Wisconsin · BLS May 2025
Also called cafeteria cook. SOC 35-2012.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 9,890 cooks, institution and cafeteria working in Wisconsin. Here is what they are paid, what the median leaves after federal, state and FICA tax, and what that is worth against local prices.
Median pay · Wisconsin
$38,650A year, or $18.58 an hour.| Percentile | Annual | Hourly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentileEntry and lowest-paid | $32,110 | $15.44 |
| 25th percentile | $36,040 | $17.33 |
| MedianHalf earn more, half less | $38,650 | $18.58 |
| 75th percentile | $44,300 | $21.30 |
| 90th percentileMost experienced and senior | $47,380 | $22.78 |
| MeanThe average, pulled up by the top | $39,860 | $19.16 |
Method occupation-wage-v1Data bls-oews-2025-05-v1, us-tax-2026-v1, bea-rpp-2024-v1, census-acs5-2024-v1
A $38,650 salary in Wisconsin, for one single filer taking the standard deduction in 2026.
Prices in Wisconsin sit at 94.1 against a national average of 100, so $38,650 earned here buys what $41,076 buys at national average prices.
Common questions
The median wage for institution or cafeteria cooks in Wisconsin is $38,650 a year, or $18.58 an hour.
Half earn more than that and half earn less. The figure comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational wage survey for May 2025.
On the median wage of $38,650, one filer taking the standard deduction keeps about $32,218 a year, or roughly $2,685 a month.
That is after federal, state and FICA tax, an effective rate of 16.6%.
Wisconsin takes $1,017 of it in state income tax.
Yes. The median in Wisconsin is 3.2% above the national median of $37,450.
Nominal pay is only half the comparison: prices in Wisconsin sit at 94.1 against a national 100, so the gap in what the money buys is different from the gap in the salary.
It is 0.5 times the median household income of $77,485. A household often has more than one earner, so a single salary at this level goes further than the ratio alone suggests.
Prices in Wisconsin run at 94.1 against a national average of 100, with rents at 79.3, so $38,650 here buys about what $41,076 buys at national average prices.
The top tenth earn $47,380 a year or more, against $32,110 at the bottom tenth.
Experience, specialism, employer and the part of Wisconsin someone works in all move a wage inside that range; the survey reports the spread, not the reason for it.
The survey counted 9,890 of these jobs in Wisconsin for May 2025.
That makes the occupation 19% more concentrated here than in the country as a whole. It counts wage and salary jobs, so the self-employed are outside it.
Sources