranking 155 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 155 of 491 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $62,331, worked from $74,120, 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 155 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $59,410 at the tenth percentile, $86,670 at the ninetieth.
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 $62,331 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Wisconsin's own levy, $58,028 remains.
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.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($59,410 to $86,670) 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 $62,331 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 $58,028 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.