Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators in Wisconsin
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$50,924
after federal, FICA and Wisconsin tax
Tax takes
$12,626
19.9% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,700
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
$63,550
Kept after tax
$50,924
Worth in national money
$54,700
State rank
15
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Wisconsin is one of the better-paying states for this job. The middle earner takes $63,550, which ranks 15 of 50 states with published figures. That is about 5.88% above the national middle.
- Middle of the local pack. Of 491 occupations Wisconsin reports figures for, this is number 207.
- Here is where Wisconsin does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $63,550 you keep $50,924, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $54,700 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $64,070, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Wisconsin ranks 15 of 50 states publishing a median for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators, at $63,550 — about 5.88% 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.
- In Wisconsin's occupational distribution, water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators sits at 207 of 491 — neither quartile. This local position is what a resident compares against, and it is determined by the state's own labor market rather than by national patterns for this occupation.
- After federal, FICA and Wisconsin income tax, retained pay for water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators on $63,550 is $50,924. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $54,700 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 $64,070 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
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Pay band: Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $50,340 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $63,550 |
| Top tenth earn over | $78,790 |
| This salary | $63,550 |
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 | $50,924 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $53,242 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$90 |
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 | $60,665 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$109 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 93 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $63,550 as a midpoint for Wisconsin, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $50,340 and the ninetieth is $78,790 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Wisconsin's $50,924, worked from $63,550. 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 207 of 491.
- Two cautions on $54,700, the adjusted value of that $63,550 median. It levels out prices with a single number for all of Wisconsin. No actual address matches that. The wage figures and price figures are also from different years. Each is published on its own timetable. This work sits at 207 of 491 locally.
- The Wisconsin median of $63,550 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $50,340 to $78,790. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Wisconsin take-home of $50,924, on $63,550 for work ranking 207 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 207 of 491 in the state.
- This $54,700 adjusted figure, worked from $63,550, rests on a state-level price parity averaging over within-state dispersion larger than much of the between-state dispersion. Wage and price vintages differ by publication schedule. The result is directionally sound and not address-specific, for work at 207 of 491 in the state. The occupation ranks 207 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $50,340 at the bottom tenth to $78,790 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Wisconsin is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $54,700 in national terms.
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 $50,924 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 50 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 ($50,340 to $78,790) 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 $54,700 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 $50,924 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.