Based on the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS data — updated September 10, 2026.
| Wisconsin | National | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual salary | $122,660 | $142,991 | -14% |
| Median hourly wage | $58.97 | $68.75 | -14% |
Adjusted for local price levels (100 = national average), the cost-adjusted median is $130,351.
| City | Median | Entry Level | Experienced | Cost of Living |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee | $125,657 | $90,250 | $166,250 | 96 |
The median annual salary for a Software Engineer in Wisconsin is $122,660, or about $58.97 per hour, according to BLS OEWS data.
The national median for Software Engineers is $142,991. Wisconsin is -14% below the national median.
Entry-level software engineers in Wisconsin typically earn from $90,250 depending on the city and employer.
With 21,730 software engineer jobs on record and a median salary of $122,660, Wisconsin offers competitive pay compared to the rest of the country.
By median annual wage, software engineers rank 50 of the 728 occupations reported in Wisconsin — higher than 93% of them.
Among occupations in the same job family, Database Architects at $137,810, Computer Network Architects at $131,720, Actuaries at $131,640 — all figures are median annual wages for Wisconsin.
No. Every figure on this page is a gross (pre-tax) wage. Wisconsin levies a state income tax, so take-home pay is lower than the gross figures shown here. The state's cost of living index is 95.0 (100 = national average).
By median annual wage, software engineers rank 50 of the 728 occupations reported in Wisconsin — higher than 93% of them.
| Occupation in the same job family | Median in Wisconsin | Jobs |
|---|---|---|
| Database Architects | $137,810 | $520 |
| Computer Network Architects | $131,720 | $2,170 |
| Actuaries | $131,640 | $890 |
| Statisticians | $107,150 | $250 |
| Data Scientists | $106,680 | $4,370 |
| Information Security Analysts | $101,550 | $2,130 |
Wisconsin levies a state income tax, so take-home pay is lower than the gross figures shown here. The state's cost of living index is 95.0 (100 = national average).
Ranking and comparison figures come from the same BLS OEWS release as the rest of this page, which covers 728 occupations in Wisconsin.