How much does a Mechanical Engineer make in Wisconsin?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $94,820 for Mechanical Engineers in Wisconsin as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $78,600 and the 75th-percentile is $107,700.

How are Wisconsin Mechanical Engineer salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

Why is the BEA RPP for Wisconsin different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Wisconsin's overall index of 93.2 reflects rents 78.3, services 89.5, and goods 94.3.

Is Wisconsin a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Mechanical Engineers?

Yes — the BEA RPP of 93.2 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $94,820 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $101,716. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Mechanical Engineers comparing offers across regions.

What are the limits of these Mechanical Engineer salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

Defense / aerospace vs auto vs HVAC mechanical engineer pay in Wisconsin?

BLS does not segment by industry. In {state}, defense and aerospace primes typically lead on base pay with strong total comp once retention/clearance bonuses layer in (often P75-P90 of the BLS band). Automotive and consumer products sit mid-band. HVAC / building-systems mechanical engineering pays below the BLS median for the first 5 years, then catches up via PE-track roles and design-build firm equity.

BS vs MS in mechanical engineering — does the master's pay back in Wisconsin?

MS-ME in Wisconsin adds roughly $8-15K to starting pay versus BS-only and shortens the path into specialty roles (CFD, FEA, controls, robotics). The 1.5-2 year tuition + foregone earnings opportunity cost typically breaks even 6-9 years out. PhD-MechE only pays back inside research-heavy positions (national labs, R&D-heavy primes) and largely doesn't lift the BLS-tracked engineering-staff wage in standard industry roles.

Wisconsin Mechanical Engineer Salary: BLS $95K Median, Real $102K (2026)

TL;DR

Headline Mechanical Engineer pay in Wisconsin is $94,820. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $101,716.
Low BEA RPP (93.2) means the paycheck stretches further than the BLS number suggests; net lift roughly $6,896.
BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $66,180 · P25 $78,600 · P75 $107,700 · P90 $130,990.
State ranks #43 nationally on nominal wage, #34 on real (RPP-adjusted) wage.

Wage breakdown — Wisconsin

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$66,180	$70,993
P25 (lower quartile)	$78,600	$84,317
P50 (median)	$94,820	$101,716
P75 (upper quartile)	$107,700	$115,533
P90 (top tier)	$130,990	$140,517
Mean	$97,360	$104,441
Employment	8,060 Mechanical Engineers in Wisconsin

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	Wisconsin index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	93.2
Goods	94.3
Services	89.5
Rents	78.3

Wisconsin sits below the national baseline (RPP 93.2), so nominal pay translates to a higher real wage than the BLS median suggests — particularly visible in rents at 78.3.

After-tax take-home — Wisconsin (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Mechanical Engineer)	$94,820	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$12,107	12.8% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$3,938	3.5–7.65% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$7,254	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$71,521	75.4% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$76,723	÷ (93.2 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the Wisconsin state-tax burden means for Mechanical Engineer take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 4.2% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $71,521 (75.4% of gross). After the 93.2 RPP, real take-home is $76,723.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $102,320 for Mechanical Engineers with mean pay of $110,080 and total employment of 286,760. Wisconsin sits at #43 on nominal pay and #34 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Wisconsin climbs 9 positions — the cost of living is favorable relative to the wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Mechanical Engineer make in Wisconsin?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $94,820 for Mechanical Engineers in Wisconsin as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $78,600 and the 75th-percentile is $107,700.
How are Wisconsin Mechanical Engineer salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
Why is the BEA RPP for Wisconsin different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. Wisconsin's overall index of 93.2 reflects rents 78.3, services 89.5, and goods 94.3.
Is Wisconsin a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Mechanical Engineers?: Yes — the BEA RPP of 93.2 is below the national 100 baseline, so nominal $94,820 stretches to a real-wage equivalent of $101,716. The take-home advantage versus a higher-RPP state is meaningful for Mechanical Engineers comparing offers across regions.
What are the limits of these Mechanical Engineer salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
Defense / aerospace vs auto vs HVAC mechanical engineer pay in Wisconsin?: BLS does not segment by industry. In {state}, defense and aerospace primes typically lead on base pay with strong total comp once retention/clearance bonuses layer in (often P75-P90 of the BLS band). Automotive and consumer products sit mid-band. HVAC / building-systems mechanical engineering pays below the BLS median for the first 5 years, then catches up via PE-track roles and design-build firm equity.
BS vs MS in mechanical engineering — does the master's pay back in Wisconsin?: MS-ME in Wisconsin adds roughly $8-15K to starting pay versus BS-only and shortens the path into specialty roles (CFD, FEA, controls, robotics). The 1.5-2 year tuition + foregone earnings opportunity cost typically breaks even 6-9 years out. PhD-MechE only pays back inside research-heavy positions (national labs, R&D-heavy primes) and largely doesn't lift the BLS-tracked engineering-staff wage in standard industry roles.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 17-2141, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-05.

Cross-comparison: see how Wisconsin Mechanical Engineer pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.