Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$31,542
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$6,258
16.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$33,881
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
$37,800
Kept after tax
$31,542
Worth in national money
$33,881
State rank
15
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- This is a good state for the work. Wisconsin pays this job a middle wage of $37,800, ranking 15 of 51 states and sitting about 2.77% above the national middle.
- Against 491 occupations Wisconsin publishes, this job lands at 435. That is the lower quarter. That is the comparison people actually feel, more than any national table.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $37,800 you keep $31,542, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $33,881 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $38,280, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Wisconsin's median for teaching assistants, except postsecondary is $37,800, about 2.77% above the national figure and 15 of 51 states reporting. Whether that premium reaches the worker depends on the two adjustments below, which is the part a wage table cannot tell you.
- Within Wisconsin, this work ranks 435 of 491 occupations by median pay, in the bottom quartile. The within-state position is the more salient one for anyone weighing this job against alternatives available to them locally.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for teaching assistants, except postsecondary on $37,800 is $31,542. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $33,881 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 $38,280 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Teaching Assistants, Except Postsecondary
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $29,060 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $37,800 |
| Top tenth earn over | $46,270 |
| This salary | $37,800 |
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 | $31,542 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $32,552 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$382 |
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 | $36,543 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$462 |
| 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 teaching assistants, except postsecondary in Wisconsin earn under $37,800 and half over. The published range runs $29,060 at the tenth percentile to $46,270 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- In Wisconsin the take-home figure of $31,542, from $37,800, 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 435 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 $33,881, the adjusted value of that $37,800 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 435 of 491 in the state.
- Figures are distribution medians for teaching assistants, except postsecondary in Wisconsin, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $29,060 to $46,270; 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 $31,542 from $37,800. 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 435 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Wisconsin, so $33,881 — the adjusted value of that $37,800 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 435 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Most of these jobs pay within a close range — $29,060 at the tenth percentile, $46,270 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 $33,881 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, $31,542 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 ($29,060 to $46,270) 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 $33,881 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 $31,542 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.