Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Salaries
Highest published occupation medians in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI - BLS OEWS May 2025
Observed metro pay change
What changed, BLS OEWS 2024–2025
- BLS's published All Occupations median in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI moved from $49,720 in May 2024 to $51,160 in May 2025 (+2.9%).
- Across the 393 metros priced in both releases, the median place changed +3.1%.
- Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI sits -0.2 pp near that median, nominal dollars, no price deflator applied.
Physicians, All Other shows the widest metro-area vs national median gap in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
Physicians, All Other publishes $411,200 here versus $265,930 nationally (+54.6%; 2,390metro-area jobs). Next is Driver/Sales Workers at $22,350 locally versus $38,770 nationally (-42.4%).
- Physicians, All Other$411,200 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI sits 54.6% above the national Physicians, All Other median of $265,930 (2,390 published local jobs).
- Driver/Sales Workers$22,350 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI sits 42.4% below the national Driver/Sales Workers median of $38,770 (3,250 published local jobs).
- Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$84,700 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI sits 32.8% above the national Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters median of $63,800 (2,760 published local jobs).
- Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators$79,430 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI sits 32.7% above the national Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators median of $59,850 (2,070 published local jobs).
Physicians, All Other and the other occupations above are descriptive OEWS endpoints for Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI; they are not findings about taxes, employers, or worker experience.
BLS OEWS metro wage desk
MSA 33340 · Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI $66K mean
MEAN-HIGH · RPP-MID · OCC-MOST · TOP-LEAD · EMP-MIX · TREND-INLINE · PHOTO-FINISH · BOOK-FULL
- MEAN-HIGH #94/528
- RPP-MID 96.9
- OCC-MOST 586 occs
- TOP-LEAD Surgeons, All… · $762K
- EMP-MIX Financial Ma…
- TREND-INLINE -0.2 pp
- PHOTO-FINISH Eastern Sierra-M…
- BOOK-FULL 567 rows · May 2025
Read with Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area (+$19 on published-row mean) · Highest-paying careers
Instrument codes from this MSA’s OEWS published-row mean, BEA RPP, occupation book, employment lead, All Occupations pay change, and nearest peer — not a moving recommendation.
Published-row mean neighbourhood around Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
Employment scale inside Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI's top-pay list
Financial Managers and Sales Managers lead published employment inside Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI's top-pay sample — order follows OEWS job counts, not median wage.
- 1. Financial Managers 5,160 jobs · $156,100
- 2. Sales Managers 3,240 jobs · $144,560
- 3. Computer and Information Systems Managers 2,520 jobs · $161,220
- 4. Physicians, All Other 2,390 jobs · $411,200
- 5. Pharmacists 1,760 jobs · $153,340
- 6. Architectural and Engineering Managers 1,610 jobs · $143,570
- 7. Nurse Practitioners 1,450 jobs · $134,350
- 8. Physician Assistants 1,220 jobs · $135,040
- 9. Human Resources Managers 1,190 jobs · $136,530
- 10. Dentists, General 830 jobs · $155,940
- 11. Commercial Pilots 420 jobs · $177,730
- 12. Family Medicine Physicians 390 jobs · $287,350
- 13. Nurse Anesthetists 210 jobs · $282,840
- 14. Psychiatrists 180 jobs · $331,500
- 15. Obstetricians and Gynecologists 170 jobs · $300,470
- 16. Real Estate Brokers 160 jobs · $168,320
- 17. Natural Sciences Managers 160 jobs · $140,170
- 18. Surgeons, All Other 140 jobs · $762,360
Occupations Tracked
586
with wage data
Published-Row Mean
$65,719
employment-weighted, 567 complete rows
Top Salary
$762,360
Surgeons, All Other
Cost of Living
96.9
3% below US avg
Highest Paying Jobs in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
| # | Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Surgeons, All Other | $762,360 |
| 2 | Physicians, All Other | $411,200 |
| 3 | Psychiatrists | $331,500 |
| 4 | Obstetricians and Gynecologists | $300,470 |
| 5 | Family Medicine Physicians | $287,350 |
| 6 | Nurse Anesthetists | $282,840 |
| 7 | Pediatricians, General | $276,470 |
| 8 | Chief Executives | $216,240 |
| 9 | Commercial Pilots | $177,730 |
| 10 | Physicists | $173,160 |
| 11 | Real Estate Brokers | $168,320 |
| 12 | Computer and Information Systems Managers | $161,220 |
| 13 | Financial Managers | $156,100 |
| 14 | Dentists, General | $155,940 |
| 15 | Pharmacists | $153,340 |
| 16 | Database Architects | $148,020 |
| 17 | Advertising and Promotions Managers | $144,960 |
| 18 | Sales Managers | $144,560 |
| 19 | Architectural and Engineering Managers | $143,570 |
| 20 | Nurse Midwives | $141,520 |
| 21 | Natural Sciences Managers | $140,170 |
| 22 | Podiatrists | $136,790 |
| 23 | Human Resources Managers | $136,530 |
| 24 | Physician Assistants | $135,040 |
| 25 | Nurse Practitioners | $134,350 |
Lowest Paying Jobs in Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI
| Occupation | Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Driver/Sales Workers | $22,350 |
| Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other | $25,470 |
| Bartenders | $25,970 |
| Passenger Attendants | $26,140 |
| Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | $27,310 |
| Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop | $28,010 |
| Cooks, Short Order | $28,130 |
| Locker Room, Coatroom, and Dressing Room Attendants | $28,210 |
| Amusement and Recreation Attendants | $28,280 |
| Ushers, Lobby Attendants, and Ticket Takers | $28,440 |
Other BLS Wage Areas in WI
Other metropolitan or nonmetropolitan OEWS areas assigned to the same state. Cross-state pay and employment peers live in Nationwide similar metros below.
Nationwide metros with similar published-row mean pay or employment scale
Two OEWS peer sets outside WI. Same-state wage areas above stay geographic; these neighborhoods are cross-state nearest neighbors on employment-weighted published-row mean wage ($65,719 here) and summed published employment.
Similar mean wage
Nearest other metros by employment-weighted published-row annual mean wage.
Similar employment scale
Nearest headcount peers (floor 100,000 summed published jobs), distinct from the mean-wage column.
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on BLS OEWS employment-weighted published-row mean wage and summed occupation employment. Employment peers exclude metros already listed in the mean-wage column so the two link sets stay distinct. Mean wage here is not a worker-level median.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Related federal data
Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Occupation rows use BLS OEWS May 2025. The metro benchmark is WageDex's employment-weighted mean of published occupation means; where BEA RPP is available, the price-level figure divides that benchmark by the published area parity. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.